DuPont to start construction of Iowa ethanol plant by mid-2012 - report

Nov 17, 2011 - DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (DDCE) looks to break ground on a cellulosic ethanol plant in Nevada, Iowa, by the middle of next year, local newspaper The Tribune reported on Wednesday citing representatives of the company.

Following the acquisition of Danisco by US group DuPont (NYSE:DD) earlier in 2011, DDCE became fully owned by DuPont and will now be called DuPont Cellulosic Ethanol.

Construction is set to last 12 to 18 months and the USD-275-million (EUR 203m) project is expected to have come on stream by late 2013, officials said at an event at the BioCentury Research Farm at Iowa State University, The Tribune reported.

The facility is to produce 27.5 million gallons (104.1m litres) of ethanol a year from locally sourced corn leaves and stalks.

The plant will use a new technology, where, with the help of enzymes, corn stover is turned into sugar that is converted into biofuel through fermentation, the newspaper said. The technology is being tested at a pilot facility in Vonore, Tennessee.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.739)

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