CAS Chemistry Research Report: 40 Years of Biofuel Research Reveal China Now Atop U.S. in Patenting and Commercialization of Bioethanol

COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 24, 2010 - Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), the world's authority on chemical
information, reports that in 2009, China surpassed all other countries in the
production of bioethanol patents, emerging as the global leader in the
commercialization of bioethanol research.

In the CAS Chemistry Research Report: China Takes Lead in the
Commercialization of Bioethanol
(www.cas.org/newsevents/pressroom/report.html), CAS examines 40 years
of scientific research into biofuel development. Their key finding is that
although U.S. researchers continue to publish more scientific research about
bioethanol than other countries, China now produces more bioethanol-related
patents than anyone. Other important findings include:

    -- The U.S. published 105 journal articles related to first- and
       second-generation bioethanol research in 2009, more than any other
       country.
    -- However, in the same year, the State Intellectual Property Office
       (SIPO) of the People's Republic of China issued the most
       bioethanol-related patent documents (156).
    -- From 2000 to 2009, global research literature on second-generation
       bioethanol (derived from non-food sources, such as wheat stalks) grew
       586 percent, including patenting activity that skyrocketed 2,341
       percent.
    -- Research into second-generation bioethanol significantly outpaced
       examination of first-generation (derived from edible feedstocks) and
       third-generation (derived from algae) bioethanol.
    -- U.S. researchers are foremost within the newest category of bioethanol
       research: third-generation, or algae-based, bioethanol.

"The global research focus on second-generation bioethanol shows a rising
interest in a category of fuels widely considered more sustainable,
affordable, and environmentally friendly than bioethanol available today,"
said Christine McCue, vice president of marketing at CAS.

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Donna Jenkins, Chemical Abstracts Service, +1-614-447-3727, cas-pr at cas.org