DuPont opens world’s top cellulosic ethanol plant

DuPont on Friday celebrated the opening of its cellulosic biofuel facility in Nevada, Iowa, with a ceremony including Iowa Gov. Terry Brandstad and many other dignitaries. 

This biorefinery is the world’s largest cellulosic ethanol plant, with the capacity to produce 30 million gal/year of clean fuel that offers a 90% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions as compared to gasoline.

The raw material used to produce the ethanol is corn stover -- the stalks, leaves and cobs left in a field after harvest. The facility aims to demonstrate at commercial scale that non-food feedstocks from agriculture can be the renewable raw material to power the future energy demands of society, according to DuPont officials. 

Cellulosic ethanol will further diversify the transportation fuel mix, DuPont says, just as wind and solar are expanding the renewable options for power generation.

Vital to the supply chain and the entire operation of the Nevada biorefinery are close to 500 local farmers, who will provide the annual 375,000 dry tons of stover needed to produce this cellulosic ethanol from within a 30-mile radius of the facility. In addition to providing a brand-new revenue stream for these growers, the plant will create 85 full-time jobs at the plant and more than 150 seasonal local jobs in Iowa.

As a global company with operations in more than 90 countries, DuPont says it is uniquely positioned to deploy its cellulosic technology for a global rollout, in transportation fuel and other industries.

“Today, we fulfill our promise to the global biofuels industry with the dedication of our Iowa facility,” said William F. Feehery, president of DuPont Industrial Biosciences. “And perhaps more significantly, we fulfill our promise to society to bring scientific innovation to the market that positively impacts people’s lives. Cellulosic biofuel is joining ranks with wind and solar as true alternatives to fossil fuels, reducing damaging environmental impacts and increasing our energy security.”

The majority of the fuel produced at the Nevada, Iowa, facility will be bound for California to fulfill the state’s Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), where the state has adopted a policy to reduce carbon intensity in transportation fuels. The plant also will serve as a commercial-scale demonstration of the cellulosic technology where investors from all over the world can see firsthand how to replicate this model in their home regions.

DuPont says its achievement provides the technology to transform the US fuel supply, enabling a transition to fulfill the original cellulosic ethanol volume targets as Congress intended when it passed the Renewable Fuel Standard, a regulation established in 2005. 

Earlier this month, DuPont and America’s Renewable Future released new poll findings that suggested Iowa caucus-goers from both parties -- 61% of Republicans and 76% of Democrats -- would be more likely to vote for a presidential candidate who supports the Renewable Fuel Standard and renewable fuels.