Ecologia, Medio Ambiente y Energias Renovables en la Naturaleza
Sucribete ahora al Boletín 'GRATUITO'
Lunes, 21 de Mayo de 2012
Poet L.L.C.'s next business strategy, first revealed in 2009, is picking up pace following news yesterday of a joint venture with a Dutch food and chemicals company with whom it will produce ethanol using just corn stalks and cobs.
The 50-50 venture is with the Netherlands' Royal DSM NV, with whom Poet will build new cellulosic ethanol plants. Poet-DSM will initially spend $250 million to support construction efforts.
The venture's first cellulosic ethanol plant, Project Liberty, is currently being built next to Poet's existing 50 million-gallon capacity corn ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa.
Production at Project Liberty is now scheduled to begin in the second half of 2013 and will initially convert agricultural waste into 20 million gallons of ethanol in the first year, growing to approximately 25 million gallons per year using tons of agricultural waste in Iowa.
Poet has been using corn kernels to produce ethanol.
On its own feet; World's first
With a new partner, Poet said it will no longer avail of the $105 million loan guarantee from the United States Department of Energy that was initially approved for the plant in July last year but which was not pursued.
"The loan guarantee commitment from the D.O.E. was an important milestone in our quest to commercialize cellulosic ethanol, and we are appreciative of the work they put into the due diligence process," Poet founder and chief executive Jeff Broin said.
"We believe that the joint venture with DSM positions us well to meet our ambitious cellulosic ethanol production goals, and thus the loan guarantee has become unnecessary," he added.
Project Liberty could be the world's first commercial-scale cellulosic biofuel plant. Meanwhile, as of October, not a single gallon of qualifying cellulosic ethanol was produced anywhere, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Also, not a single commercial-scale biorefinery exists for converting cellulosic biomass to fuel, according to the National Resource Council.
Up 1 billion gallons of cellulosic ethanol could be produced annually if the venture pushes forward with plans to convert all of Poet's 27 corn ethanol plants to cellulosic refineries.
The E.P.A. said that as many as 400 new biorefineries must be built by 2022 in order to produce the 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuel required under the agency's regulations.
Corn cob power
A study commissioned by the Iowa Power Fund showed that Project Liberty could generate at least $11.8 billion, and up to $37.8 billion, over 20 years.
Project Liberty will produce ethanol from processes developed by Poet after operating a cellulosic bio-ethanol pilot since 2008 and enzyme and yeast solutions from DSM that break down and ferment plant cellulose.
Biogas made by Project Liberty as a byproduct from refining ethanol can be burned to power both ethanol plants.
Feedstock which includes corn cobs, leaves, husks and other agricultural waste will be provided by farmers around the area and won't compete with feed grains, the company said.
Last year, 85 farmers in Emmetsburg harvested 56,000 tons of biomass delivered to Poet's 22-acre stack yard. Upgrades in Poet's site later this year will allow it to accommodate 300,000 tons by the time Project Liberty starts operating.
Poet-DSM will be based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where Poet is currently based.
