(Published Thursday, February 15, 2007 11:36:50 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Carla McCann Gazette staff
MILTON-United Ethanol has formed a partnership with a carbon dioxide company to produce up to 250 tons daily of the liquefied gas.
United Ethanol plans to open a $60 million ethanol plant about March 5 in Milton's East Side Industrial Park,
EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products, which is headquartered in Monroe, La., is a leading producer and distributor of bulk carbon dioxide in the central United States, said Tom Gannon, vice president of EPCO's sales and marketing department in a news release.
The company operates 10 other carbon dioxide production plants, including one in Monroe, and it has two other plants under construction.
The new operation in Milton should be up and operating by December, Gannon said.
"CO2 is very, very safe," Gannon said. "It's not toxic."
With the addition of the Milton carbon dioxide plant, EPCO plans to continue is expansion within a market area that includes Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Iowa, Gannon said.
EPCO will comply with all local and state permits to operate its recovery system, Gannon said.
Carbon dioxide is a gas that becomes a liquid under refrigeration and some pressure, Gannon said.
EPCO captures gas that normally would be going into the atmosphere, he said.
The carbon dioxide recovering system, which will be located on the ethanol plant site in a 150-square-foot building, will add from 15 to 20 new trucking jobs to the community, Gannon said.
The liquid will be stored on site and then transported by semitrailer trucks, he said.
Commercially produced carbon dioxide mostly is recovered as a byproduct of other processes, such as the production of ethanol by fermentation.
Carbon dioxide has several uses, including the carbonation of soft drinks, freezing of food products and treatment of alkaline water. It also is used to recover oil from wells and in refrigeration.
United Ethanol President David Cramer wasn't available for comment Wednesday.
Construction of the ethanol plant on 51 acres in the industrial park has taken 18 months.
In a January interview with the Gazette, Cramer said finishing touches remained to be completed before the plant begins production.
The buildings are enclosed. Grain bins contain more than 1 million bushels of corn. And work on the rail spur is moving forward.
The plant is expected to produce 42 million to 52 million gallons of ethanol annually.
United Ethanol has been waiting on four truckloads of steel from China for the new plant, according to information posted on the company's Web site.
When the Milton plant goes online, it will be the sixth ethanol facility operating in Wisconsin.
Beaver Dam-based United Ethanol is building a second plant between Spring Green and Arena in Iowa County, Cramer said in a the previous interview.
