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GLOBAL DEVELOPMENTS
Japan DME production commenced from January 2009.
Japan considers DME a viable future energy. • Two food manufacturers are utilizing DME as a Boiler
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Limited and 8 private companies fuel.
constructed an 80,000MT DME production plant( Joint • Two trucks are currently running on DME as a diesel
Venture: Fuel DME Limited) on August, 2008 inside the substitute fuel (for the usage of item transports) by receiving
Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Co.,Inc. Niigata factory which is an official license from the government (Both trucks have
near to the Methanol importation facility. already exceeded 130 thousand km and still operating).

China 20wt% mix with LPG for cooking. The national standard
China is currently the leading commercial producer of “DME for Vehicle Fuel” was formally implemented on
and consumer of DME. There are currently 79 DME November 1, 2011, giving the green light for DME to enter
manufacturers in China and as of the end of 2011, the the vehicular fuel market.
total capacity to make DME had reached around 9.5
Million Tonnes per annum (TPA), estimated to increase to The operating rate of these Chinese plants however is
13.0 Million TPA by 2015. It is mainly being used as a at about 20-30%. The major challenges are due to the

INDUSTRY JOURNAL 15