Ethanol-blended petrol to be on sale in Hanoi

Hanoi (VNA) " The Petrolchemical and Bio Fuel Joint Stock
Company (PVB) said it will sell E5 ethanol blend petrol on a trial
basis next week at two petrol stations in Hanoi .

The mixed petrol, with five percent of ethanol is priced slightly
lower than conventional petrol types.

PVB General Director Vu Thanh Ha said that motor vehicles running on
E5 ethanol-blended fuel can cut their fuel consumption by 2-3 percent
and carbon dioxide emissions by 60-70 percent compared with normal
petrol.

Several members of the Hanoi Taxi Association will use the imported
bio-petrol in the trial period.

PVB has invested 80 million USD in building an ethanol production
plant and developing a cassava and sugar cane growing zone in
northern mountainous Phu Tho province to supply materials for the
plan, which has an annual capacity of 100,000 cu.m and is expected to
be completed by the end of this year. The company hopes to produce
ethanol blend petrol by 2010.

Another plant, which will be built by the Vietnam Oil and Gas
Corporation in central coastal Binh Dinh province, is expected to be
operational one year after the plant in Phu Tho province. The two
plants will consume around 400,000 tonnes of dried cassava each year.

However, Dr. Bui Van Ga, an experienced researcher on alternative
fuels warned that Vietnam should ensure food security while
seeking to increase the use of biofuel.

At present, more than 50 countries and territories worldwide are
using bio-fuels. Seventy-five percent of 50 billion litres of ethanol
produced in the world in 2006 were used as fuel.-Enditem