Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
4.2 Processing Technologies
At present, processing technologies for producing biodiesel from widely available
energy crops such as J. curcas and P. chinensis have been extensively studied, but
there is still more space for improvement in order to increase biodiesel yield.
To date, investment in R&D is still inadequate considering the rapid increase of
biodiesel demand.
Currently, many technologies are under development for biodiesel production,
but industrialization or pre-industrialized progress has not been reported. Whereas
CNOOC is using the supercritical fluid system developed by Sinopec to produce
biodiesel in Hainan, and Hunan Biorivers Co. Ltd. is cooperating with Tsinghua
University to use the enzymatic process, most small and medium-sized enterprises
in China still use acid techniques to produce biodiesel, and are facing concerns
about environmental pollution and low product quality not suitable for transpor-
tation fuels, but only for power generation, heating or some farm-oriented uses.
It is believed that with the modification of relevant laws and regulations, and
close cooperation between scientific research institutes and enterprise, advanced
technologies are expected to be put into large-scale applications in the near future.
4.3 Marketing of Biodiesel
The market for biodiesel in China is still limited to local distribution, direct sale by
producers, and purchase by customers, due to the low output and obstacles in the
main distribution network of the three leading petrol companies Sinopec, Petro China
and CNOOC. Direct sale of biodiesel to transport companies, the agricultural
production sector, and public services is done in Sichuan and Fujian provinces, since
fossil diesel is in short supply in some areas. However, it is difficult for consumers to
trust the biodiesel quality even though the B5 standard comes into effect in 2011.
Since the price of fossil diesel keeps rising, biodiesel is now becoming
more competitive. In general, the main challenges for biodiesel production include
competing resources of land diversion and water usage, greenhouse gas reduction
potential, and crop collection and processing cost. Given an improved economic
feasibility and increased production capacity in the future, biodiesel need to be
incorporated into the distribution network of the leading petrol companies Sinopec,
Petro China and CNOOC.
5 Major Players of Biodiesel R&D and Industrial Production
R&D on biodiesel in China has advanced rapidly. Research sectors include
selection, genetic modification and cultivation of oil plants, processing technolo-
gies, and equipment. Researchers from various universities and research institutes
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