China to introduce lower sulfur fuel

The Chinese government will reduce sulfur levels of lead-free gasoline from 500 parts per million (ppm) to 150 ppm, to conform with Euro-III emission norms, beginning in 2010, said Li Xinmin, deputy director of the pollution control department of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). Statistics from SEPA show that China produced almost 6.21 million cars in the first 10 months of 2006. Total output is expected to exceed seven million in 2006. In the first half of 2006, sulfur dioxide emissions increased by 4.2%, from the same period a year earlier. (December 8, 2006)