POET completes renewable CO2 addition

Renewable CO₂ is a co-product of POET’s bioethanol production process, and part of the POET Pure line of bioproducts which includes plant-based purified alcohol, CO₂ and dry ice. POET says it “is the highest-grade sustainable liquid carbon dioxide on the market”.

Brad Jones, POET’s Director of Business Development CO₂, said, “Carbon capture has proven to be not only a really exciting business opportunity for POET, but it’s great for the planet as well. CO₂ is already a part of the natural growing cycle of corn. The CO₂ our facilities produce is reabsorbed by the upcoming corn crop, meaning no new CO₂ is added to the atmosphere. So our regenerative process results in a CO₂ product that’s one of the most sustainable on the market.”

POET, which has headquarters in Wichita, Kansas, supplies customers with CO₂ for beverage carbonation, food processing, municipal water treatment, fire suppression, and various industrial uses.

Jones added, “POET’s bioethanol production process utilises the entire corn kernel. The starch produces bioethanol, while the remaining protein, oil and micronutrients go towards our other bioproducts. POET’s mission is to work in rhythm with nature to make the world a more sustainable place, and this addition to the Portland facility brings us another step closer to our carbon goals and enables us to increase the availability of our Earth-friendly CO₂.”

Sam Rushing, gasworld US editorial board member and President of Advanced Cryogenics, Ltd, said on the development, ”POET’s CO₂ business recently added new capacity at their Portland, Indian 68 million GPY ethanol plant, while adding to their traditional CO₂ sourcing from ethanol, to bolster their supply capabilities in the markets they serve. This location is another CO₂ facility located in the heart of the greater corn belt, where most ethanol plants reside. POET is unique among those supplying CO₂, where they control the corn going into the fermentation process, control the ethanol plant, and ultimately the CO₂ source and supply. This makes for more control over their destiny in markets where they supply product.”

According to Intelligas Consulting’s Maura Garvey’s 2021 CO₂ Market Report, published in gasworld last year, POET Ethanol Products accounted for a 5% share of the US  merchant CO₂ capacity in 2020.