Cellulosic ethanol plant launched

The first commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant in the country has opened in Iowa.
A joint venture between POET LLC, parent company of POET Biorefining Portland, and Royal DSM, the new POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels venture converts baled corn cobs, leaves, husk, and stalk into renewable fuel.
Commercial production of cellulosic ethanol has long been a goal of the alternative fuels industry, but it has been dismissed by its critics as a pipe dream. The POET venture in Emmetsburg, Iowa, intends to prove those critics wrong.
The plant has processed its first batch of biomass into cellulosic ethanol and is “moving forward toward continuous operation,” the company said in a prepared statement. At full capacity, the plant is expected to convert 770 tons of biomass per day, producing 20 million gallons of ethanol per year, later ramping up to 25 million gallons.
“Some have called cellulosic ethanol a ‘fantasy fuel,’ but today it becomes a reality,” said Jeff Broin, POET founder and executive chairman, at the opening.
“With access now to new sources for energy, Project LIBERTY can be the first step in transforming our economy, our environment, and our national security.”
POET officials said the opening of the plant is “a victory for the Renewable Fuels Standard … which prompted increased investment into advanced biofuels that accelerated development of this new technology.”
The project has received support from the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, and the State of Iowa.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said at the plant’s opening, “USDA invested to help bring this facility online because it is boosting America’s energy independence, cutting carbon pollution, and holds great promise for our domestic agriculture and energy industries.”
Feike Sijbesma, chief executive officer and chairman of the managing board of Royal DSM, called the opening “an historical day in the development of plant-residue-based cellulosic ethanol.”
“We are moving from the fossil-age to the biorenewable-age,” said Sijbesma. Royal DSM is based in The Netherlands.
Cellulosic ethanol still has its skeptics.
“The arrival of a commercial plant that creates ethanol from cellulose has long been anticipated,” The Des Moines Register said in an editorial this week. “It’s not clear that it will change the debate over ethanol, or the economics of the industry that is dependent on federal fuel standards and oil prices. But it is clearly an important step in bringing science out of the laboratory and into the marketplace.”

Primacy of place conference
Ball State’s Building Better Communities is hosting a conference focused on how quality of place contributes to economic prosperity.
Primacy of Place the Art of Developing, Attracting and Retaining Talent, the annual conference, begins Oct. 16 at the Sheraton Hotel in Downtown Indianapolis.
Stakeholders representing business, economic development, education, arts and culture, tourism, service organizations, community wellness, public utilities and government will attend.
To find out more and register, visit bsu.edu/bbc/primacyofplace/2014popconference.

Restaurant closes
Norm’s Preble Gardens, located west of Decatur, closed its doors recently.
The building’s owner, Mark Bulmahn, said reasons for the closing were health issues and septic issues in Preble.
He said the restaurant will still be available for private parties and catering.