Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum commissions coal-to-ethanol plant

In China, Shaanxi Yanchang Petroleum has brought online its 100,000 metric ton per year ethanol plant that uses syngas produced from coal, using technology the company developed with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics in Liaoning province. A non-precious metal catalyst converts the syngas into anhydrous ethanol. The company hopes to scale up to a 1 million ton per year plant by 2020 in line with national goals to produce 7 million tons of ethanol annually.