Pacific Ethanol spikes efficiency via Whitefox Technology
In California, Pacific Ethanol and Whitefox Technologies entered into a technology license and purchase agreement for an industrial scale membrane system that separates water from ethanol in the plant’s distillation system. Pacific Ethanol expects commercial operations using the new technology in the third quarter of 2016.
Whitefox is a specialist-engineering firm that delivers innovative membrane solutions for different solvent applications and chemical reactions. The company has over 10 years’ industrial experience, focused on providing the most energy and water-efficient separation systems worldwide. Projects range from integrating chemical reactors and recycling waste ethanol in pharmaceutical plants to producing high-quality potable and biofuel grade ethanol.
Neil Koehler, Pacific Ethanol’s president and CEO stated: “We are pleased to be a first mover with an innovative technology that integrates well into our existing system. Whitefox’s technology is designed to increase operating efficiencies, lower production costs, and reduce the carbon intensity of ethanol produced at our Madera facility.”
Whitefox’s CEO Gillian Harrison stated: “After an extensive trial period, our Whitefox ICE™ Solution was shown to remove bottlenecks and improve ethanol production efficiency at the Pacific Ethanol Madera plant. We are pleased Pacific Ethanol chose our membrane technology to provide them with a key competitive advantage in the industry and we look forward to an ongoing collaborative relationship.”
In May 2015, Pacific Ethanol and Whitefox announced the delivery of a stand-alone, container-based, membrane system to Pacific Ethanol’s Madera, CA plant. Since that time, the technology underwent a trial period where it was determined to reduce the consumption of water and energy, and reduce emissions in the production of ethanol while increasing product output.
Category: Fuels
