'Green chemistry', 'renewable feedstocks', 'sustainability', 'pollution control'... all buzzwords across the chemical industry. But for China, as a vast consumer of imported commodities, including oil; a rapidly growing 'middle class' with rising car ownership; and growth in many industries driving demand for basic petro-chemicals, the situation has particular resonance.

In its new report "The Development and Use of Renewable Feedstocks in the Chinese Chemical Industry", He-Ro Consulting Ltd examines the situation.

The Chinese Government is identified as the key driver in the development of renewable feedstocks. The report looks at the many detailed programs that have been introduced to stimulate the development of an industrialised biobase production of key chemical raw materials.

Diverting food-stuffs to industrial production raises the spectre of national food-security and so the Government response to the increasing industrial consumption of grain is also examined, along with the implications for the corn balance.

The report studies the important role of China's academia in the R&D challenges of this nascent sector and details 63 Chinese registered patents, mainly held by academic institutions, relating to chemical production from renewable feedstocks.

The report also looks at the situation in the chemical industry today to examine the industrial results of the above drivers. The producers of polylactic acid, PHBV, 1,3 propanediol, bio-ethylene, and bio-ethylene glycol who are developing biobase routes of production are listed, together with routes of manufacture, claimed product capacities etc.

The report concludes that the overall volume of chemicals produced from renewable instead of fossil feedstocks is still relatively small to-date. Bio-fuels aside, the sector is at a developmental stage. However given the Chinese chemical industry's formidable abilities in fermentation technology, which have given it world-leading production status in many chemical products, and the Chinese Government's clearly stated intention to develop renewables, this sector is set to experience potentially substantial growth.

He-Ro Consulting Ltd, based in Hong Kong with offices in China and India, is a specialist consultancy working in the Asian Chemical and related Industries.