Successful start-up for Calgren ethanol plant

A new state-of-the-art ethanol production facility in Pixley, California has had a successful start up, according to the firm that designed and engineered it.

Lurgi, Inc., part of the Air Liquide group of companies based in Memphis, Tennessee, built the facility for Calgren Renewable Fuels LLC.

It has been operating since August 2009, but Lurgi said yesterday that it considered the plant’s start-up a success.

The Pixley plant is capable of producing 55 million gallons of the biofuel and 400,000 tons of animal feed each year. The biofuel is trucked to Central Valley fuel blenders.

The production facility is powered by an Ultra Low NOX gas turbine system with a 5.8 megawatt generating capacity, and Lurgi said it would have one of the lowest carbon footprints of any ethanol plant in the United States.

Lurgi Chairman Chris Lloyd Jones said: “Lurgi is proud to have contributed technological expertise to Calgren’s success, and we congratulate them on their perseverance and on the achievement of this significant milestone.”

Lyle Schlyer, president of Calgren Renewable Fuels LLC, said: “We believe that our collaboration with Lurgi on this facility has resulted in one of the most energy efficient ethanol plants in the country.”

source: brighterenergy.org