How 200 billion yuan supplies electricity for a single household in China
In the world’s second-largest economy, taking damaged, old currency out of circulation is a massive task, but the collected paper is an ideal fuel source for power plants
Hundreds of billions of yuan have just gone up in smoke – literally.
As China changes over to a new, harder to copy version of its 100 yuan banknote, older versions of the currency will slowly disappear from circulation, with damaged or very dirty, old notes being targeted first.
In the world’s second-largest economy that adds up to a lot of paper and an ideal fuel source for electricity generation plants.
One facility in Yancheng city in the eastern province of Jiangsu has burned more than 2,000 tonnes of banknotes, worth about 200 billion yuan (HK$242.5 billion or US$31.3 billion), since it went into operation in March, according to the business news portal Ce.cn.
According to the plant, the banknotes are perfect material for biomass power generation thanks to their relatively high heat value and low moisture content.
A single tonne generates 1,000 kilowatt hours of electricity – enough for a single family for 25 years.
The plant goes through about 150 tonnes of banknotes every month, one engineer was quoted in the report as saying.
The leftover ashes could also be turned into bricks, the engineer said.
The central bank, which issues currency in mainland China, hopes the improved 100 yuan banknotes will foil counterfeiters. They have an additional serial number, a more advanced security strip imbedded in the paper and an unevenly printed image of the Great Hall of the People.
