US-headed Aemetis, Inc., a renewable natural gas (RNG) and renewable fuels company focused on negative carbon intensity (CI) products, has announced the re-start of production at its Keyes ethanol plant near Modesto, California (CA) after completing the most extensive maintenance and system upgrades in the 12 years of facility operations.
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Located in Keyes, the 65 million (US) gallons (≈ 246 million litres) per annum capacity corn ethanol plant also produces 400 000 tonnes of high protein feed for dairy cows, 140 000 tonnes of liquified biogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) for the food, and beverage industry as well as distillers corn oil for poultry feed.
The Keyes plant has a history of high uptime and consistent production, with only one scheduled maintenance day annually for nearly a decade. When natural gas prices reached historic highs several months ago, we made the strategic decision to idle operations and undertake an extensive cleanout, repair, and system upgrade cycle to install important technology upgrades, said Eric McAfee, Chairman and CEO of Aemetis.
Improve operational and energy efficiency
The significant investments made at the plant include an entirely new Allen Bradley Decision Control System (DCS) with more than 1 100 sensor connections installed across the facility to enhance the automation of operations and enable Artificial Intelligence (AI) management of energy use. The DCS system and other future mechanical upgrades will directly reduce the carbon intensity of biofuels produced by the Keyes plant while reducing carbon pollution and improving local air quality in the Central Valley, Eric McAfee said.
The energy efficiency, zero carbon solar energy, electric ethanol dehydration, and DCS system upgrades to the Aemetis Keyes biofuels plant is supported by US$16.7 million of grants awarded to Aemetis by the California Energy Commission (CEC) and Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E).
The system upgrades also support the operation of the Aemetis Biogas network, including the 40-mile biogas pipeline; seven operating digesters; the central RNG production facility, and PG&E gas utility interconnection located at the Keyes plant. These upgrades will seamlessly integrate the operation of the 30 additional diary biogas digesters in Stanislaus and Merced Counties that are under construction or in development and will be connected to our pipeline for processing of biogas into RNG injected into the utility gas pipeline for use as a transportation fuel, stated Andy Foster, President of Aemetis Biogas, LLC.
