Thursday, July 14, 2011
From biomass harvest to the final product, sustainability has to be top of mind when designing a commercial cellulosic ethanol plant.
Project LIBERTY Director Jim Sturdevant will outline POET’s efforts in sustainability – including consideration of greenhouse gas emissions, soil health and farmer conservation plans through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program – in a presentation and panel discussion next week at the Soil and Water Conservation Society’s 2011 Annual Conference.
On Tuesday, July 19 Sturdevant will give a presentation titled “How POET is Making Sustainable Cellulosic Ethanol” at 1:30 p.m. He will then be a panelist on a discussion titled “Bioenergy Sustainability; Where Are We, and Where We Are Headed?” at 4:50 p.m. Both sessions take place at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C.
Project LIBERTY is a planned cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa that will produce 25 million-gallon-per-year from corn cobs, leaves, husks and some stalks. Last week, POET received an offer for a conditional commitment for a $105 million U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee to construct the plant. It is scheduled to open in 2013.
About POET
POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 23-year-old company produces more than 1.7 billion gallons of ethanol and 10 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually from 27 production facilities nationwide. POET also operates a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs, leaves, husk and some stalk as feedstock, and will commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.
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