FCC Environmental started engineering and site preparation work on its $50 million Group II base oil rerefinery project in Baltimore that is expected to begin operations in mid-2013.
We are working with Whitney, Bailey Cox & Magnani LLC of Towson on the preliminary layout of the facility as well as conducting the topographical survey and soil borings, said Vincent Glorioso, vice president of FCC. Additionally, Environmental Resources Management of Annapolis is assisting us with the permitting process. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall following the issuance of the environmental and construction permits. The facility is expected to create up to 100 jobs during its 12-month construction phase.
Whitney, Bailey Cox and Magnani has extensive prior experience with petrochemical facilities as well as a significant background in doing industrial work within the City of Baltimore, Glorioso told Lube Report. Their close proximity to the project site happens to be an additional benefit that only assists in the facility development.
The facility will be on a brownfield site previously used as an asphalt terminal in Baltimore. The site has been in the State of Maryland Voluntary Clean-up Plan (VCP) for several years and is nearing completion of the remediation plan, he said. During the design, construction and operating phases, FCC Lubricants will need to comply with any established environmental conditions set forth in the sites remedial action plan.
Glorioso said that the company is not quite ready to disclose which rerefining technology the Baltimore plant will use.
Plans call for a plant that will process 40 million gallons of used motor oil annually. If the rerefinery is able to stick with crankcase materials as feedstock, the company anticipates roughly 75 percent will be rerefined into base oil, or about 30 million gallons or more per year.
The Baltimore facility is the first of several planned in the United States by the Houston-based waste oil collector, whose parent company is FCC of Madrid, Spain.
For more details on the Baltimore rerefinery, read the Sept. 14, 2011 Lube Report article.