Bioethanol plant signals great potential in Guyana’s energy sector.

By Svetlana Marshall –

Guyana’s first bioethanol demonstration plant was commissioned by President Donald Ramotar and Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy at the Albion Sugar Factory on Tuesday.
The Gy$ 85 million plant funded by the Inter-American Development Bank-Japanese Special Fund for Sustainable Energy and Climate Change and the government of Guyana was developed through a technical cooperation. It was designed to fulfil three primary objectives: demonstrate the production of fuel grade ethanol locally, provide fuel for future demonstration of use of ethanol as a vehicle source, and develop the facility for training of local personnel in bio-fuel technologies.

In delivering the feature address, President Ramotar said the plant signals the great potential that lies within the country’s energy sector. In wake of the many challenges faced by the sugar industry, the president remains a strong believer that it is the gateway to greater industries, as he alluded to alternative sources of energy.
“It has remained fundamentally the producer of raw sugar, but it has enormous potential, so we can produce many other things from the sugar industry. One of it is fuel,” he said.
Reflecting on the late 1990s when the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) had developed the concept of the Skeldon Sugar Factory, the president said the company had underscored the importance of building the industry into one that was multi- faceted, as it took into consideration a range of projects, including the production of fuel.
He said the commissioning of the bioethanol demonstration plant is the manifestation of government moving a step closer to realising its goals. “This demonstration plant has confirmed that the plans that we have are feasible plans,” he lamented.
Bioethanol, like hydro power energy, is an alternative source of cheap and reliable energy, which is critical to the development of the country’s commercial sector. The usage of alternative energy also aids in the fight against climate change and global warming, he stressed.
Energy policy
Dr Ramsammy said while Guyana has produced bioethanol before, it is the first time the country has produced almost pure bioethanol.
The bioethanol produced by the plant will be used in GuySuCo’s laboratories and industrial processes.
Cornerstone
The demonstration plant is a two-component system – the first produces hydrous ethanol (95 per cent from molasses) and the second; anhydrous ethanol (99.9 per cent) which uses membrane technology. These systems were designed by Green Bio of Porto Alegre in Brazil and the second by White Fox from Calgary, Canada. The plant will be run by GuySuCo technician Sharma Dwarka.
GuySuCo Chief Executive Officer Paul Bhim; the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute chief Dr Oudho Homenauth, the Agriculture Ministry Bio-energy Programme Coordinator Dr Clairmont Clementson, Green Bio representative Bruno Mallman and White Fox representative Dr Stephen Blum were among the other officials present during the commissioning ceremony.
Dr Blum, who had led the team for the construction of the demonstration plant, said it is a corner stone to Guyana’s development.
“For us at White Fox, we see this as a very, very important project and we believe that it actually gives you a wide variety of opportunities,” he said, noting that the plant is the first of its kind the company has created in the world.
According to the White Fox representative, the demonstration plant is easy to operate, pointing out it is possible to scale up the plant without major changes. “It gives you the capacity to produce ethanol within any range and quantity that you want.”
A seminar on expanding bio-energy opportunities in Guyana in August 2007 had sparked an interest in the production of biodiesel and bioethanol, in wake of increasing fuel prices.