POET produces cellulosic ethanol from corn cobs

POET, the largest dry-mill ethanol producer in the U.S., announced that they have produced cellulosic ethanol from corn cobs. The company announced the results of the successful test today along with their intentions to make cobs and corn fiber the feedstock for their commercial cellulosic ethanol production facility that will be jointly funded with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

Formerly known as Broin, the 20-year old company currently operates 20 production facilities in the United States with seven more in construction or under development. The company produces and markets more than one billion gallons (3.785 billion liters) of 'first-generation' corn starch based ethanol annually.

The cellulosic project that POET is now jointly funding with the DOE will convert an existing 50 million gallon per year (189 million liters) dry-mill ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa into a commercial cellulosic biorefinery. Once complete, the facility will produce 125 million gallons per year (473 million liters), 25 percent of which will be from cellulosic feedstock. By adding cellulosic production to an existing grain ethanol plant, POET will be able to produce 11 percent more ethanol from a bushel of corn, 27 percent more from an acre of corn, while almost completely eliminating fossil fuel consumption and decreasing water usage by 24 percent. Last week, POET announced that Jim Sturdevant, a 22-year veteran of the US Geological Survey, will serve as director of the project:
biofuels :: energy :: sustainability :: agricultural residue :: corn :: biomass :: fiber :: cellulose :: ethanol ::

Besides using corn cobs, POET has also succeeded in producing cellulosic ethanol from fiber, the husk of the kernel, which is extracted through its proprietary 'BFRAC' fractionation process.

Dr. Mark Stowers, VP of Research & Development for POET said the cob has several advantages from an ethanol production perspective. The cob has more carbohydrate content than the rest of the corn plant, giving the ability to create more ethanol from it. In addition, the cob has higher bulk density than the other parts of the corn stalk, so it is easier to transport from the field to the facility.

For a host of reasons, POET is focused on corn fiber and cobs as the first cellulosic feedstock for our production facilities. First, the fiber that comes from our fractionation process will provide 40 percent of our cellulosic feedstock from the corn kernels that we are already processing in our facility. That means that nearly half of our cellulosic feedstock comes with no additional planting, harvest, storage or transportation needs. - Jeff Broin, CEO of POET

The rest of the cellulosic feedstock will come from corn cobs, which will expand the amount of ethanol that can come from a corn crop with minimal additional effort and little to no environmental impact. There is no major market for cobs, so POET will be producing cellulosic ethanol from an agricultural waste stream. Because the cob makes up only 18 percent of the above ground stover, it will not adversely impact soil quality.