Simon Storage opens ethanol blending facility for Mabanaft

Simon Storage has installed an ethanol blending system for Mabanaft at the new biofuels blending facility at Simon’s Immingham West Terminal.

Simon says its facility has been built as a response to the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) programme which means more suppliers will be distributing fuels that are made up of a percentage of renewables.

Simon and Mabanaft have built an in-line blending process which will inject ethanol into the petrol product stream at the loading gantries at the required blend ratio.

In order to make sure the blend is accurate, an in-built metering system will measure the substance at the point of delivery onto the road tanker.

If a road tanker wants biofuels at the gantry, the driver sends a signal to the automated micro-blender on the loading arm to make the petrol-bio-ethanol blending process occur at the ratio that has already been preset. Up to 25% ethanol blend can be delivered.

Mabanaft’s road tanker loading and ethanol blending operation is being managed and monitored by Simon’s Terminal Automation and Stock Control System (TASCS). After loading, TASCS calculates the HMRC duty liability per component, provides updated stock calculations, and allows clients to access the report in real-time via Simon’s web-based access system.