116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Blairstown ethanol plant sold
Admin
Sep. 4, 2009 7:12 pm
A idled ethanol plant in Blairstown could become a demonstration plant for production of cellulosic ethanol from solid waste from the Cedar Rapids.
Xethanol Biofuels announced Friday that it has agreed to sell the facility to Maryland-based Fiberight LLC, which says it has a proprietary process for converting solid waste into ethanol.
Fiberight intends to convert the ethanol plant into a demonstration plant for the technology, according to a statement from Xethanol LLC. The waste feedstocks would be obtained from the Cedar Rapids area.
Officials of the privately-held Fiberight were not immediately available for comment. The company announced in February that it had opened a 50,000-square-foot plant in Lawrenceville, Va., to demonstrate a process that uses municipal solid waste as a feedstock for ethanol. The process sorts and transforms waste into cellulosic fibers which are then extracted into biofuel through a “unique energy recovery system,” according to the Fiberight announcement.
Xethanol Biofuels is a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Global Energy Holdings Group. The Blairstown plant was producing ethanol from corn at a 5.6 million-gallon-per-year rate before producing ended on May 1, 2008, the company said. It also produced distillers dried grains.
The sale includes a 24,728-square-foot ethanol plant on 25.5 acres of land, a 20.9-acre tract of adjoining land, and warehouse and distribution facilities. The sale price was not disclosed.