Quad County Corn Processors in northwestern Iowa beat two larger rivals to produce the first cellulosic ethanol from a commercial-size plant in Iowa, the No 1 corn-growing and ethanol-making state, says the Des Moines Register. The farmer-owned plant at Galva produced its first gallon on Monday and plans to quickly ramp up to 2 million gallons a year. The company uses fiber from the corn kernel to make cellulosic ethanol. POET, the largest U.S. ethanol company, and DuPont Danisco plan to bring commercial-scale cellulosic plants on line later this year.
Cellulosic ethanol, made from woody plants, grasses and crop debris, is one of the second-generation biofuels that do not rely on food crops to make renewable fuels, unlike corn ethanol. But advanced biofuels are years later than expected in reaching the market. As a result, the government is considering whether to relax the so-called ethanol mandate.