May 23, 2007

Alltech to build its first biorefinery

Alltech president Pearse Lyons announced its intention to construct its first community biorefinery within a year which would turn locally produced grains into ethanol, biodiesel or alcohol fuels for nearby users.

The announcement was made during the company's 23rd International Feed Industry Symposium in Lexington, Kentucky which started May 20 and end on May 23.

Lyons said that in a world where oil is running out and the search for alternative fuels is accelerating, the "green is the new black" and the company is truly "pressing the fast-forward button". 

Lyons stressed that the current war on oil will never be won by "tanks and missiles" but by enzymes and fungi.

During the forum, Lyons used a loaf of bread and small board to illustrate how energy and useful materials can be extracted from common items by fermentation and other natural processes.

Cellulose, like that found in the board, "is the future," he said, because it releases energy as it is broken down chemically.

The event also presented its Medal of Excellence to two researchers: Jean-Pierre Jouany of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research in Paris and one of Jouany's former students, Alexandros Yiannikouris, who is now a researcher at Alltech in Nicholasville.

Jouany and Yiannikouris were cited for their extensive research on ways to eliminate mycotoxins, or naturally occurring toxins produced by fungi, from the human and animal food chains.