Syngenta Licenses ACE Cellulosic Ethanol Technology
10 April 2014 
QCCP has the capacity to produce up to 35 million gallons of ethanol and 750,000 gallons of corn oil annually. Photo credit: Flickr user Alternative Heat, Creative Commons license
Syngenta has partnered with Iowa-based Cellulosic Ethanol Technologies in a licensing agreement for a new technology called Adding Cellulose Ethanol (ACE). ACE is a process that will work in ethanol plants in tangent with Syngenta’s Enogen genetic corn trait to more easily enable rigid fibrous corn kernel particles to be converted into ethanol fuel along with malleable starch.
The announcement comes as the crop protection industry awaits the EPA’s expected decision on modifications to renewable fuel regulations in June. Enhanced laws would enable the crop protection industry to increase sales of cellulosic ethanol to oil and gas industry stakeholders.
According to a press release, this new technology boosts a corn plant’s ethanol and corn oil production. It also increases the amount of protein in dried distillers grains, a byproduct of fuel production that is used to feed livestock and that has become more popular as interest in ethanol and biofuels has increased in recent years, according to a Ohio State University extension report.
According to a press realease, Syngenta engineered the Enogen trait specifically to maximize ethanol production.
Syngenta COO Davor Pisk said in a press release, “The adoption of Enogen in ethanol plants is accelerating, with six commercial contracts signed. The introduction of ACE technology will further drive growth. It has the potential to improve substantially both the profitability and sustainability of ethanol plants, enabling them to produce more energy with fewer resources.”
Syngenta stated in a press release that ACE technology will be implemented in crops in Iowa in May 2014.
Delayne Johnson, CEO of Quad County Corn Processors (QCCP), Cellulosic Ethanol Technologies parent company, said in a press release, “The combination of ACE technology and Enogen corn is expected to generate significant synergies when used together in dry grind ethanol plants. This launch represents a major advance in the production of cellulosic ethanol.”
Originally established as part of the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program mandated that 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel had to be blended with gasoline by the year 2012. The EPA updated the RFS program in 2007 to create new timelines for greater amounts of fuel blends. It also created new categorizations of renewable fuels, regulations for diesel fuel and guidelines for the use of greenhouse gas standards to measure fuel performance.
A federal appeals court ruled in January 2013 in favor of a claim by the American Petroleum Institute that blend standards contained in the RFS program for cellulosic fuels were too difficult to meet. However, groups like the American Coalition for Ethanol take the position that a loosening of the current law would be a step backwards for the economy, job creation, farmers, the environment and energy independence from foreign countries.
QCCP’s daily ethanol production capacity is 100,000 gallons, or 35 million gallons annually. Its facilities can grind up to 34,000 bushels of corn per day to produce 750,000 gallons of corn oil annually.
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