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Cellulosic Ethanol Production Starting With Corn Waste
By Mr Ethanol | November 1, 2007
Brownfield:
Opponents of corn-based ethanol have blamed the increased corn demand created by the ethanol industry for a host of ills ranging from higher food prices to environmental degradation. While many of those criticisms appear to be, at best, exaggerated, even corn farmers concede there are limits to corn-based ethanol production. That’s why ethanol proponents have pointed to ethanol production from biomass, cellulosic ethanol, as the long-term key to actually producing enough of the renewable fuel to make a serious dent in America’s dependence on foreign oil.
But what source of biomass will power the shift toward cellulosic ethanol? Ironically, the answer is likely to be waste from corn, at least in the Midwest. That’s an obvious conclusion after attending a demonstration Tuesday of equipment that harvests corn cobs as biomass for cellulosic ethanol production.
Sioux Falls-based Poet, the nation’s largest ethanol producer, organized Tuesday’s event. CEO Jeff Broin explained why Poet has made the decision to use corn cobs as the feedstock for their cellulosic ethanol plant that’s being added on to an existing facility in Emmetsberg, Iowa.
“I always say that if President Kennedy had been focused on getting to the moon, to Mars and to Venus all at the same time, he’d have never gotten to the moon, so we are highly focused on corn cobs,” said Broin. “And we are interested in other feedstocks, but we are going to continue to work on cob until we learn enough about that process that we can apply it to other raw materials.”
Darrin Ihnen, who farms near Hurley, South Dakota, hosted Tuesday’s demonstration, which featured equipment from John Deere, Case, Kinze, and other regional manufacturers. Ihnen, who’s also a director of the National Corn Growers Association, told Brownfield he’s thrilled that corn farming can also be the foundation for growth in cellulosic ethanol production.
“What I’m telling my friends is that corn is in the lead on the cellulosic side, too,” Ihnen enthused. “So it’s really exciting that we are able to do this.”
Topics: Agriculture, Ecology, Ethanol, Positives |
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