21/03/2012 (Anhui News) - Biodiesel, a fuel that has been talked about for years is once again in the spotlight as fuel prices are raised for the second time this year on Tuesday.

Biodiesel is more environment-friendly and cheaper than petrodiesel. It is estimated that biodiesel is priced 1,000 yuan per tonne less than petrodiesel.

When the largest biodiesel plant in Anhui province was put into operation on March 18, one of the company's manager, surnamed Zhang, said the product can be used as a low-carbon alternative to petrodiesel.

With a total investment of 70 million yuan, the plant has an annual capacity of 60,000 tonnes of biodiesel, Zhang said.

Biodiesel is mainly made from flax, palm oil and gutter oil. "In producing biodiesel, we make waste profitable. Every day we make biodiesel from roughly 60 tonnes of gutter oil collected from within Anhui province as well as Shanghai and provinces of Henan and Shangdong," Zhang said.