Poet plans cellulosic ethanol expansion at Iowa plant

Midwest ethanol giant Poet announced plans to expand its plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa, to produce cellulosic ethanol. Poet recently received an $80 million grant from the US Department of Energy in support of cellulosic ethanol demonstration plant development. Poet will produce cellulosic ethanol at its 50 Mgy Emmetsburg plant, which will be expanded to a total production of 94 million gallons per year (Mgy) of corn ethanol and 31 Mgy of cellulosic ethanol. Currently a gallon of cellulosic ethanol costs twice as much to produce as a gallon of corn ethanol; the US DoE project is designed to find ways to reduce production cost so that the US can begin to center ethanol production on waste feedstocks.

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