two commercial cellulosic ethanol plants being built this year.

[JohnWxy]

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/article/52877--new-construction-brings-hope-to-sw-kansas-town

This community, about 70 miles southwest of Garden City, is welcoming Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas, which recently received a $132.4 million loan guarantee to develop a commercial-scale ethanol plant that will convert crop residue and switchgrass into 23 million gallons of ethanol per year.

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The Hugoton plant will be used to perfect the technology to handle corn residue, crop residue, corn stover, wheat straw, grain sorghum stalks and prairie grass.

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The plant will also be good news for area farmers. Standlee says the company will pay $17 million a year to farmers in a 50-mile radius for the biomass from their fields, in order to have the 1,000 tons a day needed for ethanol production.

U.S. Backs Project to Produce Fuel From Corn Waste

WASHINGTON — The Energy Department plans to provide a $105 million loan guarantee for the expansion of an ethanol factory in Emmetsburg, Iowa, that intends to make motor fuel from corncobs, leaves and husks.

Experts say that the new factory, being built by POET, a major producer of ethanol derived from corn kernels, could be the first commercial-scale plant to make ethanol from a nonfood, or cellulosic, plant source. However, POET would first have to overcome technical hurdles in scaling up its production from the current pilot project, which processes one ton of plant matter per day, to a plant capable of processing 700 tons of biomass a day. High volume is necessary to make cellulosic ethanol competitive with the corn-based version.

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POET’s corncob plant is intended to make all the energy it needs to operate and to supply some energy to the conventional corn ethanol plant next door.

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“Our ultimate target is to be competitive with corn ethanol and gasoline,” said Jeff Lautt, president of POET. “Coming out of the gate, no one would expect it to be of equal cost.”
(more)

The challenge is to produce cellulosic ethanol at a competitive cost. This will take time but at least two companies feel ready to give it a start - going beyond the pilot plant stage and trying to achieve cost competitiveness at commercial scale operation.:thumbsup:

[RaleighNCDUer]

1. sounds good, but one question -

what is the long term effect of taking away and converting 'corn residue, crop residue' into ethanol on the topsoil, as opposed to plowing it under to increase soil quality and depth?

Or am I misunderstanding the process?

[JohnWxy]

2. They don't intend on taking all the stover off. This has been studied and they know how much needs

to remain to maintain soil fertility. I don't know off the top of my head what percentage can be take off, but farmers do and they will keep the amount they need for the long term health of the soil.

Good point.

[RC]

3. list of stations that sell ethanol-free gasoline in the U.S. and Canada!

Broken down by state.
Find a station near you.

http://pure-gas.org/

[Bill USA]

4. basically anywhere Reformulated Gasoline is not mandated (thus MTBE is not an issue)

Oil companies rushed to replace MTBE with ethanol when Congress declined to indemnify oil companies for lawsuits involving cancer caused by MTBE.

[RC]

5. ...thought to be carcinogenic.

Along with everything else.