Three Partners to Build Major Bioethanol Plant in Germany
27 February 2007
EPURON, a subsidiary of Conergy AG, AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG and MAN Ferrostaal are jointly constructing one of the largest bioethanol plants in Germany with a planned annual capacity of 200,000 m³ (52.8 million gallons US).
A Biofuel Quota Law, which came into effect on 1 January 2007 in Germany, obliges the petroleum industry to add bioethanol to gasoline. The capacity of the new plant could cover roughly a quarter of the ethanol additive quantity required in Germany in 2008.
The three companies have finalized a cooperation contract and have scheduled construction of the &euro130; million (US$172 million) plant in Buelstringen to begin this year, with production to come onstream in the first half of 2009.
The plant will use about 600,000 tonnes of wheat annually for feedstock. AGRAVIS is an agricultural trading company, and has a storage capacity of 550,000 tonnes of grain, from which it will supply the feedstock.
I wonder what this will do the price of a loaf of bread, in Germany?
Posted by: Mark A | 27 February 2007 at 11:19 AM
Mark A -
Germans like to buy their bread fresh at bakeries. What isn't sold normally has to be thrown away the next day because the bread has gone stale - the quantities are quite enormous. I wonder if this waste stream could at least be used as a feedstock for ethanol.
Posted by: Rafael Seidl | 27 February 2007 at 12:12 PM
You'd have to contend with salt and the fact that there is more than one kind of grain involved. I wonder what effect the yeast would have.
Posted by: Neil | 27 February 2007 at 01:51 PM
Don't they feed the leftover bread to pigs?
Posted by: Neil | 27 February 2007 at 01:52 PM
Mark A,
Are you refering to wheat based ethanol?
Rafael Seidl,
I see a business opportunity for environmentally friendly, cheap packaging to keep bread fresh. Either that or bread crumb exports.
Posted by: allen_xl_Z | 27 February 2007 at 02:27 PM
How about some good old fashioned American preservatives? I have a quarter loaf of bread lying around that's well over a week old and still soft, moist and mold-free. I should probably finish it or throw it away tomorrow, but I'm always impressed (and a little scared) with the crazy things we've done to our food. It beats waste, perhaps.
Posted by: NBK-Boston | 27 February 2007 at 09:08 PM