In Minnesota, Syngenta announced that it has signed a commercial agreement with Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy(SIRE) to begin using Enogen corn enzyme technology at its Council Bluffs, Iowa, ethanol production facility following the 2015 harvest. SIRE is the third Iowa plant to sign such an agreement.
SIRE is located on 275 acres in Council Bluffs, Iowa, operating a 125 million gallon per year ethanol plant. SIRE began producing ethanol in February, 2009 and sells its ethanol, distillers grains, corn syrup, and corn oil in the continental United States, Mexico and the Pacific Rim.
According to David Witherspoon, head of Enogen for Syngenta, the robust alpha amylase enzyme found in Enogen grain helps an ethanol plant dramatically reduce the viscosity of its corn mash, and reduce – or may eliminate – the need to add a liquid form of the enzyme.
“This breakthrough viscosity reduction can lead to unprecedented levels of solids loading, which directly contributes to increased throughput and yield, as well as critical cost savings from reduced natural gas, energy, water and chemical usage,” Witherspoon said. “Farmers who grow Enogen corn benefit as well – they earn an average premium of 40 cents per bushel.
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