Jilin starts plant construction

Jilin Fuel Ethanol Co. Ltd., a joint venture between the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC), China Resources Enterprises Ltd. and Jilin Grain Group (JGG), has begun construction of a fuel ethanol project using sweet sorghum stalk that will produce 3,000 tons of ethanol annually in Dontoi city, in Jiangsu Province.  In China, more than 80% of fuel ethanol is produced from grains and 10% from sugar. While China produced about 75 million tons of sugar annually in 2003, the latest available figure, planting of sweet sorghum is only on a trial phase. Investment in the pilot project is 65 million yuan (US$8.66 million). The plant is scheduled to begin production at the end of this year. (October 12, 2007)