A company that plans to capture carbon dioxide from an Orleans County ethanol plant and sell it expects to have its own plant up and running by August.

Louisiana-based EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products started construction about three weeks ago on a $6.3 million facility in the town of Shelby, according to the Orleans County Economic Development Agency. The EPCO facility will be adjacent to the Western New York Energy LLC ethanol plant that began operations in late 2007.

The EPCO plant â€" essentially a large compressor to liquefy the carbon dioxide and a set of storage tanks â€" will bring with it 20 jobs, according to Empire State Development. The state agency is putting up $75,000 in public funding in the form of a capital grant toward the project.

Most of the jobs created will involve transporting the carbon dioxide, plus some people to run the plant, said county Economic Development Chief Executive James Whipple.

According to Empire State Development, most of EPCO's plants are located near a source of carbon dioxide emissions, such as ethanol plants.

The carbon dioxide is for use by food processors, soda and beer bottlers, and dry-ice manufacturers, EPCO said in a statement. The company did not return a call seeking comment Friday.

A carbon dioxide recovery plant was part of the Western New York Energy business plan since the early inception of the ethanol plant, Whipple said.