UF, Buckeye Technologies Dedicate New Biorefinery Pilot Plant

The University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla., USA, this past week dedicated its new Stan Mayfield Biorefinery Pilot Plant in Perry, Fla., a cooperative venture between the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and Buckeye Technologies Inc., Memphis, Tenn. Instead of a traditional ribbon-cutting ceremony, the dedication included a front-end loader ceremoniously dumping a scoopful of pulverized sugarcane stalks, delivering the first official shipment of feedstock to the biorefinery, which will develop methods for producing fuel ethanol and other compounds from inedible plant material.

When fully operational, the biorefinery will produce up to 400 gal of fuel ethanol and 5,000 lb of organic acids for bioplastics each day. Some of the researchers' goals include testing a wide variety of feedstocks, such as crop residues and yard waste, and finding ways to save money on production costs.

Speakers at the dedication included state Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam, UF President Bernie Machen, and Buckeye Technologies Inc. Chairman and CEO John Crowe. Attendees included numerous agricultural leaders and high-ranking officials from state government, UF, Buckeye and other groups involved in the project.

Also a speaker, Lonnie Ingram, a UF distinguished professor of microbiology and cell science, developed a genetically modified bacterium that will be key to the biorefinery's operations. The bacterium breaks down cellulose, a major component of plant cell walls, yielding simpler compounds used to produce fuel ethanol and bioplastics.

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