Minneapolis, Oct 17 – The Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MBA) today welcomed its 14th vendor member, Syngenta.
“We are pleased to add Syngenta to our portfolio of vendor members. Syngenta’s Enogen trait technology has piqued the interest of ethanol plants more than ever,” said Tim Rudnicki, executive director of the MBA.
Quad County Corn Processors from Galva, Iowa was the first ethanol plant to use Enogen corn after the derelegulation of its trait and since then five additional ethanol plants have signed commercial agreements to use Enogen corn while seven plants across Iowa, Nebraksa, Kansas and Ohio have signed Enogen technology trial agreements.
“Our recent successes have reinforced the value of using Enogen grain in ethanol production. We’ve been very pleased with the results this revolutionary technology has delivered and we’re excited that the market has quickly started to explore and adopt Enogen corn,” said David Witherspoon, head of renewable fuels at Syngenta.
The Enogen trait technology is bio-engineered to express a robust form of alpha amylase enzyme directly in the corn kernel which eliminates the need for liquid alpha amylase enzyme in dry grind ethanol production.
Outperforming all commercial liquid alpha amylase enzymes or liquefaction enzyme systems, Enogen corn helps drastically reduce the slurry viscosity of corn mash, which enables unprecedented levels of dry solids loading and delivers a variety of process enhancements such as:
• Greater process flexibility to capture increased alcohol yield and throughput
• Reduced consumption of natural gas, electricity and water
• Improved process stability to reduce the usage of chemicals to manage pH levels
• Reduced maintenance costs
• Reduced carbon footprint by more than 10 percent
“These types of enhancements are critical for ethanol producers as market conditions are constantly fluctuating,” Witherspoon said. “Having the ability to slow down or speed up the production process with minimal adjustments is huge.”
Enogen trait technology has arrived during a critical time for the renewable fuels industry. With the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) under heavy scrutiny, and frequent changes in market conditions, Enogen corn can provide a suitable solution to deliver value throughout the entire corn ethanol supply chain.
“At Syngenta, we believe biofuels will play a crucial role in sustaining our national and rural economies, adding value for our nation’s corn farmers, and in driving technology developments in agriculture. And we’re proud to contribute in any way possible,” Witherspoon said.
With Syngenta on board, MBA now has 14 vendor members.
“In the months to come, we hope to add more valuable industry members to our portfolio. We have and will continue to play a leading role in promoting and growing Minnesota’s biofuel industry with support from organizations like Syngenta,” Rudnicki said.
For more information about Enogen trait technology, visit enogen.net and follow Syngenta on Twitter and Facebook.