Thailand's PTT in biofuel plant joint venture

PTT and Mitr Phol Group are teaming up to build a plant designed to produce Gasohol E85, a type of biofuel.

On 3 April, the company signed a joint venture agreement with Thailand's largest sugar manufacturer to construct a plant in the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum, Thailand.

Ethanol collected as a by-product of the sugar produced at the Mitr Phol plant in the region will be used to make the E85, which consists of 85% ethanol and 15% petrol.

The plant, which has a planned daily production capacity of 500,000 litres, is expected to reach completion by the end of 2014 and cost approximately 30 million baht (€670,000).

Production and distribution of ethanol-mixed biofuels are relatively low outside of Bangkok and its surrounding areas.

PTT will distribute the fuel at petrol stations in the northern and northeastern regions of the country.

The new E85 plant will assist the government in moving towards its production target of 9 million litres of ethanol-mixed biofuel per day, by 2021.