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| Science & Technology |
| Work to start on rice hulls-to-fuel plant in Arkansas |
| 2008-08-12 |
| Associated Press - August 7, 2008 1:34 PM ET STUTTGART, Ark. (AP) - Work is to begin later this month on an $80 million plant in Stuttgart [Arkansas county Arkansas has over 100k acres of rice under cultivation] that is to convert rice products to ethanol. The plant [the full size one]is to employ about 200 people [probably this includes a lot of testing and QC types who will be part time and work on mainline Rice ops mostly]. The plant will use rice hulls and rice straws to produce ethanol and commercial silica. Colusa Biomass CEO Tom Bowers says a smaller version of the plant will be built over the coming four months. The company will use the smaller plant to fine tune the production process, then build the full-scale plant, which is to be in production by late 2009. Construction of the full-scale plant is to begin in December. The full-scale plant is designed to produce 12.5 million gallons of fuel ethanol and 152,000 tons of silica/sodium oxide [stuff used in glass and cement manufacture] annually. |
| Posted by:mhw |
| #2 Can silica/sodiun oxide be used in the new bendable glass that makes workable fuel cells possible and make cement using the carbon dioxide by-product of shale oil and coal gasification production? |
| Posted by: Danielle 2008-08-12 18:24 |
| #1 Meh. This stuff actually does have a biological function in maintaining soil quality - it's supposed to stay on the fields & contribute towards future crops. Admittedly, this is the Delta, and it's flatter than a Paris model, so erosion isn't as much of a factor as it would be up in the hills, but still. It represents material which has to be renewed with chemical fertilizers if it's not left on the field as residue. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2008-08-12 12:39 |