POET to share lessons in cellulosic feedstock logistics

Gathering, transporting and storing 770 tons of biomass per day is a significant challenge to making cellulosic ethanol work, and POET has learned many lessons over the years working with farmers to organize that supply chain for Project LIBERTY.

POET will share some of those lessons Monday in a panel at the Platts Next Generation Biofuels conference in Chicago. Vice President of Commercial Development Scott Weishaar will outline the challenges and strategies in gathering and transporting bales of corn cobs, leaves, husk and some stalk for cellulosic ethanol.

Project LIBERTY is POET’s planned 25 million-gallon-per-year cellulosic ethanol plant, scheduled to come online in Emmetsburg, Iowa in 2013. Area farmers last year delivered 56,000 tons of biomass to POET’s 22-acre stack yard on the site, and this year’s harvest is even bigger.

Weishaar will speak in a panel titled “Challenges of Feedstock Supply for a Growing Industry” Monday at 2 p.m. at the InterContinental Magnificent Mile hotel in Chicago.

About POET
POET, the largest ethanol producer in the world, is a leader in biorefining through its efficient, vertically integrated approach to production. The 23-year-old company produces more than 1.7 billion gallons of ethanol and 10 billion pounds of high-protein animal feed annually from 27 production facilities nationwide. POET also operates a pilot-scale cellulosic ethanol plant, which uses corn cobs, leaves, husk and some stalk as feedstock, and will commercialize the process in Emmetsburg, Iowa. For more information, visit http://www.poet.com.