POSTAL CUSTOMER
Volume V, Issue 1
PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit #36 OMAHA, NE
January 2011
Cellulosic ethanol plant sited for Emmetsburg
The wind and snow-swept stack yard at the site of the planned POET biomass ethanol facility near Emmetsburg belies the technology and planning involved in its construction and the ongoing research being conducted there. When the plant is producing ethanol bales will be unloaded into the lanes, likely from semis. The yard can hold 22,000 tons of material. by Emma Struve Project LIBERTY at Emmetsburg in Palo Alto County will be POET's first commercial-scale, cellulosic ethanol. A pilot plant in South Dakota has been in operation for two years, stated Jim Sturdevant, director of Project LIBERTY. The ethanol plant is planned for construction in 2011 and operation in 2012. Project LIBERTY, Studevant continued, will go forward when financing is in place. A federal loan guarantee is presently in negotiation. He said, “The State of Iowa has been a wonderful partner.” Through the Iowa Powerfund Board and the Iowa Department of Economic Development, the cellulosic ethanol project has received approximately $20 million in tax credits, refunds, and grants. “In addition to the financial benefits,” Studevant said, “they have been great ambassadors for cellulosic ethanol.” Creating ethanol from biomass such as corn stover is not altogether different than creating ethanol from corn or even sugar cane. The first major step is to extract the cellulose – sugar – from the material for fermentation.
Soybean production information expanded . . . . . . . Page 12
After the cellulose is removed from the cobs, leaves and husks, the leftover lignin will go to two anaerobic digesters to produce renewable power, enough to run both the cellulosic ethanol plant and the adjacent grain-based ethanol plant.
This conceptual rendering of the POET ethanol plant at Emmetsburg shows the existing grain ethanol facility and to the south east a planned facility with the capacity to make 25 million gallons of ethanol per year from biomass, in this case corn leaves, cobs and the top part of the stalk. Also shown are the stack yards to feed the plant a constant stream of stover. Photos by Emma Struve
Iowa Learning Farms offers webinar series . . . . . . . Page 31
In the case of ethanol production from corn stover, the leftover material, called lignin, which is essentially the tough, fibrous part of the plant material, will be put through a process of anaerobic digestion that creates a biogas byproduct that can replace natural gas as a fuel source for use in the ethanol plants. POET operates pilot-scale anaerobic digesters today at the POET Research Center in Scotland, South Dakota. The idea behind creating the pilot cellulosic ethanol project in South Dakota and planning for Project LIBERTY in Emmetsburg, explained Sturdevant, “It was all about energy independence. We’re about creating a biofuel to replace gasoline…really make a dent in biofuels and kick our addiction to imported fuel.” He pointed out some of the benefits of ethanol: that it comes from a renewable, plant-based source and when burned for fuel has lower emissions than gasoline. “We are using agriculture to help solve the nation’s challenges,” Sturdevant continued. “It’s good for the economy and good for the environment.”
Continued on Page 14
The Farmer’s Wife . . . . . . . . . . .Page 5 Futures Market Commentary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 13 Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Page 27-30