Innovation is a hallmark of the ethanol industry, and a new research hub in South Dakota is now providing researchers, startups and ag-based product manufacturers alike with a high-tech space to develop breakthrough technologies in biorefining. In Brookings, South Dakota, the POET Bioproducts Center recently opened its doors for public-private R&amp;D focused on new methods of biorefining, new or improved biobased products, and emerging career opportunities in the space.Daniel Scholl, vice president of research and economic development at South Dakota State University, says the center will give students an opportunity to gain valuable hands-on experience in a research setting thoughtfully designed for both creation and, as POET CEO Jeff Broin suggests, an opportunity to find natural solutions to combat climate change. “If we are serious about climate change, we need to return to the surface of the earth, and this facility is a major step forward in going back to our roots and getting not just food, but also biofuels and bioproducts from the earth, where they’re in sync with nature,” Broin says.&nbsp;Located in the Research Park at SDSU, the POET Bioproducts Center celebrated its grand opening in early October 2023. The 44,000-square-foot facility will feature benchtop labs, a high-bay fermentation space and bioprocessing labs. Nonprofit organization Dakota BioWorx will oversee operations at the facility and provide R&amp;D expertise. The $35 million facility was funded from a variety of sources: $23 million was appropriated for the facility by South Dakota’s state legislature; $5 million was donated by POET; the South Dakota Soybean Research and Promotion Council donated $2.5 million; the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council donated $2 million; and the Economic Development Agency of the Department of Commerce contributed $1.9 million. A number of other sources contributed various amounts, including SDSU and South Dakota Mines. Scholl explains that South Dakota is a great location for bioprocessing research due to the many biobased feedstocks in the state—ranging from soybeans to corn to woody biomass—and the high number of bioprocessing facilities there. Broin adds that the POET Bioproducts Center is a continuation of the innovation in bioproducts that started at SDSU back in the late 70s with the construction of one of the first fermentation stills for alcohol fuel, which was used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the process in Washington D.C.Describing how the center will be run, Craig Arnold, CEO of Dakota BioWorx, explains that the facility is a way for South Dakota “to provide a key piece of infrastructure needed for building out the bioeconomy.”“Dakota BioWorx brings together the experts in the space that will work with startups and inventors, as well as the universities and professors, in developing new bioproducts,” he says. “Our theme really is ‘think globally and act locally,’ [and] our location and resources enable us to make significant advances and contributions to the growth of the bioeconomy in South Dakota, [contributing to a global industry] forecasted to be $7 trillion by 2030.”Envisioning Innovation&nbsp; As of late November 2023, the construction of the POET Bioproducts Center was 95 percent complete, planned to be open for business in the first quarter of 2024 and fully operational by mid-2024. Four additional lab spaces were under construction, and of the four completed labs, two were already leased out, according to Arnold. The relationships between the various entities that will lease lab space and Dakota BioWorx will be mostly long-term—“measured in years, not in months,” he explains. POET has lab space in the facility and intends to do research with students there. “We’re excited about that as well, so we’ll actually have a [few] team members from Sioux Falls working with students there,” Broin says.&nbsp;The POET Bioproducts Center has three pre-pilot labs for inventors that utilize the facility, working with 7.5-liter bioreactors and gradually moving on to 40-liter bioreactors. After they have reached this stage, they will then move to a different lab with more testing capacity, scaling up from 75 liters to 250 liters. Once they finish testing at that stage, they will move on to the high-bay bioreactor with a 3,000-liter fermenter, pilot-scale downstream processing equipment and spray dryer. At press time, the largest fermenter and a pilot-scale spray dryer were installed and ready for commissioning. The facility has capacity for researchers to study anaerobic fermentation, and Dakota BioWorx plans to develop a capability for research in that novel channel of biorefining.&nbsp;Scholl envisions the facility being used by startup companies, established companies looking to expand into biobased products, bioproduct producers, companies spinning off from university-developed technology, and more. “It will be for any university faculty to use, as well as any private sector organization to use,” he says. “There [are spaces here] that enable a company to come in and, with all confidentiality, fine-tune the process and then test scale-up in the specialized high-bay laboratory.”Security and confidentiality will be a priority, and Arnold explains that there will be both physical and network security to ensure there is no leakage of an inventor’s intellectual property. “We actually may help them create IP, but we are not taking license in any of their developments; we’re trying to help them succeed,” Arnold says.Solving Problems&nbsp; The center was built to address a “gap” in South Dakota’s economic development: a place for innovators—both public and private—to test newly invented bioprocesses in order to scale them up to commercial size. “The problem is capacity,” Scholl explains, “It solves a research and development capacity bottleneck, and it will help to solve a workforce development bottleneck.”&nbsp;R&amp;D space for bioprocessing at pilot scale is hard to find in the U.S., Arnold explains. And the POET Bioproducts Center goes a long way towards putting the state on the map as a location for young scientists and entrepreneurs to research and develop sustainable products. “We work with them very closely to make that transition off of the bench top and into the marketplace by helping them with fermentation and downstream processing,” Arnold says.&nbsp;To demonstrate the need for pilot-scale facilities, Scholl gives the example of someone inventing a new process of using fermentation to make a specialty feed out of dried distillers grains. At the lab scale, this process may only produce around half a gallon but needs to be scaled up to commercial scale—maybe around 20,000 gallons—and making that leap is risky without more research done in between two quarts in a lab and 20,000 gallons in an ethanol plant. “What we don’t have in South Dakota are facilities to do all the research and development necessary to go from laboratory scale to production scale,” Scholl says. “The POET Bioproducts Center provides part of the solution to that problem, part of the solution to that bottleneck.”&nbsp;The center also provides an opportunity for students from SDSU, South Dakota Mines, and other universities to work there and learn about commercial fermentation, as well as the process of scaling up bioprocesses, setting them up as fundamentally prepared employees for South Dakota’s bioproduct workforce, Scholl explains. At least six interns will be able to work at the facility, and Dakota BioWorx will look for students from area universities and across the Midwest. “This is a fairly new space, so we expect to have a tremendous amount of turnover with our interns, we want to get them confident in the unit operations, fermentation, downstream processing, spray drying, lab analytics—all of those things—and learn how to scale up technologies. Because, again, we believe that is very important for their career aspirations and opportunities,” Arnold says. “We think there’s tremendous market demand for those skill sets and that they can easily find jobs and stay in the Midwest if they want.”Broin adds that as the ethanol industry grows, the demand for more talented team members within the workforce is intensifying. “The facility should help get young people excited about the future of biofuels and bioproducts and bring more talent into the workforce of POET and the industry,” he says.Growing the Bioeconomy&nbsp; Arnold says the breadth and potential of the bioeconomy make the R&amp;D center immediately relevant and useful. Plant-based products have become more mainstream throughout the market, and many industries are looking for ways to move away from petroleum-based products. “We have [development] projects here that [range from harvesting and collecting] feedstocks to processing feedstocks and using them to create new products or higher-value products,” he explains. This type of innovation isn’t only happening in the Midwest, and Arnold says he fully expects out-of-state partners, including coastal and international startups and researchers, to utilize the center’s resources.&nbsp;The center has a partner facility, CNAM-Bio, at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City that specializes in exploring biopolymers and other biomaterials research, including biodegradable plastics. Although the POET Bioproducts Center will not have a “complete cadre” of Dakota BioWorx staff to solve every bioprocessing problem, the team will apply its expertise to myriad biorefining issues and collaborate with university faculty to problem solve. “We will have a team, an in-house team, that will work with these inventors on their projects, but we will call upon the university faculty, professors, post-docs and [others] to come in and help solve difficult problems in fermentation, downstream processing, microbiology, all of the challenges that you can face,” says Arnold.&nbsp;The diversity of the research makes it difficult for Dakota BioWorx to hire someone to answer every question and solve every problem, Arnold explains; however, collaboration will help fill in the gaps. “Unlike a traditional biorefinery, [we could be] making an alternative protein today and, perhaps, a biopolymer tomorrow, so we have to be very, very versatile,” he says.As the bioeconomy grows, some ethanol producers are looking for opportunities to diversify their coproducts, and an entity like the POET Bioproducts Center will play a vital role in equipping young innovators with the skills they need to develop the technologies that will bring new bioproducts and bioprocessing technologies to the market.“This is an effort to set up South Dakota agriculture industries for the next generation of producing value-added bioproducts from their commodities, Scholl says, emphasizing the center’s potential ability to accelerate the commercialization of more second-generation ethanol plant derivatives.“We are proud to invest in the next generation of leaders and innovators who will pave the way to the ag-based bioeconomy of the future,” Broin adds. “We have only begun to scratch the surface of what modern agriculture can do, and this venture will play a vital role, not only in diversifying the bioproducts we can produce, but also in empowering the bright young minds of today to continue our industry’s legacy of homegrown ingenuity well into the future.”Author: Katie Schroeder&nbsp;&nbsp; Contact: katie.schroeder@bbiinternational.com

2024-01-03 - Bioproducts Building (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

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The POET Bioproducts Center at South Dakota State University has opened its doors to support innovation in bioprocessing, expand the bioeconomy, and prepare a new generation of bioproduct manufacturing professionals. 

Bioproducts Building

Solugen wants to reimagine the chemistries of everyday life. The Houston-based biomanufacturing company also says it can decarbonize the physical world. Since 2016, when friends Gaurab Chakrabarti and Sean Hunt officially formed their company, investors, would-be partners, and well-known international companies like ADM and Sasol have been listening.&nbsp;They’ve raised multiple investment rounds and currently hold a valuation somewhere in the $2 billion range. Even for high achievers like Chakrabarti, a scientist/chemist from a family of chemists (who admittedly was never really sure he wanted to be one), and Hunt, a chemical engineer from MIT who studied renewable energy and green chemical manufacturing, their early feats have been noteworthy. Forbes believes they are. Along with Fast Company, which named Solugen among the world’s most innovative companies in 2023, and Ernst &amp; Young, which named both Hunt and Chakrabarti to its 2023 U.S. Entrepreneurs of the Year list.&nbsp;The Houston duo has built a team of 230-plus scientists and engineers. The company has incorporated artificial intelligence into its novel processes to help speed things up. For example, Solugen brought in a former Netflix executive who played a role in creating (with the help of AI), the ubiquitous streaming platform's recommendation system. &nbsp;They’ve repurposed an idle polyethylene wax production facility in Houston into a proving-grounds for a biomanufacturing concept they call the Bioforge. In October 2023, Solugen announced the formation of a strategic partnership with ADM to build a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility (a Bioforge) adjacent to ADM’s corn wet mill facility near Marshall, Minnesota.“There are only three things we care about with our process,” Chakrabarti says, conveying Solugen's top priorities in the form of questions. “Is it a high-yield process? Is it an efficient process? And, is it a capex-efficient process?” So far, work at the pilot facility in Houston has shown all of those things to be true for Solugen’s process of combining enzymatic production with metal catalysts and modern separation techniques. In Marshall, Chakrabarti says, the company now has an opportunity to continue its mission of reimagining the chemistries of everyday life. If everything goes as planned, Chakrabarti and his team believe it could be a transformative moment in biomanufacturing.AI, Enzymes, Metal Catalysts and the Bioforge&nbsp; At the heart of Solugen’s work is a chemi-enzymatic process developed by Ghakrabarti and Hunt when they were still in college. After collaborating on a competition through MIT (they finished second) the duo kept developing their idea. Using AI-engineered enzymes with metal catalysts, their process can bypass the limitations of traditional fermentation, allowing Solugen to produce molecules at room temperature using biobased feedstocks with no toxins and no waste. The Bioforge setup routinely achieves final product yields (i.e., amount of feedstock directly converted to biobased chemicals) over 90 percent.&nbsp;The base setup requires water, compressed air and nitrogen, along with electrical power. In Houston, the team uses wind power. To create its biobased products, Solugen combines corn syrup with deionized water and compressed air. Feedstock is pumped into an enzyme reactor where specialized, engineered enzymes go to work. Membranes in the reactor keep the enzymes in place and allow for the continuous harvest of molecules. At that stage of the process, an intermediate product is created—which is only accessible by the enzymatic cascades, not via traditional fermentation or thermal chemicals. The intermediate product is then processed in separate tanks and combined with compressed air to interact with engineered metal catalysts. This process converts the intermediate to the final product, usually at the aforementioned 90 percent or higher yield. Then, the final product is evaporated into a liquid concentrate for shipping and stored in an inert nitrogen atmosphere to keep it fresh and free of contaminants. If a customer wants a solid final product, Solugen will feed the liquid concentrate into a crystallizer and store the crystallized product in either super sacks or 50-pound bags.According to Chakrabarti, different types of reactions have their own advantages and limitations. Fermentation is great at making complex macromolecules, but often struggles with small molecules. Enzymatic production can perform complex chemistries in a single step but is typically slow. And metal catalysis can do simple chemistry quickly, but suffers with more complex operations.The system Solugen has created, the Bioforge, combines the best parts of each process to turn feedstock directly into the intended product with little to no carbon emissions and hazardous waste.&nbsp;In 2023, the U.S. EPA awarded Solugen with a Greener Synthetic Pathways award. The award was largely tied to the company’s development of the Bioforge, noting its cell-free chemo-enzymatic manufacturing process made up of three primary operations including that enzymatic reactor, metal reactor and evaporator. “This first-of-its-kind platform combines the process safety and complex synthesis capabilities of fermentative routes with the high productivity, selectivity and pH tolerance of gold catalysts,” EPA said.In addition to Solugen’s ability to decouple enzyme production from enzyme reactions, or the use of a gold nanoparticle catalyst that provides more than 90 percent carbon yield and selectivity, the EPA was impressed with the company’s use of mechanical vapor recompression powered by wind. “This process is now being used to produce a variety of different chemicals; compared to current technologies, this production method has greater yield from the glucose feedstock, releases less C02, and eliminates wastewater.The high efficiency of the Bioforge could almost redefine biomanufacturing economics. It’s high efficiency requires less capital investment, equipment size and operational footprint compared to traditional plants, according to the company.“This means we can build a Bioforge faster and cheaper than any fermentation or petrochemical manufacturing plant can be built,” Chakrabarti says. “We’re talking months, not decades.”In Marshall, Solugen will bring its Bioforge concept to life in a big way. The plan is to build a facility next to ADM’s corn complex using standard off-the-shelf petrochemical refining equipment with its IP-protected catalysts. A will milling coproduct, dextrose, will be the feedstock. Dextrose is readily available worldwide and is clean, sustainable and proven.&nbsp;With ADM, Solugen will be going beyond a commercial supply agreement of its organic acids, collaborating on potential commercialization opportunities for the biobased chemicals it ultimately produces.“Partnering with us offers [ADM] an innovative avenue in which they can diversify the products made from their corn stream and participate in fast-growing segments,” Chakrabarti says.The work in Marshall will also free up space and bandwidth to develop more products back in Houston, which is home to the company's main R&amp;D hub. Solugen has a wide variety of organic acids for use in a range of markets. For the energy sector, it produces a cement set-time decelerator, an iron control agent and a biocide potentiator. In water treatment, Solugen products include scale and corrosion inhibitors and biocides. For agriculture, it makes complexing agents for plant nutrition and water conditioner adjuvants. In the home care sector, it offers detergent builders (Sasol chemicals recently formed a partnership with Solugen on that one). And in the personal care space, products include exfoliators, humectants and pH adjusters.Chakrabarti says, over the next decade, Solugen will expand its product pipeline to molecules that include plastics, amines, glycols and several other commonly used chemistries that underpin a significant portion of modern life.The Marshall facility will be connected to the ADM facility via pipeline. Solugen also has access to rail at the location. In addition to the Houston facility and soon-to-be Marshall biorefinery, Solugen also operates a 10,000-square-foot warehouse space in West Texas that primarily services clients in the oil and gas space.In Minnesota, design and construction of various components has already begun. In addition to new equipment, Chakrabarti says the company will look to reuse equipment, similar to how it repurposed equipment at the idle polyethylene wax facility in Houston. On-site construction will begin in early 2024 and the facility will be fully operational by 2025.The Future for Solugen&nbsp; The Marshall Bioforge is expected to be the first of many, Chakrabarti says. “The modular nature of the Bioforge will allow us to deploy a network of plants rapidly and cost-effectively worldwide,” he says. “This approach decentralizes manufacturing, minimizes the transport of materials and promotes safety.”The team is already making big plans for the future. Over the next decade, the company will launch a new array of molecules. Bioforge Marshall will open in 2025. From there, the long-term plan is to deploy an extensive network of commercial-scale Bioforge platforms producing “new molecules” that are the “key building blocks of the bioeconomy,” they say. Where will additional Bioforges be located? Chakrabarti hints at the type of suitable locations by saying the Marshall site is ideal because of ADM's presence, the population density of the area, and the plant's proximity to market—it’s just 150 miles from Minneapolis, 90 miles from Sioux Falls and an hour from U.S. Interstate 29—as well as the potential for offtake agreements in the region.Despite its biobased nature, Solugen isn’t trying to define itself as a biobased products manufacturer. Its real value proposition is carbon reduction—the efficient decarbonization of everyday chemicals and products at scale. That's what Chakrabarti and Hunt want Solugen to be known for. &nbsp;The Bioforge is simply a means of doing things better. “Our angle has never been to lead with being a biobased story,” Chakrabarti says. “We are demonstrating a better product with a similar price.” Author: Luke Geiver&nbsp;&nbsp; Contact: writer@bbiinternational.com

2024-01-03 - Rise of the Bioforge (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

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Building a 500,000-square-foot plant next to an ADM wet mill in southeastern Minnesota, Solugen is poised to make a big impact on the biomanufacturing sector.  

Rise of the Bioforge

Blue Flint Ethanol produces more than 70 million gallons of ethanol per year, distillers grains for livestock feed, corn oil for renewable diesel production and, as of November 2023, the North Dakota plant injects its fermentation C02 into an underground permanent geologic storage formation. The plant’s capture of C02 has actually been year’s in the making. Since 2007, through a decade and a half of operations prior to the formation of &nbsp;its current parent company, &nbsp;Harvestone Low Carbon Partners, its management team researched, explored and invested time and resources in several carbon dioxide utilization options. An adjacent commercial greenhouse fed by C02 from the plant didn’t pan out. The possibility of an enhanced oil recovery project using C02 to aid in oil recovery with a large oil and gas company (Blue Flint is located on the fringe of a major North American shale oil and gas play) was never realized. Neither was the above-ground irrigation project or the idea of using C02 from the plant for an energized hydraulic fracturing process within the shale oil play to the west of the plant.“We worked on a lot of different projects to put that C02 to a beneficial purpose,” says Adam Dunlop, chief development officer for Harvestone. “We could never make the math work on a project.”Then, in 2018, the stipulations for the 45Q tax credit changed. Carbon producers no longer had to produce 500,000 tons of C02 per year to qualify for the federal incentive designed to provide monetary credit for carbon dioxide that is permanently stored or utilized. Instead, producers in the 100,000-ton-per-year range could be eligible. Knowing Blue Flint could qualify for the 45Q, Dunlop and his small team began the process of researching, exploring and investing in a carbon capture and storage project—right there at, or near, the ethanol plant in Underwood, N.D.For five years, the team worked through project challenges without access to any kind of blueprint from past ethanol plants that had taken the same route. They worked with state regulators that had never permitted any such project before. They had to navigate the temporary shutdown of an adjacent power plant responsible for their power in the middle of their carbon capture quest. Their initial assumptions about the placement of the actual injection well were off, by miles not feet. Dunlop, credited with leading the effort by Blue Flint, puts it this way: if there was a wall out there to run into, they found it.&nbsp;Now, as their multi-year effort to find and enact a way to utilize and benefit from carbon capture shows, the blueprint for capturing and injecting C02 produced via ethanol production, for some, is in hand. What’s taking place at the Underwood facility may be somewhat unique to its location and geology, but there are several takeaways from the project that Dunlop and others believe can, and will, translate across the ethanol industry.Deeply Studied Project&nbsp;&nbsp; Jeff Zueger, CEO of Harvestone, has been in the ethanol industry since 2006. Along with Dunlop, Zueger played an integral role in bringing the project to life. Today, it is one of less than 15 active carbon capture and sequestration projects of its kind in the world. When the team began determining the possibility of the project, Zeuger had to essentially dive into geology. Because the plant is located far enough east of the Williston Basin, there wasn't an abundance of existing wells that could offer geologic insight. To determine the geologic possibilities of a well suitable for permanent C02 “storage,” Zueger and Dunlop set a seismic shoot. They shot a 9-square-mile grid every 60 feet using seismic sensors. They also ran—at a considerable cost—a stratigraphic test well to help determine underground geology. “Even in the early days,” Zeuger says, “there were dollars at risk.”Dunlop says they were ultimately looking to know if the reservoir below the plant had suitable zones for storage. From the seismic shoots to the test well, the process was essentially “a multimillion-dollar science experiment,” Dunlop says. With several geologic experts on their side, including those from the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center and other well-respected state geologists and regulators, the experiment became almost an affirmation process, Dunlop adds. Highly qualified people believed it was viable early on.Other signs seemed to point forward, too. During the process the market was signaling the need to produce low-carbon fuels. And the board was in support of the plant pursuing CCS. “We felt like there was enough of an economic incentive,” Zueger says.The state of North Dakota was very supportive in Blue Flint’s efforts. Any information gained from the well testing near Underwood would benefit the state, the adjacent power plant and other interested C02 parties long-term, according to Zueger. The main issue with the state of North Dakota, however, was that it had never permitted such a project. The whole process was new to everyone involved. Zueger remains appreciative of the state’s engagement on the project—the work, the long-hours helping to ensure the permitting process was clear, and helping Blue Flint develop the clarity it needed to achieve its goal.After performing the seismic testing and drilling the test well, the team found out that capture would work best miles away from the plant site. At that point, Dunlop had to work with landowners to gain easements and then navigate the process of designing, constructing and managing a CO2 flowline infrastructure buildout where the actual injection well would be. Along with that, the company had to build a test well on the identified site that would later be used as the actual injection well.“What I learned is that every day is going to be a challenge. But we had to approach those challenges with an open mind,” he says. “Communication and collaboration with project partners and the community was really important.”Along with UND’s EERC, Zueger and Dunlop worked with several other big-name contractors known in the ethanol and &nbsp;carbon capture sectors. To help design, select and build the capture, compression and transport infrastructure, Blue Flint chose Salof Corp., which manufactures modular C02, LPG and LNG liquefaction plants, along with low-temperature process refrigeration systems. Zueger says Salof’s history on 40-plus projects similar to the liquefaction efforts needed at the ethanol plant helped Harvestone decide on teaming with the Texas-based firm.Fagen Inc. was brought on to help with the buildout. The project required adding blowers and compressors to take the C02 off the scrubbers and route it to a compressor system capable of taking it to pipeline-grade, liquefied critical CO2.They also had to double the electrical usage requirements at the plant to handle the new CO2 capture and injection needs. That required the installation of a combined heat and power system, largely because the adjacent power plant that had been supplying power to Blue Flint temporarily halted operations amid a transition of ownership. Along with the utility infrastructure, the new C02 infrastructure required the demolition of an existing maintenance shop. According to Dunlop, space at the Blue Flint site was at a premium. “A lot of work went into putting it all into a confined space,” he says.Verifying the geologic properties underground was the biggest challenge, Dunlop says, noting the process stretched out over four years. Zueger says acquiring medium voltage electricity equipment was a challenge. The flowline ended up stretching roughly three miles and, in addition to the final injection well, Blue Flint drilled an additional monitoring well roughly 900 feet below the surface.During the carbon capture and sequestration efforts, Zueger also helped guide the organization through an ownership transition; Blue Flint Ethanol and Dakota Spirit AgEnergy in Spiritwood, North Dakota, previously owned by Midwest AgEnergy Group, were acquired by Harvestone Low Carbon Partners, which was formed to “participate in the decarbonization of the U.S. industrial landscape.” Along with Blue Flint and Dakota Spirit AgEnergy, Harvestone also owns Iroquois Bio-Energy Co., an ethanol plant in Indiana. The potential of carbon capture at each site, it turns out, is tied to the formation of the new parent company.&nbsp;“We saw the potential for carbon capture at all three ethanol facilities,” Zueger says, explaining that the creation of Harvestone helped create the necessary capital to pursue the endeavors. Zueger and Dunlop are already busy researching, exploring and investing in carbon capture projects at the Dakota Spirit and Iroquois ethanol locations. At Iroquois, a drilling crew is now onsite performing work on a stratigraphic test well. At the Dakota Spirit site, seismic testing and shoots are already underway. “It is a really important part of our long-term strategy,” he says of adding carbon capture capabilities at multiple ethanol facilities.Lessons Captured&nbsp;&nbsp; The addition of carbon capture capabilities has changed the operations at Blue Flint. Extra operating staff has been added, along with the addition of a couple new people on the maintenance support team. What was first a novel and unfamiliar addition, has been effectively folded into the regular operation of the plant, Zueger says.Zueger and Dunlop both understand that providing a detailed blueprint to the industry might not be effective given the geologic differences inherent in every plant’s location, but they do think there are high-level takeaways. With projects like these, you have to follow what the science is telling you and be able to adjust, Zueger says. Initially, the plan was never to build an injection well miles from the plant, but that is what the seismic testing told them to do.It's also important to engage the right partners. They chose experience above all else, Dunlop says. They also relied on an established process for making go-forward decisions. “When you get to a decision point, you want to be familiar with the variables of risk and reward. You want to be familiar with your sensitivity analysis and from there, you will get the right answers,” Zueger adds.It's also not just about your internal capabilities. In the case of a new-to-the-team project, it's important to realize early on that outside counsel and help will be beneficial, if not crucial.Heading into its first full year of capture at Blue Flint—and with Harvestone studying CCS at its other plants—Zueger is modest about the accomplishment, but also proud. He believes his work is a long way from done. He envisions Harvestone being a leader in the carbon capture and sequestration space. And he also thinks the U.S. ethanol industry itself will be a global leader in CCS.Since completing the carbon project at Blue Flint, Zueger believes the view of ethanol producers has changed. “For a long time in the industry, it felt like we were always pushing uphill and fighting for a spot for our fuel at a rack. Now it feels like we are finally getting recognition,” he says, adding, “even though we’ve been doing this for a long time.” He pauses and adds, “It feels really good to be in ethanol production right now.”For Dunlop, a key takeaway of Blue Flint’s successful implementation of CCS is that transformative change can be accomplished by relatively small companies, and on development paths that are anything but linear.“I think it is important for ethanol producers to remember how resilient and innovative we can be,” he says. “This represents a true win for the little guys and for ethanol in general,” he adds. “We took an enormous project with no blueprint and managed it, took it from concept to design to commissioning, and now into operation.”The Blue Flint Carbon and Capture site is currently capturing 100 percent of the CO2 produced during ethanol fermentation. Approximately 600 metric tons of CO2 is now being injected into a natural underground geologic storage formation every day.“It is a big win for ethanol,” Dunlop says.Author: Luke Geiver&nbsp;&nbsp; Contact: writer@bbiinternational.com

2024-01-03 - Drilling Into The Future (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

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Harvestone Low Carbon Partners’ Blue Flint Ethanol plant in North Dakota has brought its carbon capture and storage operation online—and with it, it’s vision for what’s to come.

Drilling Into The Future

While warmer-than-average temperatures have persisted across the Upper Plains this winter, ethanol plants are nonetheless prepared and stocked for the usual. The bitter cold and blowing snow of January, February and March can challenge ethanol producers—mostly due to things they can’t control, like higher natural gas prices and logistics delays caused by winter storms. But the cold and snow isn’t all bad. Excellent production rates are common in the cold if producers are able to combat key challenges and avoid unplanned downtime. Ethanol Producer Magazine spoke with Kent Glasser, plant manager at Red Trail Energy in Richardton, North Dakota, about mitigation strategies for cold-weather ethanol production. The 65 MMgy plant has weathered many winters since its startup in January 2007.&nbsp; Cold weather is not all bad for ethanol production, Glasser explains. Relatively cold temperatures can benefit the production process by allowing a plant’s cooling tower to work more efficiently in decreasing fermentation temperatures. However, winter months bring many drawbacks as well, such as higher Btu’s per gallon and increased natural gas prices.&nbsp; Steve Walker, plant manager with Glacial Lakes Energy in Huron, South Dakota, also sees benefits to ethanol production in winter. “In a lot of aspects, the cold weather’s a benefit just because of better heat exchange, cooler temperatures, better fermentation, that sort of thing,” Walker says. “If we don't have any power outages, a plant actually runs really, really well.” However, he explains, winter can strain both logistics and energy. Logistical issues come from trucks or trains being unable to get to or from a plant during a heavy snowstorm; and extended periods of extreme cold or snow can slow rail turn time. In some cases, natural gas curtailment, requiring ethanol plants to slow production, can also occur.Winter Challenges&nbsp; Ryan Carter, chief operating officer at Tharaldson Ethanol, a 170 MMgy plant in Casselton, North Dakota, is keenly aware of how cold weather can benefit ethanol production, but he is equally familiar with the negative impacts of the cold and snow on plant machinery. One of the issues he has observed is the cooling tower icing up and collapsing because ice hasn’t been knocked off the fill. “It’s important to make sure that ... ice isn’t building up on the cooling tower, to make sure you’ve got adequate airflow through that tower,” Carter says.&nbsp; Moisture from condensation can cause a lot of problems in the winter. Drastically changing temperatures can be common in late fall or early winter in northern states like North Dakota and Minnesota where temperatures can range from 12 degrees Fahrenheit overnight to 43 degrees Fahrenheit at midday. These shifting temperatures can cause problems for the flow of DDGS, which can get plugged due to condensation. Glasser gives the example of taking the front end of the plant down for service and allowing the mill to run empty. The mill can create its own heat and build up internal condensation. Then, when flour, or mash, is reintroduced, it will combine with the condensation and gum up the machinery. &nbsp;“Some of the trickiest times that [we run] into, for various reasons, are when it’s transitioning from above freezing to below freezing, you can get condensation generated in a lot of those situations, that can cause issues in bag houses or different areas like that,” Glasser says.&nbsp; Logistics can also be a challenge when trains or trucks are delayed due to snow. Brett Hoffman, plant manager of Glacial Lakes Energy in Aberdeen, South Dakota, describes some past challenges with product delivery due to unit trains being delayed. “If that causes us some difficulty, we [might] have to pause the plant, because we only have a limited amount of storage in our tank farm,” Hoffman says. “And that’s happened a few times before. We just slow the plant down and try stretch out our production as long as possible, so we don’t shut the plant down, because shutting down in the winter—that’s an issue.” Avoiding shutdown is vital in the winter because pipes, valves—anything with water—will begin to freeze, and after a few days, starting up again is a big challenge. Mitigation Strategies Good maintenance is the best way to prepare for winter, Glasser explains. As a general rule, the better the condition of the plant going into winter, the better operations will run. “You certainly don’t want any major equipment failures that have to bring down the plant,” he says. “In the middle of really cold weather conditions it’s difficult to do the repairs, obviously ... downtime is production loss. Overall, if the plant’s mechanically a little bit behind, it’s not going to be a positive thing for sure. In any situation, but especially in extreme cold weather.” If a shutdown is unavoidable, producers should try take advantage of it. Carter and Walker agree that a fall shutdown is a vital opportunity to check, repair and maintain the plant. “There's a lot of things that we just kind of double and triple check to make sure we are prepared for winter,” Carter says. So-called “heat trace” is made up of two wires that run under the insulation against a pipe, one wire senses temperature and another heats the pipe to prevent freezing. Glasser explains that Red Trail’s heat trace is “self-regulating,” and turns on automatically when the pipe gets cold enough to freeze. Frequent and regular checking of the heat trace and air dryers is vital; the Red Trail team checks both weekly to ensure they are operating correctly.&nbsp; One of the most important maintenance checks going into the winter months is assessing the compressed air system on the air dryers and making sure they are not overloaded, according to Glasser. “Because if you have moisture passing through the compressed air system ... whether it’s a valve or whatever instrument—it’s going to freeze up and it’s going to fail. That’s a really big one,” he says. &nbsp;“So, making sure that the [moisture-absorbing desiccant] in the air dryers is changed out often enough, making sure that they’re just regenning and switching correctly.” Moisture separators, a plant’s second line of defense, also need to be online, not bypassed, and working well.&nbsp; Vigilant preventative maintenance is important during winter. Carter explains that staying on top of preventative maintenance, doing thorough ground checks, being aware of how the machinery looks and sounds, as well as communicating with other members of the plant, is vital to preventing a “detrimental shut down.” Another way Carter and his team prepare is by stocking up on the chemicals they need to operate the plant going into winter. If a snowstorm comes and prevents a delivery of vital chemicals from getting through, the facility will not be impacted since extra inventory is on hand.&nbsp; Snow removal may seem like a no-brainer to anyone who grew up in the North, but swift and well-thought-out snow removal is important to keep equipment, trucks and staff moving around the plant unhindered. Shane Klosterman, maintenance manager for GLE Aberdeen, recommends “delegation and responsibility,” making sure that someone at the plant is assigned to remove snow and owns the responsibility. Paul Bergeron, production manager at GLE Aberdeen, explains that they designate areas with varying levels of importance—primary, secondary and tertiary—to make sure the most important areas are cleared first. Bergeron also explains that finding a good place to put the snow is extremely important, ensuring that grills are not covered with ice and snow buildup and preventing drainage.Energy and Electricity Although cold temperatures can be a boon to plant efficiency in some respects, electricity and natural gas can be a problem in the event of extreme weather such as an ice storm, blizzard or polar vortex.&nbsp; When windchills reach negative 30 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the cold starts to become a problem, Walker explains. Natural gas providers use extreme cold warnings as a guideline for when they may need to curtail (or restrict) the flow of energy. “Then, you're going to start getting into some of those alerts, saying, ‘We may have to reduce rates or natural gas [delivery/usage] due to the weather,’” he says.&nbsp; Prepping for worst-case winter scenarios starts in early fall, Glasser explains. He recommends creating a plan for electrical failures, identifying outdoor equipment that needs to be winterized, checking insulation and heat trace on pipes, and ensuring building heaters are in operating order. “Say there’s a winter ice storm and a bunch of power lines are down [and] the plant isn’t self-powered, and reliant on grid power. You need to have a good cold-weather drain plan to drain out sections of the pipe and make sure lines don’t freeze,” Glasser says. “Maybe think about adding a small auxiliary backup generator, just to power heat trace, and maybe a cooling power pump to circulate the cooling tower [water], so that [it] stays moving and can’t freeze.” Each year, Walker and his team review their freeze protection plan to handle extended power and gas outage. Their plan includes putting diesel-powered torpedo heaters where they are needed, including in the water treatment and fire pump rooms, and in the energy center. Potable water lines, drain lines, boilers and outside distillation condensers are drained of water to keep pipes from freezing up. Stillage, syrup and steam condensate lines are also drained. “There’s a science to it, but there's an art to it also. You're not going to catch everything, but you can minimize it,” Walker says. “Especially when your power comes back on, you've got steam back, so ... you can use steam lines to unfreeze a few of those small things, but we want to make sure that we don't have those big catastrophe things.” Checking power line routes for significant ice buildup in wet conditions is one strategy Carter and his team take to help prevent power outages. “We’ve called and talked to our power company just to give them a heads up on something we might be seeing out there for them to keep an eye on,” he says. “It [can help] prevent a power outage, whether it’s an [already-downed] line, or lines [just starting to] build up with ice and, if it’s windy, [potentially] slapping together, creating issues. Power companies have gone out and knocked the ice off the lines, which has saved us issues.” Proactive steps, whether checking power lines or prepping before the storm even arrives, will save producers time and stress when dealing with severe weather.Staff Safety Taking steps to ensure staff safety is “the most important thing,” Carter says. Clearing snow and ice from walkways and driveways helps prevent employee injuries from slipping and falling. “I’ve seen it too many times where people slip on the ice, or they’re getting out of a piece of equipment and slip [and risk injury],” Carter says. “Safety is the biggest thing.” Another element of employee safety that Carter and Walker discuss is ensuring employees are able to get to the plant safely in a winter storm.&nbsp; Carter explains that Tharaldson Ethanol has set up a program with a local hotel to send its employees there in the case of a blizzard, to make sure the shifts at the facility are covered and, most importantly, that employees are able to make it to the plant safely.&nbsp; Walker says it’s common for plant personnel to commute considerable distances to and from work, some living many miles away in neighboring towns and rural homes, not uncommonly family farms. “So, for them to get home and then get back to work the next day is a real struggle sometimes,” he says. When a snowstorm happens near Glacial Lakes Energy’s more remote plant in Mina, South Dakota, which is ten miles outside of town, cots are put in at the plant for workers to sleep on, and extra food is brought in so workers can rest safely until the next shift personnel are able to reach the plant. However, Walker explains that since the Huron GLE plant is closer to town, they are able to give employees lodging at a hotel instead. &nbsp; Although the winter months can bring challenges for ethanol plant staff, logistics and energy usage, practical planning and creative solutions can help producers avoid the negative impacts of cold temperatures, while capitalizing on cold-weather production advantages. &nbsp;Author: Katie Schroeder &nbsp; Contact: katie.schroeder@bbiinternational.com&nbsp;

2024-01-03 - Cold and Snow Ready (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

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Northern ethanol producers tackle the most extreme stretches of winter with disciplined preparedness, proactive communication and responsive site maintenance.   

Cold and Snow Ready

In Nigeria, the transition to a new, more economically progressive administration, and the recent decision to remove its domestic fuel subsidy and devalue the naira, have combined to improve the prospects of lifting the current suspension on Nigeria’s E10 mandate. In response, U.S. Grains Council staff and member representatives visited Lagos and Abuja in November to engage with policymakers and major market players.Nigeria implemented a short-lived E10 policy in 2007, so the main objective of the Council’s recent mission to the country was to enable its reinstitution. In addition to industry engagements and enhancing market awareness, the mission built on the success of the USGC’s Global Ethanol Summit, held in Washington, D.C., in October, which was well attended by relevant Nigerian stakeholders.As the largest importer of gasoline in Africa, and a net exporter of crude oil, Nigeria stands to substantially benefit in economic, environmental and commercial aspects by moving to an E10 blend. A successful E10 fuel policy in Nigeria would also encourage neighboring countries to implement a similar approach.During the mission, the team visited the Dangote oil refinery—the largest single-train (i.e., one crude distillation unit) refinery in the world—which has significant capacity to blend ethanol into gasoline, and we will continue to engage with key stakeholders such as the NMDPRA, NNPC Ltd., MOMAN, the Ministry of Finance, the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade and Investment.The Council will also provide further support and information that might be required by the Nigerian government and the private sector to move the process forward. Based on current market dynamics, a transition to E10 will deliver immediate cost savings for traders and distributors, and consequently, the Nigerian consumer.This mission allowed the Council to continue promoting ethanol’s octane economics and its environmental benefits in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, while supporting policy development in Nigeria.A successful introduction of an E10 policy will require an integrated approach across government, and the Council is committed to working with the government of Nigeria to accelerate socioeconomic development and the growth of Nigeria’s energy sector, while supporting the attainment of environmental goals.The Council believes Nigeria has the necessary infrastructure foundation required to develop a successful ethanol market and a strong domestic value chain that can be unlocked by advancing the effective implementation of an E10 policy for Nigeria’s gasoline.The Council has begun working with SON to review E5 and E10 standards through a roundtable discussion on technical aspects, providing guidance on standards as used in other markets globally, and summarizing the key dependencies and issues to consider during SON’s fuel standard review process.The critical next steps are identifying and proactively engaging with potential partners able to import ethanol to conduct and administer a Nigerian ethanol pilot program.Through recent engagement, there is strong optimism for this ethanol opportunity within Nigeria, and there will be robust engagement during the coming months to ensure both successful policy and product implementation begin.Author: Mackenzie Boubin&nbsp; Director of Global Ethanol&nbsp;&nbsp; Export Development&nbsp;&nbsp; U.S. Grains Council

2024-01-03 - USGC Mission Touts Nigeria’s Immediate Ethanol Opportunity (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

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U.S. Grains Council staff and member representatives visited Lagos and Abuja in November to engage with policymakers and major market players.

USGC Mission Touts Nigeria’s Immediate Ethanol Opportunity

When the 2024 National Ethanol Conference kicks off in San Diego on February 19, we won’t be in the Golden State just for the balmy weather and sunshine. As we come back to California for the first time since 2017, we will be visiting the state that is the largest ethanol-using powerhouse in the country.Consider this: In 2022, more than 103 million gallons of E85 was purchased in California for use in flex-fuel vehicles. Importantly, the E85 sales figure for 2022 represents a 66 percent increase from the previous year, when just 62.5 million gallons were sold. The higher blend is now available at more than 340 locations across the state, where more than 1.2 million FFVs are registered and on the road today. Overall, California drivers purchased over 1.4 billion gallons of ethanol, where the state enjoys an ethanol blend rate of 10.7 percent—well over the so-called “blend wall.”California’s low carbon fuel standard has been a driving force in the increased use of ethanol, helping pave the way for the corn-based renewable fuel to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the state by 36 million metric tons between 2011 and the second quarter of 2023.And yet, there’s one glaring omission in California’s toolbox, and that’s E15. The Golden State is woefully—and inexplicably—behind the rest of the nation when it comes to allowing the use of E15 in its marketplace, a product that has been scientifically proven to reduce both harmful tailpipe pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions from its liquid-fueled light-duty vehicles.While the California Air Resources Board has taken some initial steps toward approving the use of E15, the process has been impaired by numerous delays, uncertain timelines, and a general lack of emphasis or prioritization from its leadership. It is important to note that all the required testing and analysis needed to approve the use of E15 has been completed and submitted to CARB, but the agency has yet to give final approval to this emissions-reducing fuel in the state.Imagine if all E10 fuel sold in California in 2022 had been E15. Had this scenario been reality, the state would have seen a 450-million-gallon reduction in petroleum consumption and additional GHG savings of 2.2 million metric tons, based on CARB’s own data. Simply put, by failing to approve E15 for use in California, CARB is consciously choosing to leave a significant air quality tool (and the resulting climate benefits) on the sideline.CARB’s intransigence on E15 is having an unintended impact elsewhere, such as in efforts to replicate California climate policies—specifically its low carbon fuel standard—in other jurisdictions beyond the West Coast. More and more states that have considered following California’s example on clean fuels policy are ultimately choosing a different approach due in large part to CARB’s befuddling prohibition on E15.At the National Ethanol Conference, we want to take a moment to highlight ethanol’s importance to our host state in a big, public way. On the day our meeting begins, we’re going to celebrate California’s ethanol connection with a special pump promotion, courtesy of our friends at Pearson Fuels, one of the top E85 retailers in the state. Powered by this partnership, we’re going to offer free E85 to veterans and active-duty military, and the fuel will be available to others for $1.85 per gallon—as a way to show our appreciation to those who serve this country and to exhibit the incredible benefits offered by flex fuels. We hope to see you there.Author: Geoff Cooper&nbsp; President and CEO&nbsp; Renewable Fuels Association

2024-01-03 - California, the Ethanol State? (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

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The 2024 National Ethanol Conference kicks off in San Diego on Feb 19, marking the first time since 2017 the event will be held in California, the country’s largest ethanol-using powerhouse

California, the Ethanol State?

Living in eastern North Dakota, I’ve always assumed there are certain preparations ethanol producers take in the fall to be ready for winter’s worst weather. I’ve also surmised that cold weather can benefit an ethanol plant, so long as the facility is seasonally prepped, well maintained and able to dodge unplanned downtime due to factors they can’t control, like power outages.Both assumptions are correct, but I had no idea just how much winter weather can impact production until I read this month’s cover story, “Cold and Snow Ready,” on page 14. The producers we talked to confirmed that, indeed, cold temperatures can benefit the production process by allowing a plant’s cooling tower to work more efficiently, promoting better heat exchange and more efficient fermentation. But the list of cold-weather production benefits is short compared to the potential operational drawbacks of winter: increased natural gas prices during cold snaps; logistics delays during snowstorms; energy outages or curtailments; the possibility of frozen pipes and myriad other issues that can slow or stop production.&nbsp;Fortunately, northern producers know how to prepare for winter, and they get through its most difficult stretches with disciplined preparedness, proactive communication and sound preventive maintenance. It’s not just the big things that matter, but the countless little things around the plant: identifying pipes and outdoor equipment that need to be winterized; having a plan of action for electrical failures; stocking up on necessary chemicals; being methodical about snow removal; keeping an eye on area power lines for ice buildup and communicating with utilities; and, of course, keeping plant personnel and visitors safe. Somehow, they get it all done.&nbsp;Speaking of northern ethanol producers getting it all done, we report this month on Harvestone Low Carbon Partners' successful startup of its carbon capture and storage (CCS) system at Blue Flint Ethanol LLC in Underwood, North Dakota. As told in our page-26 story, “Drilling Into the Future,” Harvestone (formerly Midwest AgEnergy Group) explored just about every available CO2 utilization option available to it over the past 16 years before landing on stand-alone CCS a few years ago. The project took years to study, plan and execute, but is now complete. Today, Blue Flint is sequestering, and Harvestone is actively looking at options for CCS at its two other ethanol plants. It is truly a model success story in carbon capture. &nbsp;Next, we pivot to the limitless world of biorefining in “Rise of the Bioforge,” on page 34. This is the story of Texas-based Solugen, which is co-locating a 500,000-square-foot biobased product manufacturing plant next to ADM’s corn wet mill in Marshall, Minnesota. The plan is to produce and jointly develop a variety of exceptional biobased chemicals from dextrose, a rather ordinary and abundant wet mill coproduct.&nbsp;Finally, be sure to read “Bioproducts Building,” on page 40, a timely story on the recent opening of the POET Bioproducts Center at South Dakota State University, which opened its doors in late 2023 to support innovation in bioprocessing, expand the bioeconomy, and prepare a new generation of bioproduct manufacturing professionals. It’s a beautiful, well-equipped R&amp;D hub that serves an important need in the emergent Upper Midwest bioproducts space.Enjoy the read.Author: Tom Bryan&nbsp; President and Editor&nbsp; BBI International

2024-01-03 - Changing, Innovating and Refusing to Chill  (Ethanol Producer Magazine)

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The February issue of Ethanol Producer Magazine addresses the impact of cold weather on ethanol plants, the startup of a CCS project at Blue Fint Ethanol, Solugen’s biobased products plant, and the POET Bioproducts Center. 

Changing, Innovating and Refusing to Chill 

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February 2024

February 2024

Columns

USGC Mission Touts Nigeria’s Immediate Ethanol Opportunity

California, the Ethanol State?

Changing, Innovating and Refusing to Chill

Featured

Bioproducts Building

Rise of the Bioforge

Drilling Into The Future

Cold and Snow Ready

February 2024.css-7jxktu{position:absolute;bottom:0px;left:0px;right:0px;height:3px;border-radius:3px;background-color:var(--chakra-colors-brandBlack);}

Columns

USGC Mission Touts Nigeria’s Immediate Ethanol Opportunity

California, the Ethanol State?

Changing, Innovating and Refusing to Chill

Featured

Bioproducts Building

Rise of the Bioforge

Drilling Into The Future

Cold and Snow Ready

February 2024