Verbio North America says it will more than double the capacity of its plant in central Iowa to produce renewable natural gas from corn stover, and it plans to begin production of corn ethanol in the final months of the year. The facility was the first to re-enter biofuel production after it lost its ability to produce cellulosic, a form of ethanol made from grasses and crop residue.
Seaboard Corp. is building a renewable diesel plant at the site of a former cellulosic plant in Hugoton, Kansas, with the facility expected to be ready for production this year. POET, the largest U.S.ethanol producer, announced that it will cease production at its Project Liberty plant in northwestern Iowa. It also stated that the facility would be used for research purposes to lower the cost of making clean-burning, second generation biofuels.
The Verbio plant, described as the first industrial-scale renewable natural gas facility using agricultural residues in the country, began injecting gas into Alliant Energy’s pipeline network in early December, said company officials. Production was at 7 million ethanol equivalent (EGE) per year. This number will rise to 19 millions EGE in the last months of the year. The plant will also begin producing corn ethanol at an estimated 60 million gallons per year. Verbio said it spent two-and-a-half years on “transformation” of the plant.
Renewable natural gas is created through anaerobic digestion of shredded corn stover in large vats for 20-60 days, says Verbio. The raw biogas is 45% carbon dioxide and 55% methyl. “Carbon dioxide and other impurities are removed through a biogas treatment process, leaving nearly pure biomethane gas which is chemically equivalent to fossil natural gas.”
Cellulosic and other advanced biofuels have taken a while to arrive on the market. The EPA estimates 4.6 billion gallons were produced in 2020, with biodiesel accounting for 2.4 billion gallons. The EPA estimated that cellulosic biofuel production was 510 million gallons. Verbio said that the majority of cellulosic fuel came from landfills and wastewater treatment facilities.
“With the right policies, there is a tremendous untapped source of agricultural residue feedstock available for renewable fuels,” said Claus Sauter, chief executive of Verbio, based in Germany.
Farmers were paid $8 for each large, square bale of corn stover sold to Verbio, said an Iowa State University release. “The company contracted about 6,000 acres this year and hopes to expand to 30,000 acres in 2022.” ISU said “Verbio typically removes about 50% of the corn stover” per acre. “In addition to natural gas — the primary product — the process yields a nutrient rich byproduct called humus, which serves as a soil amendment and organic fertilizer.”
The Verbio plant, located in Nevada 35 miles north of Des Moines would require 100,000 tons of stover each year to operate. DuPont was the original owner and intended to use corn stover for cellulosic-ethanol production.
Source: Successful Farming
