Upon the closing the transaction, the company will begin work on the mechanical retrofitting of the plant, which is expected to start the production of isobutanol by the first quarter of 2012. The facility is expected to continue producing ethanol during most of the retrofit process.
Gevo has developed a proprietary process designed to fit into ethanol facilities for the production of isobutanol from various renewable feedstocks including corn, wheat, sorghum, barley, sugar cane and cellulosic feedstocks when biomass conversion becomes commercially available.
Gevo’s integrated fermentation technology platform comprising of two components: a yeast biocatalyst and a separations technology unit, will be used to produce isobutanol, a naturally occurring, four-carbon alcohol, which can be used as a gasoline blendstock and as a building block in the production of hydrocarbons found in petroleum-derived gasoline, jet and diesel fuels.
David Kolsrud, founding member and co-op coordinator of Agri-Energy, said: “Since its founding in 1998, Agri-Energy has been dedicated to advancing the technology and best practices of the ethanol industry.
“We see biobutanol as the next logical step in the industry’s development. We believe isobutanol can be sold into many markets and has product attributes that make it a compelling product for current ethanol producers.”
