China releases DME standards

The China Chemical Industry Productivity Center released new standards on May 13 for dimethyl ether (DME). The new regulations will allow up to 20% DME content in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for civilian use. DME, a coal-based fuel often used as a diesel substitute, has emerged as a cheap alternative-energy source amid rising international oil prices. Shanghai and Beijing transit authorities have already begun converting diesel buses to run on DME at a cost of around 9,000 yuan (US$1,304) per bus, hoping the conversion will lower costs in the long term. Officials, however, have urged local fuel stations to stop mixing DME into LPG and diesel supplies as a means to lower prices until the new standards are implemented. In the past five years, two major Chinese DME production facilities have come on stream: a joint venture between Sinopec and China National Coal Group in Erdos with an annual capacity of 3 million tons and a Zhangjiagang-based facility operated by Xinao with 1 million tons of annual capacity. (May 29, 2008)