[Biodiesel News] Officials consider biodiesel plant

Officials consider biodiesel plant
Marysville Advocate - Marysville,KS,USA
By Vernita Peeks. Marshall County is being considered as a possible location for a closed-loop ethanol plant that would involve waste ...

Marshall County is being considered as a possible location for a closed-loop ethanol plant that would involve waste management, beef cattle production and ethanol production.

Brian Barber, project development director for E3 BioFuels, Shawnee, met with the county commissioners and community members to learn about a plant being developed in Mead, Neb.

Present for the discussion were Daryl Benteman, Waterville, representing the Farm Bureau; Brian Studer and Mike Studer, Beattie; Merlin Frerking, Herkimer, Tony Smith, Axtell, Bob Voet, Home City, Jim Borgerding, Marysville, of Nemaha-Marshall Rural Electric; Bill Oborny, Marysville, and Gerald Gerstner, Frankfort, Marshall County Economic Development Council; Mike Vogt, Marysville, extension agent; Lynsey Wanklyn, Frankfort, economic development director; and Doug Plegge, Frankfort.

Barber said when the Mead plant goes into production, E3 BioFuels wants to move the contractor to the site of the next E3 plant.

Barber said he is looking for the site of that next plant. The Mead plant will be operational in late October or early November, he said.

Barber showed photographs of the Mead location and explained the closed-loop process shown in the accompanying diagram.

The diagram is from the E3 Internet site www.e3biofuels.com.
The three parts of the loop, Barber said, are:

• an anaerobic digester that uses bacteria to transform manure and thin stillage into biogas, water and a fertilizer/compost product;
• an onsite feedlot that uses wet distillers grain from the ethanol process along with corn, hay and silage as cattle feed and produces manure and beef;
• an ethanol plant powered 90-100 percent by biogas from the digester with natural gas up to 10 percent to produce ethanol and byproducts of thin stillage and wet distillers grain and water.

Barber said 50 percent or more of the water from the digester and the ethanol plant can be recycled into the process.

The Mead plant is a 25-million-gallon-per-year plant with a 30,000 head cattle feedlot operation, Barber said, but operation of the plant will be the true test of these numbers.

Barber said the next plant will be a 50-million-gallon ethanol plant with 60,000 head of cattle to get better benefit of the process and will have the advantage of everything learned at the Mead plant.

The larger plant will use 20 million bushels of corn a year, Barber said, and create 75-80 jobs.

This next, bigger plant will have a cost of $120-$130 million and up to 25 percent local investment would be allowed but not required, Barber said.

Investment would have to be through one investment group, not by individuals, he said.

Barber said E3 is looking at nine communities now, not just Marshall County, as a location for the next plant.

Barber listed criteria for potential sites of E3 BioFuels projects.

The list covers community support; federal, state and community incentives related to financing; site requirements and requirements for the surrounding area.

A copy of the criteria list is available from Wanklyn at the economic development office in the courthouse.

“What can we do to encourage Marshall County as the choice?” Commissioner Mick Keating said.

Barber said the biggest thing is community support.

Keating said he is very much in support of an E3 plant because it conserves fossil fuels.

When Barber was asked about corrosion of the anaerobic digester from the manure, he said the digester walls are 18 inches thick and made of separately sprayed layers of concrete. The next site would probably have multiple smaller digesters so the process can be better controlled, he said.

Wanklyn, Plegge and Commissioner Charlie Loiseau, Frankfort, toured the Mead plant recently. The plant is built around an existing feedlot constructed in 1969.
Plegge and Loiseau both said they were surprised at how little smell there was.
Barber said people from Washington County toured the Mead plant when E3 was looking into locating a plant in Washington County and commented that there was less smell than for an open feed yard.

Commissioner Dan Hargrave, Waterville, asked if farmers will be able to sell corn directly to the plant.

Barber said E3 wants to buy directly from farmers as well as from cooperatives and other sources. The plant will use both corn and milo, he said, and alfalfa will be purchased, too.

Oborny asked if there is enough corn in this area.

Barber said studies still show Kansas and Nebraska are good spots for ethanol plants.
Barber said he would have an engineer contact Nemaha-Marshall about the requirements for electricity.

Plegge said an E3 plant would be a big boost for the whole county. He suggested public meetings and a chartered bus trip to Mead for people who would like to see the plant there.

Barber said E3 would have to narrow down the list of possible sites to about three and purchase options on these sites before scheduling meetings.

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Posted by Vince to Biodiesel News at 9/14/2006 05:20:00 AM