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Veridium Receives Order to Increase Ethanol Production Efficiencies
NEW YORK, Mar 30, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Veridium Corporation (VRDM) today announced its receipt of an order from a Wisconsin based ethanol producer for the second stage of Veridium's patent-pending Corn Oil Extraction Systems.
Veridium's proprietary new Corn Oil Extraction Systems extract high grade corn oil from an ethanol by-product called distillers dried grain ("DDG").
One Kernel, Two Fuels
Currently, the majority of ethanol production is based on a dry milling technique that utilizes more than 1 billion bushels of corn to produce 3 billion gallons per year of ethanol. The dry mill process converts the starch from the kernel of corn into sugar and then the sugar into ethanol. The balance of the corn (non-starch components) then goes through a dewatering and dehydration process where the byproduct is sold as a commercial feed ingredient called DDG. DDG contains the majority of the corn oil that was present in the kernel. Today, the 1 billion bushels of corn currently used in the dry mill ethanol process contain roughly 300 million gallons of corn oil that is currently sold for about $0.03 per pound as commercial feed. The new Veridium technology presents another option - cost effective conversion of the oil in the ethanol by-product into biodiesel.
Veridium's technology has the capability of removing up to 75% of the corn oil from within the DDG in two stages. The first stage extracts 1.2 to 1.5 million gallons per year and corresponds to about 30% of the corn oil in the DDG for a 50 million gallon per year facility. Each of Veridium's previously announced orders for its Corn Oil Extraction Systems are for deployments of the first stage.
The second stage of the Veridium technology recovers another 30% to 45% of the corn oil in the DDG, corresponding to another 1.2 to 2.2 million gallons of corn oil per year out of a 50 million gallon per year ethanol facility. The Wisconsin facility has ordered both stages and is expected to produce about 2.4 to 3.7 million gallons of corn oil per year when both stages are deployed later this year.
David Winsness, chief executive officer of Veridium's industrial design division, stated that "3 million gallons per year of high grade corn oil converts to 3 million gallons per year of biodiesel. This equates to a 6% increase in fuel production out of a 50 million gallon per year ethanol facility, and a significant increase in plant productivity out of the plant's existing infrastructure."
Veridium provides turn-key Corn Oil Extraction Systems for no up-front cost in return for long-term corn oil purchase agreements based on a fixed discount to prevailing market prices.
Increased Demand for Ethanol
Kevin Kreisler, chairman and chief executive officer of GreenShift Corporation (GSHF) , Veridium's majority shareholder, said that "the Veridium technology is very timely. We expect that demand for ethanol is going to increase markedly in the immediate future as the fuel additive MTBE is phased out and replaced with ethanol. Our belief is that this is going to result in increased demand for technologies that enhance ethanol production efficiencies and Veridium holds the rights to a number of technologies that we believe achieve this."
MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, is blended with gasoline to enhance its oxygen content and it accounts for about 10 percent of the volume of every gallon of gasoline with which it is blended. This is equal to about 1.4 percent of the nationwide supply. Many gasoline marketers are planning to eliminate their use of MTBE once the oxygenate requirement lapses on May 5 due to the fact that the Energy Policy Act of 2005 didn't protect MTBE producers from past or future groundwater contamination lawsuits. Additionally, the new Renewable Fuel Standard holds refiners to a baseline use of renewable fuels such as ethanol of 4 billion gallons in 2006 and increasing to 7.5 billion gallons by 2012. The Energy Department estimates that 130,000 barrels per day of extra ethanol will be needed beginning May 5, an amount equal to almost 50 percent of current output.
Winsness concluded: "According to the Renewable Fuels Association, the ethanol industry has been planning for this transition for some time and producers have taken the necessary steps to respond to the increased demand. We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to provide our ethanol clients with additional options to meet the increased demand in cost-effective and rapid ways."
