Gevo operates a development facility on the site of an 18-million-gallon-per-year ethanol and isobutanol production plant in Luverne, Minnesota, situated among the cornfields.
The ethanol plant was originally built to capitalize on the government regulations that encourage the use of ethanol blendstock in gasoline, and Gevo modified this plant so it could help the company develop processes to produce both ethanol and isobutanol. Gevoe uses the facility as a demonstration site in conjunction with local farmers, to educate Gevo’s stakeholders about regenerative agriculture and the versatility of corn and its co-products, as well as biofuel production, including SAF, isobutanol, and ethanol.
The Process
At a typical dry-mill corn ethanol plant, the corn mash stream coming out of the front end of the process that feeds the ethanol fermentation is the same stream used for isobutanol fermentation. This stream is prepared for ethanol and isobutanol fermentation, then added to large non-sterile fermentation tanks, where proprietary yeast is added to convert the sugars to ethanol or isobutanol.
Using Wind Power to Reduce Our Carbon Intensity
To offset the energy intensity of the renewable fuel plant in Luverne, Minnesota, wind turbine company zero6, formerly Juhl Energy, provides renewable electricity through wind power.
