Poet to Power Ethanol Plant Expansion with Alternative Energy Source
November 26, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
Poet Biorefining - Chancellor, an ethanol production facility near Chancellor, S.D., is undergoing an expansion that will increase production capacity from 50 to 100 million gallons per year.
The expansion includes construction of a solid waste fuel boiler , an alternative energy source that will generate enough steam to produce more than half of the expanded plant's power needs, said Poet.
Waste wood from pallets, construction sites and area landfills will be the primary fuel source for the solid waste fuel boiler.
Poet Biorefining - Chancellor has contracted with Mueller Pallets of Sioux Falls to provide 150-350 tons of wood per day. The company, long a recycler of used transport pallets, has increased operations to accommodate Poet woodchip needs.
Not only has Mueller begun acquiring and grinding waste wood from area landfills, but the company is also reaching out to tree services companies, contractors and other private sources to acquire and recycle waste wood at no charge to the providers.
"The solid waste fuel boiler will allow us to double our production capacity without increasing our natural gas usage," said Rick Serie, general manager of Poet Biorefining - Chancellor. "We'll be reducing our operating costs by using a green fuel source to produce a domestic, green transportation fuel for America."
Poet Alternative Energy Engineer Jim Geraets said the solid waste fuel boiler will be outfitted with state-of-the-art pollution control equipment that exceeds state and federal standards and is continuously monitored.
Poet Biorefining - Chancellor started operations in March 2003. Last year, the facility produced 51 million gallons of ethanol and 160,000 tons of Dakota Gold Enhanced Distillers Nutrition products.
Construction on the expansion is expected to be completed in Q1 2008 and the solid waste fuel boiler is expected to be complete in Q3 2008. The construction will necessitate the hiring of approximately 20 additional employees for the facility, which is already the largest employer in the town, said Poet.
Source: Poet.