The first commercial harvest of biomass for Project Liberty, POET’s cellulosic ethanol initiative, will take place this fall in northwest Iowa.
The biomass will consist of corn cobs and light stover being collected by 85 farmers in the area around Emmetsburg, Iowa. POET will use the biomass to produce cellulosic ethanol at its Emmetsburg plant, starting in early 2012.
Project Liberty director Jim Sturdevant says after experimenting with several different cob-collection methods, the farmers have settled on corn cob bales rather than loose cobs as the primary feedstock.
“The combine just dumps a windrow behind it as it harvests the grain, and later a tractor pulling a baler will come along and collect that windrow,” says Sturdevant. “That seems to be an approach that the majority of the farmers have chosen for this fall.”
POET has been working with Iowa State University to determine if there are any issues related to soil nutrient and erosion control when harvesting biomass. Sturdevant says the research data shows that collecting biomass bales will not negatively impact good land.
“Farmers can be very confident in removing 25 percent of the above-ground stover from their fields without harming, or without impacting, the soil,” he says.
Sturdevant says farmers will be removing about one ton of biomass per acre this fall. They will receive 40 dollars per bone dry ton for their corn cobs.
Construction of a new biomass storage facility is now underway at the Emmetsburg site. It will house 23-thousand tons of biomass bales. POET expects to receive 56-thousand tons of baled corn cobs and light stover this fall.
AUDIO: Jim Sturdevant (10 min MP3)
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