Biofuel

Biofuel is an alternative energy that can be produced from renewable resources and are meant to be a climate friendly substitute for fossil fuels. There are various types of biofuels but the most common that are being mass-produced are made from corn, sugarcane, soybean, and palm oil. At the moment, yellow corn is one of the largest sources of biofuel in North America. It is converted into ethanol and emits approx. less greenhouse gases than gasoline when used as fuel. Butanol (called "biobutanol" if derived from biomass) is an alcohol similar to ethanol but with a higher energy density. Despite this and other advantages butanol is currently more expensive to produce than ethanol.

However the environmental costs associated with biofuel's production weigh much higher. In the October 2007 issue of National Geographic, Joel K. Bourne writes in the article Green Dreams that the process of making ethanol from corn is a losers game, requiring more carbon-emitting fossil fuel than it displaces. He states this because the process involves industrial farming methods such as the use of diesel machinery to drive the distillation process from corn to ethanol, and the fertilizer that is required to grow the corn emits nitrous oxide that is 300 times more insulating than the most common carbon dioxide.

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A series of guidelines, plans, and strategies were undertaken to invigorate the production of biomass energy since 2005. To ensure the steady development of the domestic biodiesel industry, China is likely to continue having a stern regulatory control on the biodiesel industry from 2007 to 2010, while the more advanced bioethanol segment already has regulations governing it," says the analyst. This stringent national control over the bioethanol industry has dissuaded foreign investment." However, investors could gain favourable policy outcomes and government support by liaising extensively with government branches. They also need to conform to the Chinese regulatory environment and establish alliances with local manufacturers instead of setting up wholly funded branches.