Ethanol debuts in Kunming City

China’s first hydrated ethanol fuel product, developed by a non-governmental organization (NGO), made its debut in Kunming City in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province. The Kunming Wuhua Zhisheng Economic and Development Research Institute launched its first 15-ton batch of hydrated ethanol 93-octane gasoline after three to four months of successful trials in a local driving school. At the core of the new product is a patented emulsifying technology, which when mixed with water in a 95.5% concentration of hydrated ethanol, changes the properties of the ethanol to make it capable of mixing with gasoline of any proportions, according to Luo Xin, owner of the patented technology. “This technology not only solves the problem of separation between ethanol and gasoline in waterless ethanol fuel, but also allows drivers to switch among various types of gasoline products freely without causing damage to vehicles,” he said. (June 30, 2008)