The world's first biological ethylene production line has begun operating in east China's Jiangsu Province.
The Fengyuan Group, a leading fine-chemical producer based in Suzhou, recently began producing ethylene from old corn stock instead of the traditional petroleum.
Production followed 10 years' research and development.
Li Rongjie, chairman of the group, said tuber crops and crop stalks can also be used for materials.
The new technology includes two major steps: fermentation and extraction.
Ethylene is a basic material for the chemical, electronic, automobile and textile industries.
China uses 20 million tons of ethylene a year.
Li said that with the rise of demand for oil in China, the traditional raw-material supply for ethylene production might dwindle.
"We believe our new production line will be profitable as long as the oil price remains above US$35 a barrel," Li said.
Annual capacity of the line is 20,000 tons.
According to Ouyang Pingkai, of the Engineering Academy of China, the cost of a biological ethylene plant is one-third that of a traditional plant.
He said the successful operation of this new technology in China can help boost research and application of bio-energy technologies.
Wang Hongguang, director of the Biological Technology Research Center under the Ministry of Science and Technology, said replacing petroleum and coal with biological energy has become an unavoidable trend.
"Fengyuan Group's new production line is revelatory in China, a country rich in biological materials," he said.