InterviewArgentina’s Unitec Bio will build new biodiesel facility

26 August 2010 19:45  [Source: ICIS news]

By Cristina Kroll

BUENOS AIRES (ICIS)--Argentine producer Unitec Bio plans to build a new biodiesel plant that will begin operations in December 2011, a company source said on Thursday.

“The plant will have nameplate capacity for 240,000 tonnes a year, and it will be in the same plot of our current facility in Santa Fe province,” said plant manager Raul Bernardi during an interview at the Puerto General San Martin complex.

“Construction will begin in December 2010,” he added.

In February, Unitec Bio was assigned a quota of 113,097 tonnes/year by Argentine authorities to sell to the local biodiesel market, beginning in 2010.

Unitec Bio had the largest quota of the 19 local producers that were authorised to participate in the Argentine market.

Then in July, Argentina increased its compulsory biodiesel mix to 7% from 5%, beginning in 2011.

As such, Unitec Bio will double its biodiesel capacity at the Puerto General San Martin complex, bringing total production to 480,000 tonnes/year.

The facility currently produces 240,000 tonnes/year of soy-based biodiesel and 240,000 tonnes/year of glycerine.

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By: Cristina Kroll
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