Shell station in Canada begins selling gas blended with biofuel made of wheat straw
June, 10, 2009 - 09:02 am
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
AMSTERDAM - Royal Dutch Shell PLC says it has begun selling gasoline containing 10 per cent ethanol derived from wheat straw at a Shell station in Ottawa, Canada.
Though there are now thousands of gas stations worldwide that sell gasoline blends containing some ethanol fermented from corn or sugar cane, the Ottawa station is believed to be the first to sell ethanol derived from straw, Shell said.
Using ethanol in gas blends may reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, but using food crops for ethanol has also been blamed for increasing foodstuff prices.
Shell and Iogen Energy Corporation said Wednesday they are producing 40,000 litres (10,500 gallons) of ethanol per month from straw at a demonstration plant in Ottawa.