Beet Ethanol Demonstration Project to Begin Next Month

by Ben Keller (The Business Journal) A new source of transportation fuel may soon flow from the Central Valley if a pilot-scale biorefinery wrapping up later this year in Fresno County proves successful in converting thousands of tons of beets into ethanol.
The small demonstration project, currently under construction at Red Rock Ranch in Five Points, is the first step for a group of Westside beet growers known as the Mendota Advanced Bioenergy Beet Cooperative.
Within a year, the consortium will begin shooting for a much larger commercial biofuel production plant capable of generating 15 million gallons of ethanol a year using advanced enzymes and microbial techniques to process sugar, or energy beets.
According to Jim Tischer, project manager with the Mendota Bioenergy project, the goal is to start up the pilot plant in early December.
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By extracting the sugars and starches found in beets, Tischer said the operation will produce mostly advanced, or second-generation, 200-proof ethanol to be used as transportation fuel or sent off to area refiners. However, at least 15 percent of the output will be in cellulosic ethanol derived from the glucose-rich material that gives plant cells their rigid structure.
As well, the facility will also meet some of its own energy demand through a biomass gassifier that burns almond prunings to run an electric generator.
An anaerobic digester that breaks down food stillage and food waste with microorganisms will also feed the generator with biomethane while leaving behind nutrient-rich digestate that can be used as agricultural fertilizer for local farmers. READ MORE