Japan sells rice-based bioethanol

TOKYO, July 20 (UPI) -- A gasoline and bioethanol mixture made from rice and animal feed made its debut at retail gas stations in the Niigata prefecture in Japan.

A mixture of bioethanol produced from brown rice and animal feed is mixed with conventional gasoline to produce a product that is on equal footing with regular gasoline in terms of mileage and pricing, RIA Novosti reports, citing local media outlets in the western prefecture.

Japan began mixing gasoline with bioethanol in 2007, though the use of brown rice as a source is novel. Sales from the brown rice mixture are available locally at 19 gas stations.

Analysts expect annual sales to reach around 8.7 million gallons.

The announcement comes on the heels of a venture between supermajor Exxon Mobil and Synthetic Genomics to produce algae for use in biofuels.

The $600 million partnership will focus on the development of genetically engineered strains of algae for fuel production.

Exxon Mobil said algae could generate as much as 2,000 gallons of fuel per acre each year, compared with the palm tree yield of 650 gallons and 450 gallons for sugar cane.