Iowa sees promise in algae-to-biodiesel project

The GazetteOnline (Iowa)
By David DeWitte

Green ponds of algae could someday join golden waves of corn in Iowa's renewable energy industry if a project advanced for likely state funding through the Iowa Power Fund board this week is realized.

The Iowa Power Fund board agreed Wednesday to entered funding negotiations for the state's first algae-to-biodiesel project, offering the promise of a new feedstock for Iowa's renewable fuels industry.

A pilot plant proposed by Green Plains Renewable Energy would use three byproducts from the company's Shenandoah plant - waste water, waste carbon dioxide, and waste heat from dryers - as feedstock to grow algae. The algae would then be harvested and processed into biodiesel

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