CHS to use in-seed corn enzyme technology from Syngenta at Illinois ethanol plant
Type of post: NEWS IN BRIEF.
Syngenta has
just announced an agreement with CHS Inc. to use Enogen® corn enzyme technology (see press release, 8/1/2018) at its 130-million-gallon
(490 Ml) ethanol plant in Rochelle (Illinois, USA). The plant is a dry mill
corn-based operation and was acquired by CHS in June 2014. The product is
blended with gasoline to increase octane and improve emissions quality.
Figure 1. CHS ethanol plant in Rochelle (extracted
from Illinois Renewable Fuels Association web site)
Enogen is an in-seed innovation designed
specifically to enhance ethanol production. The alpha amylase enzyme found in
Enogen grain helps an ethanol plant significantly reduce the viscosity of its
corn mash and eliminates the need to add a liquid form of the enzyme. In this
way, it improves plant performance: increase in throughput and yield, decrease
in energy usage.
Moreover, the marketing agreement enables local
farmers to serve as enzyme suppliers. Several million dollars in premiums are
expected to be paid annually to growers raising Enogen corn for the CHS plant.