On September 13, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and 14 other ministries jointly issued a notice titled “Implementation Plan for Expanding Biofuel Ethanol Production and Promoting the Use of Ethanol-Blended Gasoline for Vehicles,” which stipulates that the use of ethanol-blended gasoline will be promoted in Northeast China and other provinces and cities starting in 2017, with nationwide coverage to be achieved by 2020. While the promotion of bioethanol fuel certainly helps address environmental pollution, reduce China’s reliance on imported raw materials, and advance agricultural supply-side reform, a “one-size-fits-all” approach to implementing ethanol gasoline is not a wise choice; a multi-pronged strategy is needed to achieve cleaner vehicle fuels.

　　While increasing the use of renewable energy is certainly a positive development, ethanol gasoline has its own drawbacks: ethanol’s calorific value is 60% that of conventional automotive gasoline; ethanol has a high latent heat of vaporization, and its evaporation temperature at the theoretical air-fuel ratio is higher than that of conventional gasoline, leading to reduced vehicle performance and fuel economy; ethanol produces acetic acid during combustion, which corrodes automotive metals, particularly copper; Ethanol is an excellent solvent and can cause mild corrosion, swelling, softening, or cracking of automotive rubber seals and other synthetic non-metallic materials; ethanol readily absorbs water, and when the water content in automotive ethanol-blended gasoline exceeds standard limits, liquid-phase separation is likely to occur.

　　At the same time, the promotion of ethanol-blended gasoline may deal a fatal blow to certain industrial chains. According to the latest standards, the content of oxygenates in ethanol-blended gasoline must not exceed 0.5 wt%; as a result, some traditional gasoline blending agents—such as MTBE and etherified light gasoline—can no longer be used, further exacerbating the already overcapacity-plagued methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) industry. MTBE has traditionally been the primary method for the clean utilization of the isobutene fraction in refineries’ light hydrocarbon resources, as well as the main means of improving gasoline octane ratings. If its use is prohibited, it will deal a severe blow to the light hydrocarbon comprehensive utilization industry and run counter to the principle of maximizing the value of refining resources. Light gasoline etherification is a key technical measure for refineries to meet the National VI gasoline quality upgrade requirements, reduce olefin content, and improve gasoline octane ratings. If banned, it will further complicate the transition to National VI gasoline standards. According to reports, the original intent behind the national promotion of ethanol-blended gasoline was to utilize surplus grain stocks. Adopting a process that can both consume bioethanol and promote the use of cleaner automotive fuels would create a win-win situation for both the bioethanol and light hydrocarbon utilization industries.

　　It is understood that the ethyl tert-butyl ether (ETBE) technology and the ethanol-etherified light gasoline technology developed by KaiRui Environmental Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “KaiRui Environmental”) can use bioethanol, isobutylene, and catalytic light gasoline to produce ETBE and ethanol-etherified light gasoline, offering a viable new alternative. ETBE and ethanol-etherified light gasoline avoid issues such as increased gasoline volatility associated with ethanol use. They enable cleaner combustion of gasoline, do not corrode automotive components, do not increase photochemical smog in exhaust emissions, and can be blended directly into gasoline at refineries. In some U.S. states where MTBE is banned, ETBE is gradually becoming a sought-after new gasoline component. Ethanol-etherified light gasoline can also reduce the olefin content in gasoline by 3–5 percentage points, addressing the requirement for lower olefin content under the National VI gasoline standard.

　　Even if the government were to mandate the widespread adoption of ethanol-blended gasoline by 2020—rendering MTBE and ETBE ineligible as gasoline additives—the addition of alkylate to gasoline would still provide a new outlet for isobutene. Alkylate is a key gasoline component consisting primarily of C8 isoalkanes, with isooctane as the main constituent. Kairui Environmental Technology Co., Ltd.’s indirect alkylation technology effectively addresses the challenge of producing oxygen-free, high-octane gasoline blending components from C4 olefins. This process utilizes C4 olefins to undergo a condensation (dimerization) reaction under the catalysis of a resin to produce isooctene, which is then hydrogenated to yield isooctane. Although the cost of indirect alkylation is slightly higher, it enables the production of high-octane, oxygen-free gasoline blending components from low-value surplus olefins, making it a win-win solution for both the clean-up of automotive fuels and the comprehensive utilization of light hydrocarbon resources.