 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||
| 1. What is ethanol? Ethanol is ethyl alcohol -- the same type of alcohol contained in beer, wine, and liquors. The production processes of beverage ethanol and fuel ethanol are very similar. In the United States, most ethanol comes from the processing and fermenting of agricultural products such as corn. The process involves grinding the corn, adding enzymes, fermentation, distillation, processing the dried distillers grains as a co-product, and recovering process water for reuse. Ethanol is used as a blend with petroleum gasoline. Every auto maker approves the use of gasoline blended with 10% ethanol, an oxygenate, to improve engine performance and reduce air pollution. All Indy car series racers now burn 100% ethanol because of its ultra-high octane that is cleaner burning in their million-dollar engines. Ethanol is a clean burning, renewable, domestically produced fuel that is good for the environment and one of the solutions for decreasing our Country’s dependence on foreign oil. 2. How much ethanol will be produced each year? Northeast Ethanol will produce approximately 60 million gallons of ethanol annually from corn. 3. Why was this site selected? This 100 acre brown site was an abandoned coal mine. This site met criteria we had established to develop an abandoned coal mine or reuse a former industrial site. Adequate infrastructure, including rail and roadways, is also necessary. The selected site presented an opportunity to reclaim a brownfield. 4. What will be the plant’s hours of operation? The ethanol plant will run continuously 24 hours/day, 7 days/week producing our product. The plant will shut down about fifteen days a year on average for maintenance. 5. Where will this corn come from? Because of transportation costs, Pennsylvania corn farmers and grain elevators will have priority. Corn is a commodity that is purchased like other common resources. It is more cost effective to import the corn to the plant than to import ethanol to local fuel markets. 6. How many new jobs will be created? Approximately 50 permanent full time ethanol plant jobs will be created, with annual salaries averaging approximately $40,000 ($25,000 to $80,000 range). Another 50 full time trucking and other associated jobs will be created. An additional, 150 indirect or support industry jobs will be created to support this site. 7. Are there other benefits to local businesses? Studies have shown that locally owned plants yield as much as $3.00 in additional benefits to the local/regional economy for each $1.00 spent on goods and services. This includes local merchants, hotels, restaurants and grocery stores, gas stations and convenience stores, and supply houses. 8. What about construction jobs? An estimated two hundred union construction jobs will be created over the approximately 18 months that it takes to construct an ethanol plant of this size. Local businesses, such as motels, restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies, and other commercial operations will benefit substantially from the trade of these professional construction workers. 9. How much will this plant cost and how much will it pay in taxes? A total anticipated taxable value of land and buildings is about $20,000,000. Using the 2007 mill rates obtained from the Lackawanna County Assessors office, this taxbase would result in annual real estate taxes totalling $2.8 million. This includes an estimated $1.5 million to the school district, $500,000 to the Borough of Mayfield, and $800,000 to Lackawanna County (including library and education). 10. Where will water come from? Municipal water will be purchased from Pennsylvania American Water Company, which has more than sufficient excess capacity. We are also studying the potential of using undrinkable mine water for the noncontact cooling water. 11. How much wastewater will the plant produce? The plant is designed to recycle all its process wastewater used in the ethanol manufacturing process. No process wastewater will ever leave the plant’s site. The plant will produce a sanitary waste stream like any other business that employs 50 to 100 employees on site. Sanitary waste will be discharged to the Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority. 12. Is an ethanol plant noisy? At the property line, sound levels will be comparable to the level of TV playing in your living room. Noise generation is minimized through plant design and the placement of landscape buffers. 13. Will the plant be safe to have in the community? The ethanol produced is the same as beverage ethanol; as such, the plants are similar to breweries and are very safe facilities. Strict safety and regulatory standards apply to the construction and operation of an ethanol plant. Delta-T designed plants have the lowest insurance premiums in the industry because of their built-in safeguards. The combination of Delta-T design and Pacesetter Management has resulted in an unblemished safety record. 14. What happens if there is a spill? The plant is required to have in place certain plans and engineering controls to minimize the risk of spills and any harm from spills that are highly unlikely to occur. Federal and state laws require that the plant develop and implement a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (“SPCC”) plan which requires inspections of control devices and spill prevention procedures. Ethanol and raw material storage tanks will be surrounded by secondary containment controls so that any accidental spills will be completely contained and promptly recovered. 15. Is ethanol explosive? No. Liquid ethanol is flammable, but not explosive. 16. Is our existing fire department capable of servicing the needs of the plant? The site has two access points. The plant will have complete on-site fire fighting capabilities. An active “fire brigade” will be manned by employees on site, if needed. First Responder responsibilities will be coordinated by the three Borough of Mayfield Volunteer Fire Companies who have cooperative agreements with the fire companies of Carbondale, Scott, Jermyn, Archbald, and Greenfield. Northeast Ethanol will provide initial and ongoing education and training to all of these local fire companies. 17. What types of fire prevention equipment will be installed? The plant will be constructed with appropriate separation distances between buildings, containment structures, approved electrical systems, as well as detection, security, and alarm systems. The plant will be constructed with a dedicated fire protection water system that includes a fire water storage tank, redundant diesel engine fire water pump, automatic sprinkler, deluge, foam storage and pumping systems. 18. Why is gasoline added to ethanol prior to shipping? Ethanol is essentially 200 proof alcohol. Denatured ethanol contains up to 5% gasoline to prevent people from drinking the product. 19. How will air emissions be controlled? The plant will employ state-of-the-art technology and control methods to limit air emissions. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) closely scrutinizes and regulates applications for air permits. DEP will not allow construction or operation of the plant without first evaluating the plant’s potential air emissions. Prior to construction, DEP approval is provided through issuance of a permit regulating emissions. The air quality analysis prepared by the leading air quality experts in the United States, Natural Resource Group (www.NRGINC.com), has determined the plant will not have any adverse impacts on the air quality in the basin. 20. Why does the DEP get involved with ethanol plants? The DEP gets involved to regulate all aspects of the plant to ensure its operations do not unreasonably affect the environment. DEP regulates air emissions, water use and discharge, and storm water quality during and after plant construction. 21. Will there be a noticeable odor? No. Modern technologies (scrubbers, molecular sieves, regenerative thermal oxidizers, the closed loop design of the DDGS dryer) will eliminate more than 99% of VOCs (volatile organic compounds), substances that have the potential to produce odor. 22. What about site lighting? Lighting will be shielded to prevent light spilling onto neighboring properties and roads, while providing enough illumination for a safe, secure work environment. 23. Why was Delta-T technology chosen? Delta-T was the first technology company to make fuel ethanol feasible to produce to compete in the transportation market. In the past 15 years, their technology continues to occupy the smallest environmental footprint of any plant designer. The new technology to be used for the Mayfield plant uses 25% less thermal energy and 50% less process water. Atmospheric emissions are reduced by 90% compared with conventional ethanol plants, and there is no visible steam plume. This plant will capture the steam and recycle the energy back into the plant. The Delta-T safety record is flawless; no accident has ever been attributed to the process. 24. How many Delta-T plants are there? Delta-T has completed more than 200 alcohol processing projects on five continents. Currently, there are 27 Delta-T fuel ethanol plants operating or soon to start up. Fifty-two additional plants are under contract, to begin producing ethanol within the next three years. 25. Does the use of corn for ethanol threaten the food supply for people and livestock? No. In most years, there is an excess of corn grown for food and feed. In addition, dried distillers grain is a protein-rich co-product of the ethanol production process that is used as livestock feed. Even if the wholesale level of corn raises $1.00 per bushel the price of 1 lb of beef goes up $0.10 according to some economic modeling recently completed. That is less than $0.025 for your 1/4 lb hamburger at one of the national burger restaurants. 26. Why don’t you use things other than corn to produce ethanol? Corn is currently the most efficient raw material for the production of ethanol in the United States. Other raw materials can be used, but the technology is not yet cost effective. Ethanol is made from sugar cane in other countries, such as Brazil. We have designed our plant to be flexible to convert the operation to use cellulosic sources to produce ethanol if it is cost effective to do so in the future. 27. How many ethanol plants are there in the United States? As of June, 2007 the U.S. fuel ethanol production capacity is approximately 5.5 billion gallons per year. There are 114 ethanol plants in operation. 78 plants are under construction or expansion with a nameplate capacity or expansion with a nameplate capacity of 6 billion gallons per year. Beyond the ethanol plants currently under construction, it is estimated that an additional 50 to 70 plants with approximately 5.5 billion gallons of annual capacity will be built in the U.S. between 2008 and 2016. 28. How much ethanol is being used? More than 60% of all gasoline in the United States now contains a 10% ethanol blend. This is likely to increase as more states mandate the use of ethanol by motorists. 29. How does the use of ethanol reduce tailpipe emissions? Ethanol contains oxygen, so it contributes to a cleaner, more efficient burn of gasoline with less carbon monoxide and other toxic chemicals in exhaust emissions. This is especially important considering recent federal government attention to the relationship between greenhouse gases and global warming. Ethanol also displaces the use of toxic gasoline components such as MTBE and benzene, carcinogens. Ethanol is non-toxic, water soluble and quickly biodegradable. 30. Does ethanol harm car and truck engines? No. Every major automobile manufacturer approves the use of ethanol blends up to 10% under warranty. Flex fuel vehicles can use blends of up to 85% ethanol. 31. Does ethanol use more energy than it yields? No. The USDA recently determined that the net energy balance of ethanol is 1.67 to 1. Other studies have shown the yield to be as high as 1.89 to 1. Several recent studies have debunked old studies that questioned ethanol’s energy balance. Northeast Ethanol production will be the most energy efficient plant to date–using 25% less fossil fuels. 32. Will any ethanol be shipped by rail? |
|||||||||||
|
contacts / pressroom / employment / home
|
|
© 2007 Northeast Ethanol LLC, tel: 570-489-5631 fax: 570-489-8714 |