China's first hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) blending trial has begun in Beijing's Haidan district on 15 October, offering diesel blended with maximum 10pc HVO to some municipal transport fleets in the area, announced state-owned HVO firm Haixin.
The HVO-blended diesel will initially be used to fuel vehicles at Beijing Daxin International Airport, Haidian's municipal sanitation fleet, and transport trucks for companies like McDonald's China, with a view to eventually expanding use of the fuel across the district's transportation sector. Haixin will produce and supply the blended HVO, although it did not disclose volumes.
The trial is part of the country's domestic biofuels pilot programmes.
China's National Energy Administration (NEA) in April announced a list of 22 pilot programmes that have been selected to promote the domestic use of biofuels, including in Haidian.
The Haidian project aims to establish a complete closed-loop system, from collecting and transporting used cooking oil (UCO) to pre-processing, production, and reuse in HVO applications within the district.
This blending trial will "not only help prevent UCO from returning to the food supply, ensuring public food safety, but also reduce reliance on fossil fuels and imports," said chairman of Bejing Haidian State-Owned Assets Investment, Zhang Guobin. The trial is also significant as the NEA is considering integrating biofuels into China's Certified Emission Reduction (CCER) carbon trading mechanism.
The development of China's domestic biofuels industry has gained more importance because of anti-dumping duties which have slowed the trade of biodiesel and HVO between China and the EU.
The EU began applying provisional anti-dumping duties ranging from 12.8-36.4pc on Chinese-origin biofuel imports from 16 August. As a result, Chinese biodiesel exports dropped by 41pc from a month earlier to 59,950t in August, extending the downward trend observed during January-July.
