MOSCOW (MRC) -- Royal DSM expects to begin producing cellulosic ethanol in the US by July as the government considers reducing the amount of renewable fuel that oil companies will be required to buy, said Hydrocarbonprocessing.
The USD250 million plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa, is a joint venture with ethanol maker Poet and will produce about 12 million gallons (45 million liters) this year, said DSM chief executive Feike Sijbesma. It will be able to make about 20 million to 25 million gallons annually and will reach full production by the end of the year.
Demand for the fuel is driven in part by US Environmental Protection Agency requirements that gasoline companies blend biofuels into their products. Those mandates increase annually while US gasoline consumption is declining.
As a result, the biofuel percentage in each gallon of fuel is rising, and is approaching the 10% level that refiners and automakers say may damage engines. The EPA in November proposed lowering the rate, a change DSM said is unnecessary.
There’s no reason a 10% ethanol blend can’t be used in US vehicles, and fuels with as much as 15% ethanol have been extensively tested, Welsh said.
The Emmetsburg plant will turn corn waste into cellulosic ethanol. That’s considered a second-generation biofuel, an evolutionary step beyond fuel produced from food crops such as ethanol from corn and sugar cane. DSM makes a broad range of chemicals, including enzymes used in food production and biofuels.
As MRC wrote before, Royal DSM (Heerlen / The Netherlands) has signed a partnership agreement with long fibre thermoplastic (LFT) specialist Plasticomp (Winona, Minnesota / USA) to develop bio-based LFT composite materials based on DSM’s "EcoPaXX" polyamide 4.10. The lightweight materials, which include compounds reinforced with glass fiber as well as carbon fiber, will be targeted at automotive and other performance-driven markets.
Royal DSM is a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and materials. DSM delivers innovative solutions that nourish, protect and improve performance in global markets such as food and dietary supplements, personal care, feed, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, automotive, paints, electrical and electronics, life protection, alternative energy and bio-based materials.
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