The greenhouses, a large development complex spanning six acres, would be home to emergent cucumbers in the Edgar Industrial Park area. Permolex CEO and President Doug MacKenzie said the project looks economical. If the company proceeds, MacKenzie said that the construction would take place over the next two years.
Several ethanol facilities use waste heat, not to grow cucumbers, but to aid in the reduction of energy costs of ethanol production. The waste heat is routed to either boilers or turbines that
use steam compression for power generation. For example, Northeast Missouri Grain LLC in Macon, Mo., and Adkins Energy LLC in Lena, Ill., both use similar forms of combined heat and power.
EcoGenics Research Center in Sevierville, Tenn., which operates a small ethanol facility (26,000 gallons per year) from commercial and residential wastes for research purposes, has engineered a resourceful use for its waste heat as well. A fully enclosed, climate-controlled 20-by-90-foot greenhouse performs as a biosphere for tilapia fish and the production of Spirulina algae, which together form a symbiotic “closed-loop ecosystem.” The biosphere is kept within a range of 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit year-round with help from waste heat generated from the small ethanol research facility.
Article Continues After Advertisement
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources developed an Integrated Energy Farm Concept, in which a small ethanol plant served as the basis for a linked energy system. The waste heat from ethanol production served as an aquaculture facility heater used for raising commercial fish.
Although raising cucumbers might not be the wave of the future for the ethanol industry, experts believe innovative ideas like this will contribute to the profitability of the industry long into the future.
-Staff Report
