POET: Ethanol plants can be biorefineries

POET Vice President of Commercial Development Scott Weishaar will discuss opportunities and challenges of adding such co-products to the ethanol production process at the Next Generation Bio-Based Chemicals Summit this week at the Westin San Diego in San Diego, Calif. Weishaar will be a panelist in the session titled “Perspectives of Biorefinery Owners and Developers on the Bio-Based Chemicals Value Chain” from 8-9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10.

Co-products such as Inviz, POET’s branded zein, open many new markets for producers today. Inviz is a biodegradable, low-nutrient protein found in corn.  It can be used as a gum base or in films, packaging, adhesives, coatings and glazes.  Inviz zein is extracted using a patent-pending process developed by POET.

Distillers grains are a co-product already broadly produced by the industry. POET is committed to exploring more products to further expand the potential of corn and change ethanol plants nationwide into true biorefineries.

Cellulosic ethanol will provide new opportunities as well, as diverse feedstock lead to new products. POET’s planned cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa, will use the waste stream to create energy, enough to power the entire cellulosic ethanol plant and the majority of the adjacent grain ethanol plant as well. Bio-based chemicals and related products will likely emerge as viable co-products.

About POET

POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 22-year-old company produces more than 1.54 billion gallons of ethanol annually from 26 production facilities nationwide. POET recently started up a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs as feedstock, and will commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.

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