Jul 20 2007
Huntsman Corporation today announced it has reached agreement with RBF Port Neches LLC ("RBF") to operate a newly-constructed biodiesel plant to be located at Huntsman's Port Neches, Texas, site.
Under the agreed arrangement, RBF will design, finance, build and own the new plant, which will have an initial capacity of 89 million gallons of biodiesel per year, with plans to expand to nearly 180 million gallons per year of production. The new plant is expected to be operational in mid-2008 after which the facility will be operated and maintained by Huntsman, while RBF will be responsible for the marketing of the output of the plant.
"RBF chose Huntsman for its industry-leading expertise in operating multiple process technologies and the Port Neches site for its superior logistics," said Don Stanutz, President of Huntsman's Performance Products division. "This alliance will enable each company to take advantage of synergies in our respective operations and to spread fixed costs across both businesses."
With Huntsman's option to purchase crude glycerin produced as a by-product at the biodiesel plant, the agreement also represents an important step in Huntsman's recently announced plan to commercialize its proprietary process for manufacturing propylene glycol from glycerin, a renewable raw material. Huntsman also continues to develop other glycerin-based technologies at its Advanced Technology Center in The Woodlands, Texas.
"The need for sustainable options is a critical challenge facing today's world and we're proud to be at the forefront of sustainable chemistry," said CEO Peter Huntsman. "With our proprietary process to make bio-based propylene glycol and our broader commitment to find new developments in the field of sustainable chemistry, we intend to be an industry leader in addressing this challenge."
Examples of Huntsman's other sustainable chemistry products include propylene carbonate-based solvents that reduce toxicity in applications from agriculture to industrial cleaning agents, carbonates that reduce volatile organic compounds in paints, wood preservatives that replace a known human carcinogen, waterborne paint primers, non-brominated flame retardants and catalysts that eliminate emissions from insulation foams.
Affiliates of MatlinPatterson will hold a significant portion of the equity interest in RBF Port Neches, LLC.