Ubon Bio signs ethanol supply deal
Ubon Bio Ethanol yesterday signed a deal for the sale of 300,000 litres of ethanol per day to China’s Oriental Scientific Instrument Import and Export Corporation (OSIC).
A factory worth about Bt3.2 billion is currently under construction and should go into full operation by next October. The factory will be able to produce 400,000 litres per day or 132 million litres per annum, which should generate about Bt3 billion. The ethanol will be produced using cassava roots and tapioca chips.
The factory will use the technology of the Chinese Academy of Science subsidiary Guangdong Zhongke Tianyuan New Energy Science and Technology Co, which reportedly has helped build 60 ethanol factories in China.
Anusorn Saengnimnuan, president of Bangchak Petroleum, said Chinese manufacturers produced several different grades of ethanol, adding that his firm would also purchase some ethanol from Ubon Bio Ethanol for the production of its own gasohol product.
OSIC vice president Bai Fengning said the company wanted to buy more than 300,000 litres of ethanol daily if the factory is able to produce more.
Ubon Bio Ethanol has two subsidiaries, one for producing tapioca powder and the other for cultivating cassava.
Thai Oil Ethanol and Bangchak Petroleum each hold a 21.28-per-cent stake in Ubon Bio Ethanol with registered capital of Bt2.74 billion. Former politicians hold the remaining 57.44 per cent.
