Sale of ETBE-blended gasoline starts in Tokyo

In a significant step in the government-led campaign to promote biofuels, major Japanese oil distributors have begun to sell bio-gasoline at a limited number of filling stations in the Tokyo metropolitan area on a trial basis. Nippon Oil Corp. and nine other Japanese wholesalers began to sell ETBE-blended gasoline at 50 filling stations in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama and Chiba prefectures on April 27. ETBE (ethyl tertiary butyl ether) is a gasoline additive made by combining bioethanol, grain alcohol derived from such plants as sugarcane and corn, with isobutylene. The bio-gasoline now on sale in the Tokyo metropolitan area is a blend of 7% ETBE, 3% bioethanol and 90% fossil-based gasoline. This is the first time that bio-gasoline has been sold in Japan on a commercial basis. Prices for the bio-gasoline are about the same as for regular gasoline. The ETBE used in the blend was imported from France. (May 12, 2007)