December 26, 2007

VeraSun to implement corn oil extraction technology in South Dakota

VeraSun Energy Corporation has announced that work has begun on an oil extraction facility at its ethanol biorefinery in South Dakota, US that would extract corn oil from Dried Distillers Grains in Solubles (DDGS).

VeraSun, after an announced merger with US BioEnergy, may soon become the largest ethanol producer in the US, surpassing current top producer ADM.

VeraSun's facility will utilize an oil extraction technology announced by the company last year which would extract corn oil from distillers grains.

Production is targeted to begin in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the process is expected to yield 7-8 million gallons of corn oil annually from 390,000 tonnes of DDGS.

One gallon of corn oil yields about a gallon of biodiesel, increasing the production of renewable fuels without adding to feedstock demand.

"The production of two biofuels from one kernel of corn makes economic and environmental sense and is "a great example" of the innovation that will continue to develop as the industry matures, Pete Atkins, VeraSun vice-president, corporate development said.

VeraSun plans to implement the technology at two other refineries in Iowa by the end of 2009.

The US currently has 165 biodiesel facilities in operation and another 84 either under construction or expansion according to the National Biodiesel Board,

Capacity has skyrocketed 3,000 times in just eight years, jumping from 500,000 gallons in 1999 to an estimated 1.85 billion gallons today. Another 1.4 billion gallons is expected to come on-line by the end of 2008.