China Starts Making Oil from Coal

    Developed by the Institute of Coal Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China has started manufacturing oil products from coal in a pilot plant based in Inner Mongolia, using homegrown indirect coal-to-liquid (CTL) technologies. The oil is currently one of the clearest liquid fuels in the world.

    It can be used directly in diesel vehicles, and exhaust emissions accord with Euro V standards. Fuel consumption is 8 to 12 percent less than diesel. Moreover, it is of better quality.

    This represents China's first manufacturing of indirect coal-to-liquid products, and the country plans to cooperate with enterprises at home and abroad to build a production base with an annual capacity of five million tons in 2015.