Canyon County plant produces ethanol again

A Canyon County ethanol plant, which had been closed since 2004, is back finally back in the business of producing biofuel.
Built outside of Caldwell in 1985 by J.R. Simplot, the ethanol plant used potato waste to make the biofuel until it closed in 2004. The plant remained idle until London-based ED&F Man Holding Limited leased it last year.

The company has spent the past year renovating the plant, now called Idaho Ethanol Processing, LLC, and redesigning it to use other products, such as corn, to
make ethanol.

Ethanol, a 200-proof alcohol frequently made from corn or potatoes, burns more cleanly than gasoline for better air quality and reduces dependency on petroleum. All gasoline cars can take a blend of fuel and up to 10 percent ethanol, and some newer automobiles, called flexible fuel vehicles, are able to run on E85, a blend made up of 85 percent ethanol.

In September, the plant became fully operational again, though for now, production is low. The plant is currently producing between 3,000 and 4,000 gallons of ethanol a day. In November, when it begins using Midwest and local corn along with potato waste and byproducts from Simplot, production will likely increase to 10,000 gallons a day. The plant will produce about five million gallons of ethanol a year initially, but plant manager Stan Siewert said the company is applying for a permit to produce up to 15 million gallons a year.

The ethanol is marketed throughout the Northwest, and Stinker stations purchase ethanol from Idaho Ethanol Processing, LLC. But most goes to other states, instead of staying in Idaho,
Siewert said.

Here’s the basic process for making ethanol:

Feedstocks, like corn and potatoes but also syrup, molasses and starch, are cooked and mixed together for about an hour before enzymes break down the starches and liquefy the mixture in a two-hour process.
The liquid is then fermented for 40 hours before being distilled.
The liquid from distillation is now 95 percent ethanol and is put through a molecular sieve to eliminate the remaining water. Before being shipped to a retailer, the ethanol is mixed with two to five percent gasoline and stored.
After distillation, the solids are further treated, through centrifuging and evaporating, and the resulting cake-like substance and syrup are shipped to dairies and feedlots for food.
“A big part of the process is making cattle feed also,” Siewert said.

Christin Runkle
Idaho Press-Tribune

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