DME Blending in China Fail

China's domestic dimethyl ether (DME) as a fuel additive in the LPG and gasoline blending for use in buses and other energy sector is yet to start even though approval for use from the country’s petroleum and chemical industry bodies has been released.

The reason for the halt of blending DME into LPG and gasoline pool is due to low standards of LPG coming from the blending and low profits for the DME producers. It was estimated that LPG producers gain only $11-14/tonne from using DME as a fuel additive which includes transportation and sales costs making DME producers hesitant due to small saving.

There is currently no standard available on how much DME should be added to LPG despite China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association approval on the use DME as an additive in liquid petroleum gas (LPG). To be on the safe side, most major LPG producers such as Zhuhai LPG Co, Longda LPG and Shenzhen LPG are waiting for a formal regulation policy before using DME as an additive in a serious manner.