Multiple commercial-scale cellulosic and advanced biofuel facilities are currently in various stages of development throughout the U.S. and on June 6, leaders of a few of those companies gathered for a general session panel during the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo in Minneapolis to provide project updates and explain corn ethanol’s role in ushering in the new era of biofuels production.

St. Joseph, Mo., is home to a pilot-scale facility constructed by ICM Inc. to test a process it is developing to produce ethanol from a variety of agricultural residues and energy crops. The facility processes about 10 tons per day of feedstock, which is primarily corn stover. However, Doug Rivers, ICM research and development director, said switchgrass and energy sorghum have also been targeted as desirable feedstocks. ICM’s believes it could utilize a strategy involving a combination of those energy crops along with corn stover residue which will be attractive for financers of commercial-scale plants, he said. Rivers provided a list of reasons why co-locating cellulosic ethanol facilities with corn ethanol plants offers strategic benefits, including shared infrastructure and other synergies such as steam, water and some process streams. ICM’s current cellulosic ethanol mission is to finish developing and scaling up its own technology and then to develop technology for or in partnership with commercial partners. Rivers said ICM could also conduct pilot project work for others on contract.

Steve Hartig, vice president of bio-based energy at DSM, said that since the official groundbreaking in March, construction of the Poet-DSM Advanced Biofuels LLC 20 MMgy corn cob-based ethanol facility has steadily continued at the site in Emmetsberg, Iowa. The facility, named Project Liberty, is expected to begin operating in late 2013. The cellulosic plant will be co-located with Poet’s 55 MMgy corn ethanol facility and will share some infrastructure. Biogas produced at the cellulosic plant will be used to power both facilities. Poet’s strong relationship with farmer suppliers is a major benefit to the joint venture, he said, and he commended Poet’s ongoing biomass logistics work for cellulosic feedstocks. It is expected that the same farmers who provide feedstock for Poet’s corn ethanol plant will also provide the corn residue feedstock needed at the cellulosic plant. Hartig said that while the current co-location model is effective for the first wave of next-generation facilities, he expects that sometime in the future the industry will move toward an all-in-one concept, producing multiple products from a single facility.

Construction of Abengoa Bioenergy’s first cellulosic ethanol plant is also underway in Hugoton, Kansas. Chris Standlee, executive vice president, showed images detailing progress made on the project to date, including the completion of roads and the partial installation of fermentation tanks. He said all equipment for the 23 MMgy multi-feedstock facility has been ordered and biomass is already being stored on-site. That plant is also scheduled to be complete late next year. Abengoa made the unique decision to construct its first facility as a greenfield project in Hugoton because it is focused on perfecting a multiple feedstock process and the area surrounding the site is rich in a variety of feedstocks, however Abengoa intends to co-locate future cellulosic plants with its existing corn ethanol facilities. “It’s our firm belief that having multiple feedstock plants significantly reduces financial and business risks for a new facility,” Standlee said. While there are indeed many complimentary aspects of co-locating second-generation facilities with existing plants, Standlee pointed out several differences between the two processes that will present challenges as well, including the flowability of feedstocks, varied fermentation specifics and the need to keep feed co-product streams segregated. “There are clear and obvious synergies in co-locating, but it’s not a panacea and there are things that have to be overcome,” he said.

Another option for corn ethanol to participate in the next generation of biofuels production is to switch end-products entirely and convert to butanol. Gevo Inc. is currently in the process of starting up its first commercial-scale butanol facility in Luverne, Minn., a former corn ethanol plant that will eventually produce up to 18 MMgy of isobutanol for various uses. Gevo CEO Patrick Gruber offered conference attendees a brief introduction to the markets for butanol, including transportation fuel and a host of bio-chemical applications. Gruber commended the ethanol industry for successfully building out its capacity and constantly evolving to improve efficiencies, but he made the case for producers to begin considering products other than ethanol. “All of us need to think of ourselves has having biorefineries,” he said. “The product doesn’t have to be ethanol. It can be other things too.”