World's largest cellulosic ethanol plant opens in Iowa

The world's largest cellulosic ethanol plant opened on Friday in Nevada, Iowa. The DuPont plant, which uses corncobs, husks and stalks, plans to eventually produce 30 million gallons of ethanol annually, Donnelle Eller reports for The Des Moines Register. Commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol is considered more environmentally friendly than conventional ethanol. (Biofuels Digest photo; Nevada, Iowa plant)

Jim Lane of Biofuels Digest writes, "The majority of the fuel produced at the Nevada, Iowa, facility will be bound for California to fulfill the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard where the state has adopted a policy to reduce carbon intensity in transportation fuels. The plant also will serve as a commercial-scale demonstration of the cellulosic technology where investors from all over the world can see firsthand how to replicate this model in their home regions." (Read more)