March 9, 2006
Purdue experts can discuss plans for major Indiana biodiesel plant
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A French company has announced plans to build the world's largest biofuels plant in northern Indiana, and Purdue University experts can talk about the plant's potential impact as well as uses for alternative fuels.A unit of global agriculture giant Louis Dreyfus Corp. plans a $135 million project to construct the biodiesel plant in Claypool, a community west of Fort Wayne. Biofuel plants use natural products such as corn to create fuel additives and other energy sources.
Dreyfus officials and Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels announced the plans at a renewable energy summit Wednesday (March 8) in Washington, D.C., saying construction would begin as soon as possible. The plant is designed to produce up to 80 million gallons of biodiesel fuel annually.
The Dreyfus facility would be the ninth biodiesel or ethanol plant under construction or in development in Indiana. The state's only operating ethanol plant is in South Bend.
Purdue experts who are available to talk about the new plant and alternative fuels include:
• Michael Ladisch, distinguished professor of agricultural and biological engineering, can talk about bioenergies, such as ethanol and biodiesel. CONTACT: ladisch@purdue.edu, (765) 494-7022, (765) 743-8332 (cell).
• Jay Gore, interim director of Purdue's Energy Center and the Vincent P. Reilly Professor in Mechanical Engineering, can talk about energy research in general. CONTACT: gore@purdue.edu, (765) 427-1500 (cell).
• Allan Gray, an associate professor agricultural economics, is an expert in biodiesel and can discuss the plant's impact on Indiana. CONTACT: gray@purdue.edu, (765) 494-4323.
• Wally Tyner, professor of agricultural economics, can discuss the economic implications of the planned facility and what it might mean for the Indiana agricultural community. CONTACT: wtyner@purdue.edu, (765) 494-0199.
About 100 million gallons of ethanol are produced annually in Indiana. Production from the eight new facilities, in addition to the existing New Energy plant in South Bend, could generate 510 million gallons of Indiana-produced ethanol a year, or 16 percent of the state's gasoline use.
Researchers at Purdue's Energy Center in Discovery Park are studying how to utilize hydrogen to increase the efficiency of solar cells such as those used in exterior lighting fixtures and calculators. Purdue's Laboratory for Renewable Resource Engineering also is researching how to turn agricultural waste into transportation fuels. In addition, research at the lab includes the transformation of biomass, ethanol and soy-diesel into a source of hydrogen.
Writer: Phillip Fiorini, (765) 496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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