DDCE to buy land for cellulosic ethanol facility

In the US, DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol (DDCE), a wholly owned subsidiary of DuPont, is one step closer towards building its commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol biorefinery, after signing an agreement to acquire a plot of land in Nevada, Iowa.

The land is adjacent to Lincolnway Energy's first generation ethanol plant.

DDCE is already producing cellulosic ethanol at its pre-commercial facility in Voncore, Tennessee, and is currently scaling up the process.

The new facility will produce fuel-grade ethanol from dried cobs, stalks and leaves left after grain harvesting, however the process can make fuel from a variety of cellulosic biomass, including wheat and corn stover, and energy crops, including switchgrass.

'We're producing cellulosic ethanol sustainably and economically today, and the market is ready and interested to deploy large-scale biorefineries,' says Joe Skurla, CEO of DDCE. 'We are purchasing the site next to Lincolnway because it will meet the business needs for our project, and provides potential economic and environmental synergies for both facilities.'