Singapore firm to start glycerine refining unit

11 January 2007 09:26  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (ICIS news)--Continental BioEnergy Singapore has planned to start up a 3,000 tonne/month glycerine refining unit by the end of February, a company source said on Thursday.

This refining facility will add value to the crude glycerine produced during biodiesel manufacture and the refined glycerine can then be sold at international market prices, the source said.

The company had earlier converted its 100,000 tonnes/year dioctyl phthalate (DOP) plant in Jurong Island to produce biodiesel. Crude glycerine is a by-product of the biodiesel manufacturing process and its output is around 10% of the biodiesel produced.

Several new biodiesel plants in southeast Asia do not have distillation facilities to purify the crude glycerine they produce. Regionally, there are not enough refining capacities and therefore, many biodiesel producers are forced to sell the glycerine at throwaway prices.

Refined glycerine prices were pegged at $580-600/tonne CFR (cost & freight) northeast Asia while crude glycerine could only fetch $150/tonne CFR northeast Asia, a few biodiesel producers said.

By: Anu Agarwal
+65 6780 4359

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