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Cellulosic ethanol in plans of Kentucky nutrition firm

By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A company known around the world for its research and work in animal food nutrition, will now have the opportunity to make a name in the energy industry, as well, if all goes according to plan.

Ecofin, LLC, a subsidiary of Alltech, was recently awarded a grant for up to $30 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) that will be used to create a rural community biorefinery located in Springfield, Ky.

The facility will be one of the first in the country to utilize cellulose, such as switchgrass, corn cobs and corn stover, at raw material levels of up to 30 percent, to convert into ethanol and other value-added products.

The grant was one of three (totaling up to $86 million) given by the DOE in the second phase of selections for the agency’s competitive small-scale biorefinery solicitation and part of the $1 billion federal funding that the DOE has announced since 2007 for multi-year biofuels research and development projects.

The goal of the effort is to make cellulosic ethanol cost competitive by 2012, and reduce America’s gasoline use by expanding the availability of alternative and renewable transportation fuels. Investment in the projects will take place during a four-year period.

“The rural community biorefinery is truly a missionary of new technologies,” said Dr. Pearse Lyons, president and founder of Alltech. “Cellulosic ethanol utilizes raw materials which are readily available and which alleviate the current demand for grain for ethanol production. With commodity prices reaching an all time high and with ethanol production forecast to account for 30 percent of the U.S. corn harvest by 2010 we must focus our attention on a sustainable path to alternative energies.”

Along with the DOE grant, the Ecofin project has received an incentive valued at $8 million from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA).

“The Ecofin biorefinery will help pioneer the next generation of non-food based biofuels that will power our cars and trucks and help meet President Bush’s goal to stop greenhouse gas emissions growth by 2025,” said DOE Secretary Samuel Bodman. “Sustained investments in cellulosic fuels made from novel solid-state enzyme complexes and other agricultural waste will strengthen our nation’s energy security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”

Kentucky Agriculture Commis-sioner Richie Farmer, a supporter of the growing biofuel industry in Kentucky and the 25x’25 program, which calls for the United States to get 25 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2025, congratulated Alltech on the announcement. Farmer said this could be only the beginning of such facilities in the state.

“This grant will enable Alltech to take the lead among the next generation of biofuel producers,” Farmer explained. “The plant will create a new market for Kentucky corn, but it also will be capable of utilizing other products such as corn cobs, switchgrass and corn stover to produce ethanol. This project could lead to a chain of similar plants throughout Kentucky, which would generate jobs and economic development to many small Kentucky communities.”

A release from Alltech, stated the facility will also have the capability to produce algae, a plant that needs little besides sunlight and carbon dioxide.

According to National Geographic, algae can theoretically produce 5,000 gallons of biofuel per acre per year, whereas corn can produce 400 gallons per acre. Additionally, algae can absorb up to 450 tons of carbon dioxide per acre when grown commercially.

In addition to producing products such as cellulosic ethanol, the new facility will coordinate research-and-development activities with the University of Kentucky and the University of Cincinnati.

What is cellulosic ethanol?

According to information provided by the DOE, cellulosic ethanol is an alternative fuel made from a wide variety of plant materials or non-food based feedstocks, including agricultural wastes such as corn stover, forest waste including sawdust and paper pulp, and energy crops, like switchgrass. By refining a variety of regional feedstocks, cellulosic biofuels can be sustainably produced in nearly every region of the country.

The agency is working with these biorefinery companies, and other research partners, to develop methods for reducing water and fertilizer needs associated with production of these fuels.

According to scientists at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, “compared with conventional gasoline, ethanol produced from cellulosic materials requires as much as 90 percent less fossil energy to produce and has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 86 percent over the lifecycle.”

Construction on the Alltech plant will begin in June and could be completed in 15-16 months according to Lyons. Once operational, the plant will be capable of producing more than 1 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol a year. The $70 million biorefinery also will house dairy and beef cattle that will carry the Kentucky Proud label.

5/7/2008