Interagro launches the first bioethanol refinery in South-Eastern Europe

The Interagro group, on Friday, in Zimnicea, inaugurated the first bioethanol (ecological fuel) refinery in South-Eastern Europe.

The refinery is located in the vicinity of the Danube and it cost an estimated EUR 100 million and according to company officials it was built using the company"s own funds, in just three years.

According to Interagro officials, 90% of the equipment used by the refinery was acquired from China, as "their prices are 30-40% lower than those of Western equipment makers". Over 20 companies, including several Bulgarian ones, participated in the construction of the refinery.

The refinery is situated on the former location of a coal-based power plant and can be accessed by railroad and by way of the Danube river.

The president of the Interagro group, Ioan Niculae, said that the Zimnicea refinery has already begun production and he added that once it reaches full capacity, it could cover Romania"s annual bioethanol consumption of 100,000 tons (125,000 cubic meters) by itself.

Ioan Niculae said: "Romania consumes 2.2 - 2.5 million tons of gas a year, and the law states that 4% of that volume needs to be bioethanol. Our refinery can output 275 tons/day and will be able to fully cover Romania"s annual bioethanol consumption".

The president of the Interagro group said that the refinery will begin selling bioethanol in the next two weeks, once it secures the production license.

Ioan Niculae said: "Companies such as LUKoil have already expressed their interest in buying bioethanol from us, one of our advantages being that we are accessible by railroad. The refinery can fill a 1000 ton train in four days".

The leader of the Interagro group said that bioethanol produced in Zimnicea will also be exported, first to neighboring countries, and later by sea to countries such as Greece or Turkey and Central Europe, by way of the Danube-Main-Rhine route.

The refinery will use corn produced by the Interagro group for making bioethanol.

"We currently need 3.2 kilograms of corn to make 1 liter of bioethanol, but we want to improve the production process in order to use just 3 kg of corn for 1 liter of bioethanol", Niculae said.

The leader of Interagro said that Europe is currently one of the largest importers of American bioethanol, which is made from genetically modified corn (ed. note: which has a higher yield than that of normal crops and which is currently forbidden in Europe).

"It is absurd to massively import bio-ethanol made from genetically modified corn, while at the same time forbidding it from being grown here", Niculae said.

The plant also produces 70,000 tons of processed corn flour, 70,000 of edible carbon dioxide, and 6,600 tons of edible oil. This investment created 350 jobs in one of the less favored areas of the country.