No bar for alcohol orders

French contractor Technip has won six contracts for construction of ethanol and biodiesel units, all to use biomass as a starting material. The contracts are worth a total of 35 million Euros.

In France, the company is to build a biofuel plant, producing 160,000tpa of vegetable oil methyl esters, for Diester Industry at Sète, scheduled for start-up in late 2005. It has also landed the contract for a turnkey project to build a 350,000litre/day drinks-grade, industrial-grade and fuel-grade ethanol distillery for Ryssen Distilleries near Dunkirk.

In the Netherlands, it will supply the distillation-rectification and fermentation sections for a 120,000litre/day drinks-grade and industrial-grade ethanol unit, using a starch production by-product as a starting material, for Nedalco at Sas Van Gent. This plant will begin production in July 2005, and Technip will also supervise the start-up process.

Further afield, Technip has signed a contract to supply the distillation-rectification section of a distillery to be built near St Petersburg, Russia, to produce 40,000litre/day of high-grade ethanol. Delivery of the equipment is scheduled for the end of this year.

And in Pakistan, the company will provide basic design, construction assistance and start-up of a grassroots distillery for United Ethanol Industries. The unit, which will have a capacity of 120,000litre/day, will start up in early 2005.