By Lori Ehde
Agri-Energy LLC, owner of Luverne's ethanol plant, has decided to invest $1.5 million in a solution to its odor problem.
A thermal oxidizer and heat recovery boiler have been ordered and are due for installation in June, contingent on the permitting process with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
Plant general manager Rick Serie called Karen Van Wettering, organizer of Concerned Citizens for Quality of Life, Tuesday to let her know.
"We're just ecstatic," she said. "I just about whooped into the phone when Rick called me. They say it eliminates odor 99.5 percent. There will no longer be a plume. It's very good news."
CCQL formed in the spring of 1999 to address the ethanol plant owners and the city about what they called a nauseating "sour beer" smell.
CCQL members, many of them residents in the southwest part of town, said the ethanol plant was decreasing their outdoor enjoyment and their property values.
Since then, the plant has spent more than $340,000 in modifications, including a 175-foot stack and a dryer scrubber.
With these improvements plant odors were measurably reduced by more than 30 percent, but it wasn't enough for residents living near the plant.
That's why Van Wettering was so pleased to hear about the thermal oxidizer.
"I tell you - it's affirmation that the process works," she said. "You have a concern, you bring it to them, they listen and they act. I think we're going to have happy people all over."
When asked if the CCQL will have reason to meet anymore, she said, "If anything, we'll meet to have a celebration. From our perspective, I don't think we'll have reason to anymore."
Serie said Agri-Energy is committed to the investment, and although it has received commitments for financing, he hopes the city may be willing assist in the project.
"They have a vested interest in the area out there with lots for sale in the subdivision," Serie said.
In the thermal oxidation process, odor is eliminated by venting plant emissions into the oxidizer and destroying them with heat.
Meanwhile, the plant will capture heat off that process in a waste recovery boiler to create steam for the ethanol production process.
"There are efficiencies we can gain by installing this equipment," Serie said.
In addition, the plant will realize savings by not having the operational costs of running the dryer scrubber.
"There were huge operational costs with the scrubber," Serie said.
Another advantage to the oxidation process is that it will allow the plant to increase production while remaining in compliance with the MPCA's emissions standards.
In fact, Serie said, the plant decided to pay $268,000 more for a larger model that will allow the plant to double its production in the future.
"We never could have considered an expansion before, because we'd be emitting twice as much," Serie said.
While the oxidation process requires a hefty up-front investment, Serie said it may pay for itself in five years.
Gained efficiencies of the boiler, costs cut by not using the scrubber and the freedom to expand production all make the oxidizer a worthwhile investment, Serie said.
Thermal oxidizers are in high demand, so the board needed to act quickly on ordering this one.
The equipment has been in existence for a long time, most commonly used by companies such as paint and glue manufacturers. For example 3M has three oxidizers operating in the Twin Cities area.
"They're just new to ethanol production," he said.
"Gopher State Ethanol in St. Paul completed installation of a thermal oxidizer in the summer of 2001, and results showed a 99.5-percent destruction rate."
The oxidizer for Luverne comes from MMT Environmental, a Minneapolis company, and the boiler comes from Victory Energy, Owasso, Okla.
The stack will remain, but the steam plume coming out of the stack will be eliminated.
The existing boiler will be moved into a support position to be used as backup if needed.
Agri-Energy started production in 1998. It now employs 29 people full-time with an annual payroll of $1 million.
It processes 6.5 million bushels of corn per year and produces more than 19 million gallons of ethanol annually.