Dry mill ethanol producer Broin is planning to convert a 50 million gallon per year conventional corn dry mill facility in Emmetsburg, Iowa into a 125 million gallon per year commercial scale bio-refinery that will produce ethanol from corn fiber and corn stover.

The project will result in 11 percent more ethanol from a bushel of corn and 27 percent more ethanol from an acre of corn while using 83 percent less energy to operate a corn-to-ethanol plant.

Broin has applied for matching grant funds through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to assist with the project that has a completion date expected in 2009.  

The expansion will utilize an existing infrastructure with projected costs for the project at just over $200 million dollars. Pilot research for this project has been conducted and the expansion is slated to begin in February with a commercial production timeline set approximately 30 months later.

Technology efforts began several years ago and escalated when Broin and the DOE jointly funded a five-year research initiative to develop and improve dry mill fractionation with the assistance of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and South Dakota State University. 

If Broin doesn’t get the matching grant from DOE, it will complete the project on a smaller scale, The Energy Blog reports.