Resource Group Seeks Partners for Ethanol Plants in Thailand.

Byline: Charoen Kittikanya

Dec. 10--Encouraged by the government's commitment to promote crop-based ethanol, the Masada Resource Group is seeking local partners to build waste recycling and ethanol production plants in Thailand.

Executives of the American company recently paid their first business trip to Thailand and talked with potential partners in both the private and public sectors, including the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration.

"Thailand generates a lot of waste but is developing ethanol-based production infrastructure to support the clean-burning fuel. This greatly fits the company's business," said Douglas Elliott, the group's vice-president.

"Thailand has a desperate need to dispose of wastewater biosolids properly as evidenced by the deterioration of river water quality," he said.

According to Masada, municipal solid waste production in Thailand exceeds 15 million tons a year, with about a quarter generated in Bangkok where the volume could be processed into at least 200 million gallons of ethanol annually, Mr Elliott said.

Bangkok would be the location of the company's first recycling and ethanol plant, followed probably by Chiang Mai and other big cities.