ABSOLUT Distillers Inc. revealed on Tuesday plans to construct a sugar mill and cogeneration plant that would entail an investment of at least half-a-billion pesos. The planned sugar mill is estimated to produce 1,800 metric tons (MT) to 2,000 MT of sugarcane juice per day. The mill will crush the sugarcane and process the juice into bioethanol. Bagasse from the sugarcane will be used as fuel for the cogeneration power plant.
“We will start construction as soon as funding is available,” said Gerardo Tee, Absolut Distillers chief operating officer. The facility would probably take two years to construct. “Next would be setting up a mill so that we can buy cane and take advantage of its bagasse to run a cogeneration biomass-boiler plant,” he said at the launch of the company’s bioethanol facility.
Ethanol is used in the gasoline blend and comes from agricultural crops such as sugar. The Biofuels Act of 2006 mandated a 10-percent ethanol blend in gasoline.
“We see a great opportunity to provide fuel-grade ethanol with the opening of this facility. It also reflects our continuous commitment to green energy as we continue to provide a sustainable environment to the community,” Tee said.