Sunoco’s ethanol plant to open this summer

Based in Philadelphia, petrol refiner Sunoco’s ethanol plant located in New York, US, is expected to come online in the beginning of July this year.

The plant has been undergoing repairs for almost six months in order to get it to operate at its full capacity of 100 million gallons of ethanol a year.

Sunoco purchased the ethanol plant for $8.5 million (€10 million) in June last year after it was closed when the previous owner Northeast Biofuels filed for bankruptcy. At the time of sale Sunoco said that it expected to spend in the region of $10 million to upgrade the plant.

The company has also hinted at the possibility of exploring other biofuels projects. According to Sunoco’s spokesman Thomas Golembeski the firm is conducting feasibility studies in whether or not it can turn its closed 1450,000bpd Eagle Point refinery in Westville, New Jersey, into a biofuels facility. The plant was shut for good in February of this year due to a low demand for fuel and poor profit margins on oil-based refined products.

source: biofuels-news