An ethanol plant that produces the fuel from cellulose fiber (plant fiber) is in the works in Wadena, according to the city's electric and water superintendent.
Inventors recently developed a new and revolutionary process that produces synthetic fuel -- ethanol and methanol -- from cellulose fiber, said Electric and Water Superintendent Tim Johnston. He could not release the names of those involved with the project at this time, he said.
Johnston is excited about the project.
Cellulose can come from anything, such as grass, he said, so the ethanol plant would not be reliant on just corn. Another positive about an ethanol plant that uses cellulose fiber is that the only waste is liquid fuel (just 1 percent) and that can be sold as a natural fertilizer, Johnston said.
"It's so good," he said. "It will totally change the whole energy problem."
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The new process avoids the hazards and complications of fermentations. The facility would be 1/4 the size of other ethanol plants operating today and be supplied with crops from within a 25 mile radius to avoid transportation costs, Johnston said.
The process should result in a highly improved economic situation for local growers, a lower cost of fuel and help attack the causes of global warming, he said.
"All of this, and it will push Minnesota into the forefront of the economy," Johnston said.
It is non-polluting with no water usage. Most ethanol plants use four parts water for one part ethanol.
"Nobody's got something like this," Johnston said.
The closest ethanol plant is in Luverne, Minn., and that plant uses all corn, he said.
"It will really help farmers around here," he said.
