Ethanol Plant to Start Producing in January
Submitted by Editor on Fri, 11/20/2009 - 4:47pm.
Chris Torres
Staff Writer
HERSHEY, Pa. — The state’s first ethanol plant will start receiving its first corn shipments by the end of the month and will start producing fuel by January.
At least that’s what Roger Schmidt, general manager of Bionol Clearfield LLC, hopes will happen as his company plans on opening the state’s first ethanol plant in Clearfield County.
The 110-million gallon facility, which sits on 35 acres, will have the capacity to receive 40 million bushels of corn a year which will be converted into fuel.
Most of the corn, 80 percent, according to Schmidt, will be brought in by rail from out of state. The remaining 20 percent will come from Pennsylvania producers.
The company has a five-year contract with Getty Petroleum and Marketing to market the fuel.
Along with the fuel, the company has contracted with Land O’ Lakes to market dried distillers grain solubles (DDGS) to farmers.
DDGS can be used as a feed supplement for livestock.
Speaking at the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s annual meeting Tuesday, Schmidt said he is confident that the plant will be at full production by the middle of January.
That’s because profit margins for crushed corn ethanol, right now, are generally favorable.
“As an industry in general, the crush margin for ethanol is favorable,” he said.
Currently, there is enough supply on the market to reach the government’s mandate of 15 billion gallons of fuel from ethanol by 2015.
It is believed that the future of ethanol production depends on cellulosic sources, such as switchgrass and biomass, as more long-term feedstocks.
Schmidt said while the plant is not equipped to take those sources, the company does plan on opening a pilot plant adjacent to the regular plant to test out the feasibility of a cellulosic operation.
The company is also looking to market excess carbon dioxide produced at the plant to be used in the beverage industry.
Chris TorresStaff Writer
HERSHEY, Pa. — The state’s first ethanol plant will start receiving its first corn shipments by the end of the month and will start producing fuel by January.
At least that’s what Roger Schmidt, general manager of Bionol Clearfield LLC, hopes will happen as his company plans on opening the state’s first ethanol plant in Clearfield County.
The 110-million gallon facility, which sits on 35 acres, will have the capacity to receive 40 million bushels of corn a year which will be converted into fuel.
Most of the corn, 80 percent, according to Schmidt, will be brought in by rail from out of state. The remaining 20 percent will come from Pennsylvania producers.
The company has a five-year contract with Getty Petroleum and Marketing to market the fuel.
Along with the fuel, the company has contracted with Land O’ Lakes to market dried distillers grain solubles (DDGS) to farmers.
DDGS can be used as a feed supplement for livestock.
Speaking at the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s annual meeting Tuesday, Schmidt said he is confident that the plant will be at full production by the middle of January.
That’s because profit margins for crushed corn ethanol, right now, are generally favorable.
“As an industry in general, the crush margin for ethanol is favorable,” he said.
Currently, there is enough supply on the market to reach the government’s mandate of 15 billion gallons of fuel from ethanol by 2015.
It is believed that the future of ethanol production depends on cellulosic sources, such as switchgrass and biomass, as more long-term feedstocks.
Schmidt said while the plant is not equipped to take those sources, the company does plan on opening a pilot plant adjacent to the regular plant to test out the feasibility of a cellulosic operation.
The company is also looking to market excess carbon dioxide produced at the plant to be used in the beverage industry.
