Promising but challenging

To boost industrial demand for corn and cut emissions, China has launched corn-to-ethanol pilot programs in 2004.

However, the promotion of bioethanol, the cleaner alternative to traditional fuels like diesel and gasoline, remains a challenge even after more than a decade.

It seems not many petrol stations sell E10, an alternative fuel that contains 10 percent ethanol, an alcohol typically produced from corn, in the Chinese capital.