Whitefox installs fifth ICE membrane system at Ace Ethanol plant

Whitefox Technologies has successfully installed and commenced operations of the fifth Whitefox ICE™ system at Ace Ethanol’s Wisconsin plant.

The company’s membrane system is part of a project that will integrate with D3MAX’s technology to convert corn kernel fibre to ethanol, enabling reduced energy consumption.

“After seeing the benefits of the Whitefox ICE™ membrane system at Fox River Valley Ethanol in Oshkosh, we were eager to replicate the energy reduction solution at Ace,” said Neal Kemmet, president and general manager of Ace Ethanol and Fox River Valley Ethanol.

“Whitefox has demonstrated its ability to help our two plants reduce energy consumption and reduce loadings on our columns and mole sieves. We are also running a more stable production at the plant, which is an additional benefit we didn't anticipate but is greatly appreciated by our folks in the control room. We are experiencing a positive impact on our energy consumption plus a reduction in our carbon emissions and cooling."

"Working with Neal Kemmet and his team at both Ace Ethanol and Fox River Valley Ethanol has been really rewarding for us at Whitefox,” added Gillian Harrison, CEO of Whitefox. “We are excited to be part of a project bringing D3MAX's technology to the industry.

“Energy and water efficiency are central to Whitefox's purpose and we were pleased to see USDA's recent report that projects that by 2022, with further improvement, US corn-based biofuels could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 70% compared to gasoline. Ace is showing leadership by investing in new technologies to further improve the sustainability of US biofuels and we are proud to be part of such projects."

Wisconsin is the ninth largest ethanol production state in the US, according to Whitefox, with the capacity to produce 500 million gallons of ethanol per year.