DALLAS – Celanese Corp. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Celanese Far East Limited, has signed letters of intent to construct and operate industrial ethanol production facilities in Nanjing, China, at the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park and in Zhuhai, China, at the Gaolan Port Economic Zone.

Pending project approvals, Celanese could begin industrial ethanol production within the next 30 months, with an initial nameplate capacity of 400,000 tons per year per plant and an initial investment of approximately $300 million per plant.

The projects will use Celanese’s new technology to produce industrial ethanol. This new process combines Celanese’s proprietary acetyl platform with highly advanced manufacturing technology to produce ethanol from hydrocarbon-sourced feedstocks.