Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 2
By Fatih Karimov – Trend:
Italy will make investment in a biofuel project in Amirabad Special Economic Zone, northern Iran.
An Italian private sector company has signed a MoU worth $450 million on the issue, Ali Khedmatgozar, head of the zone, said, IRNA news agency reported Aug. 2.
Without unveiling the Italian firm’s name, Khedmatgozar said that bioethanol will be produced from farm wastes, including wheat straw, under the project.
Bioethanol is an alcohol made by fermentation, mostly from carbohydrates produced in sugar or starch crops such as corn, sugarcane, or sweet sorghum.
Ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicles in its pure form, but it is usually used as a gasoline additive to increase octane and improve vehicle emissions.
Bioethanol is widely used in the US and in Brazil. The production of biofuels also led into a flourishing automotive industry, where by 2010, reportedly some 79 of all cars produced in Brazil were made with a hybrid fuel system of bioethanol and gasoline.