Japanese to test non-food plants for bioethanol production

JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., and four other Japanese companies have formed the Research Association of Innovative Bioethanol Technology to study the use of non-food plants such as Erianthus for the production of bioethanol. Rising prices for corn and sugarcane have bioethanol producers looking for a cheaper and more efficient feedstock. The Japanese government expects that biofuel consumption in Japan will reach 500,000 kilo liters (kl) of crude oil by 2017. The current projected supply of biofuel would only reach 200,000 kl. (August 3, 2011)