Ethanol demonstration plant being built at Albion Sugar Factory

Nov 22, 2012 News

Guyana is continuing its quest to explore alternative energy sources. This time, a London-based technology company is building a bio-ethanol demonstration plant that will use molasses at the Albion Sugar Factory, at a cost of US$500,000, Kaieteur News was told.
According to Whitefox Technologies, yesterday, together with its partner, Green, it has secured a bio-ethanol contract with the Guyana Government.

An example of a small scale ethanol dehydration technology that will be installed at the Albion Sugar Factory.

Whitefox is working together with the Brazilian company, Green, to install the units for the plant and will be delivering a turnkey unit early next year.
Bio-ethanol can be mixed with gasoline to create a blended fuel, offering the chance to significantly reduce Guyana’s reliance on oil imports.
With sugarcane, one of Guyana’s main commodities responsible for approximately 20 per cent of the annual revenue and 40 per cent of all agricultural production, Whitefox said that the move will be seen as a positive move to use this resource and the local agricultural expertise in growing sugar cane, to produce liquid fuel (in the form of bioethanol) and bioelectricity (through using the waste bagasse from the cane).
“Utilising this resource for bioenergy production will help improve Guyana’s balance of payments and enable it to become more self-reliant. “The objective is to move towards a 10 per cent blend of bioethanol to gasoline.”
The project, through the government’s Agriculture Sector Development Unit (ASDU), is being supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
“As part of the development of its Climate Change Strategy, the IDB has identified sustainable bio-fuels as a priority area. After detailed studies it was concluded that locally produced bio-fuels could have a positive impact in Guyana.
Whitefox Technologies will provide the dehydration technology for the first small scale bio-ethanol facility in Guyana.”
Gillian Harrison, Chief Executive Officer of Whitefox Technologies said: “We are very proud to be playing a role in the development of the ethanol industry in Guyana. We see the potential for countries like Guyana to use locally produced resources to produce ethanol and electricity, which we expect to have a positive impact on development and improvements in the local economy”.
Guyana is said to be well-suited for bio-energy production given its abundance of sun, water, and available land.