Web exclusive posted Sept. 23, 2008 at 4:53 p.m. CST

Chinese biodiesel producer Gushan Environmental Energy Ltd. announced Sept. 22 that operations at the company's Beijing plant have resumed.

Gushan temporarily suspended operations Aug. 1 through Sept. 20 due to heightened enforcement of traffic control measures adopted by the Beijing municipal government during the 2008 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The measures required vehicles to meet emissions standards, mandated a system that cars with even numbered and odd numbered license plates be driven only on alternating days, and imposed regulations and limitations on hazardous materials transport. Gushan suspected operations at its plant because it said those measures had restricted the ability of its suppliers to deliver raw materials to the Beijing facility and rendered biodiesel production impractical.

Gushan Environmental Energy currently operates five production facilities in the Sichuan, Hebei and Fujian providences, as well as in Beijing and Shanghai, China. The facilities have a combined annual production capacity of 290,000 tons (approximately 87 MMgy). The company's goal is to increase its annual production capacity to 400,000 tons (nearly 120 million gallons) with the expansion or addition of new production facilities in Beijing, Shanghai, Hunan and Chongqing, China. In addition to biodiesel, the company produces a variety of byproducts such as glycerin, plant asphalt, erucic acid and erucic amide.