BREAKING NEWS

Shell station sells gas blended with wheat biofuel

Royal Dutch Shell PLC says it has begun selling gasoline containing 10 percent ethanol derived from wheat straw at a Shell station in Ottawa, Canada. Though there are now thousands of gas stations worldwide that sell gasoline blends containing some ethanol fermented from corn or sugar cane, the Ottawa station is believed to be the first to sell ethanol derived from straw, Shell said. Using ethanol in gas blends may reduce net greenhouse gas emissions, but using food crops for ethanol has also been blamed for increasing foodstuff prices. Shell and Iogen Energy Corporation said Wednesday they are producing 40,000 liters of ethanol per month from straw at a demonstration plant in Ottawa.