Vietnamese firm kick starts ethanol project

Vietnam’s Central Oil and Gas Biofuel Joint Stock Co. started construction of the Dung Quat ethanol plant in the central province of Quang Ngai on April 25, the Dai doan ket newspaper reported. The firm will invest VND1.5 trillion (US$79.47 million) to build the plant in the Binh Thuan commune in Binh Son district. The plant will process 50,000 tons of cassava into 100 million liters of bioethanol per annum, which will meet 25% of the national ethanol-blended gasoline demand. The plant, which is scheduled to start operations in March 2011, will also produce 1,500 tons of industrial alcohol, 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 120 types of additives for animal feed production per day. (April 27, 2010)