Two Singapore-based companies, Agritrade Resources Ltd. and Solfuels Holdings Pte Ltd., have jointly acquired the former Delta American Fuel LLC biodiesel plant in Helena, Arkansas. Agritrade Resources stated it paid $2.97 million for its 51-percent share of the plant, which is scaled at 137,000 metric tons (40 MMgy). 

The former Delta American Fuel plant was built to process virgin soybean oil into biodiesel and, according to Agritrade Resources’ press release dated Dec. 14, the joint venture plans to leverage the operational expertise of Solfuels to retrofit the biodiesel production site to accommodate multiple feedstocks, including yellow grease, rendered animal fats, inedible corn oil and refined vegetable oil.

“We have barge, rail and truck access alongside the Mississippi River,” said Henri Bardon, CEO of Solfuels. 

Last spring, Biodiesel Magazine confirmed with a source in Helena, Arkansas, that the Delta American Fuel biodiesel facility had been idled for an extended period of time.

Bardon told Biodiesel Magazine that the joint venture has hired Frazier, Barnes & Associates in Memphis, Tennessee, to perform plant engineering services, adding that the new process to be used on-site will utilize Solfuels’ multifeedstock technology. Solfuels is a biodiesel trader operating out of Singapore that has been trading and contract-manufacturing biodiesel for export to Europe and the U.S. for several years.

Solutions 4 Manufacturing brokered the deal, according to Bardon. 

Agritrade Resources stated it expects the plant to be operational by April. The plant will operate as Solfuels USA LLC. 

“We believe that an acquisition of a plant in the U.S., together with a strong partner like Agritrade Resources, is the perfect combination and timing as the RVO mandates recently confirmed by the U.S. EPA through 2018 are now creating a much larger market for biomass-based biodiesel,” Bardon said. “We are convinced that local biodiesel production capacity in the U.S. remains largely underinvested, and the location of this plant 60 miles south of Memphis, with its multimodal logistical capabilities, makes it an ideal location from which to distribute biodiesel.”