July - Sept. 2014
Abengoa opens world's largest cellulosic biorefinery, as US Energy Secretary Moniz says "Let's get going!" on advanced biofuels.
October 19, 2014 | Jim Lane
"Welcome to the future of biotechnology and the biofuel industry."
In Kansas, Abengoa Bioenergy officially opened the world's largest cellulosic biorefinery in Hugoton on Friday, surrounded by dignitaries such as US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback, Kansas senior Senator Pat Roberts, former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, former Energy Secretary Bill Richardson among many others.
The second generation cellulosic ethanol plant in Hugoton, Kansas, located about 90 miles southwest of Dodge City finished construction in mid-August and began producing cellulosic ethanol at the end of September with the capacity to produce up to 25 million gallons per year.
The capacity
The refinery's nameplate capacity makes it, for the time being, the world's largest cellulosic biofuels facility, topping the 21 million gallon capacity of the GranBio facility in Alagoas, Brasil. The plant is expected to hold the "world's largest" title until the DuPont first commercial plant opens in Nevada, Iowa early in the new year.
The plant utilizes corn stover residues that do not compete with food or feed grain. The state-of-the-art facility also features an electricity cogeneration component allowing it to operate as a self-sufficient renewable energy producer. By utilizing residual biomass solids from the ethanol conversion process, the plant generates 21 megawatts (MW) of electricity - enough to power itself and provide 4-5 megawatts of renewable power to the local Stevens County community.
Abengoa by the numbers
At full capacity, the Hugoton facility will process 1,000 tons per day of biomass, most of which is harvested within a 50-mile radius each year - providing $17 million per year of extra income for local farmers whose agricultural waste would otherwise have little or no value. Of that biomass, more than 80 percent is expected to consist of irrigated corn stover, with the remainder comprised of wheat straw, milo stubble and switchgrass.
On-site cogeneration will produce 21 MW of electricity per year - enough to power the plant and sell some back to the local Stevens County community.
The construction phase provided an average of 300 full time jobs. The plant itself will provide 76 full-time jobs, with an annual payroll in excess of $5 million.
Abengoa is the largest ethanol producer in Europe, and one of the largest in the U.S. The company also runs ethanol operations from sugar cane in Brazil, and has 867 million gallons of installed production capacity annually distributed among 15 plants in five countries. 405 million gallons of this capacity is located within the U.S.
Next steps
Abengoa plans to offer licenses and contracts to interested parties covering every aspect of this new industry - from process design, to engineering, procurement and construction, supply of exclusive enzymes, as well as operations and marketing of the completed products from the facility.
In addition to the plant's crucial role in proving the commercial viability of cellulosic ethanol, its success provides a platform for the company's future development of other bioproducts that reduce petroleum use, such as bioplastics, biochemicals and drop-in jet fuel.