PTTAR may delay BHD plant

PTT Aromatics and Refinery Plc (PTTAR) may delay its bio-hydrogenated diesel (BHD) plant as details on the ratio of biofuel in diesel remain unclear, the Bangkok Post reports. The US$200 million plant was originally expected to start construction next year and become operational in 2012. The new plant was slated to enable the company to become the first jet biofuel and biodiesel producer in Southeast Asia. “We have to wait until the government comes up with an official mandate that the ratio of methyl ester in diesel should be 10%, a rate that is large enough to absorb the oversupply of domestic methyl ester,” said Bowon Vongsinudom, the company’s newly appointed president and chief executive. BHD is a high-quality biodiesel in which the hydrogenation process transforms vegetable oil from methyl ester to hydrocarbon, making it more suitable for higher biodiesel blends. (October 27, 2010)