Roxas Holdings schedules ethanol plant operations next year

MANILA, Philippines – Roxas Holdings Inc., the second biggest refiner of raw sugar in the country, will start running its ethanol plant by early next year, an official of the Ethanol Producers Association of the Philippines (EPAP) said.

EPAP managing director Tetchi Capellan said the new ethanol facility is an indication of the continuous commitment of ethanol manufacturers to support the government’s alternative fuel program.

Capellan said Roxas Holdings’ Roxol Bioenergy put up the ethanol project following the inauguration of the first bio-ethanol plant in San Carlos City.

The Roxol plant will produce three million liters of ethanol monthly from its plant in La Carlota City in February 2010.”

Capellan said the initial output from the plant of about 27 million liters will contribute to the 2010 ethanol inventory and likewise bring the total local production to 66 million liters, with San Carlos Bioenergy producing 30 million liters, and Leyte Agricultural Corp. contributing nine million liters.

Ethanol is derived from sugarcane cultivation and production. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that about 70 liters of ethanol can be produced from a ton of sugarcane. In terms of hectare, about 4,550 liters are produced for every hectare planted to sugarcane.

Approximately 433,700 hectares are planted to sugarcane. A more favorable investment climate for ethanol producers can drive and enable sugar millers to harness their combined capacity to produce 1.7 billion liters of ethanol.

Under the biofuels law, all gasoline sold in the country have to be blended with five percent of ethanol. This year, the mandate translates into 220 million liters of ethanol.

EPAP is pushing for an immediate review and shift of the current policy on ethanol trade.

Capellan said in light of the local ethanol production as well as the global trend to achieve energy security and mitigate climate change, the bioethanol industry in the Philippines needs stronger government support to replicate the San Carlos plant in several sites throughout the country.

More ethanol plants, Capellan said, will rise in the coming years when companies interested in investing sees a stable market.

Today, the presence of E10 (10-percent thanol blend) in gas stations already made consumers more aware of the benefits of ethanol to air quality, public health, and the environment. But a stronger push from government will predictably increase the number of off-take agreements and consequently enable ethanol production in the rural areas to scale up and expand to a level that matches market demand.

Ethanol producers are confident that the availability of feedstock from the sugar industry, as well as the existing distilleries operating in the country, allow prospective ethanol producers to supply all local requirements, Capellan said. –Donnabelle L. Gatdula (The Philippine Star)