Veridium Receives Order to Increase Ethanol Production Efficiencies
2006-03-30 12:04 ET - News Release
Also News Release (U-VRDM) VERIDIUM CP
NEW YORK -- (Business Wire) -- March 30, 2006
Veridium Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: VRDM) today
announced its receipt of an order from a Wisconsin based ethanol
producer for the second stage of Veridium's patent-pending Corn Oil
Extraction Systems(TM).
Veridium's proprietary new Corn Oil Extraction Systems(TM) extract
high grade corn oil from an ethanol by-product called distillers dried
grain ("DDG").
One Kernel, Two Fuels
Currently, the majority of ethanol production is based on a dry
milling technique that utilizes more than 1 billion bushels of corn to
produce 3 billion gallons per year of ethanol. The dry mill process
converts the starch from the kernel of corn into sugar and then the
sugar into ethanol. The balance of the corn (non-starch components)
then goes through a dewatering and dehydration process where the
byproduct is sold as a commercial feed ingredient called DDG. DDG
contains the majority of the corn oil that was present in the kernel.
Today, the 1 billion bushels of corn currently used in the dry mill
ethanol process contain roughly 300 million gallons of corn oil that
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is currently sold for about $0.03 per pound as commercial feed. The
new Veridium technology presents another option - cost effective
conversion of the oil in the ethanol by-product into biodiesel.
Veridium's technology has the capability of removing up to 75% of
the corn oil from within the DDG in two stages. The first stage
extracts 1.2 to 1.5 million gallons per year and corresponds to about
30% of the corn oil in the DDG for a 50 million gallon per year
facility. Each of Veridium's previously announced orders for its Corn
Oil Extraction Systems(TM) are for deployments of the first stage.
The second stage of the Veridium technology recovers another 30%
to 45% of the corn oil in the DDG, corresponding to another 1.2 to 2.2
million gallons of corn oil per year out of a 50 million gallon per
year ethanol facility. The Wisconsin facility has ordered both stages
and is expected to produce about 2.4 to 3.7 million gallons of corn
oil per year when both stages are deployed later this year.
David Winsness, chief executive officer of Veridium's industrial
design division, stated that "3 million gallons per year of high grade
corn oil converts to 3 million gallons per year of biodiesel. This
equates to a 6% increase in fuel production out of a 50 million gallon
per year ethanol facility, and a significant increase in plant
productivity out of the plant's existing infrastructure."
Veridium provides turn-key Corn Oil Extraction Systems(TM) for no
up-front cost in return for long-term corn oil purchase agreements
based on a fixed discount to prevailing market prices.
Increased Demand for Ethanol
Kevin Kreisler, chairman and chief executive officer of GreenShift
Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: GSHF), Veridium's majority
shareholder, said that "the Veridium technology is very timely. We
expect that demand for ethanol is going to increase markedly in the
immediate future as the fuel additive MTBE is phased out and replaced
with ethanol. Our belief is that this is going to result in increased
demand for technologies that enhance ethanol production efficiencies
and Veridium holds the rights to a number of technologies that we
believe achieve this."
MTBE, or methyl tertiary butyl ether, is blended with gasoline to
enhance its oxygen content and it accounts for about 10 percent of the
volume of every gallon of gasoline with which it is blended. This is
equal to about 1.4 percent of the nationwide supply. Many gasoline
marketers are planning to eliminate their use of MTBE once the
oxygenate requirement lapses on May 5 due to the fact that the Energy
Policy Act of 2005 didn't protect MTBE producers from past or future
groundwater contamination lawsuits. Additionally, the new Renewable
Fuel Standard holds refiners to a baseline use of renewable fuels such
as ethanol of 4 billion gallons in 2006 and increasing to 7.5 billion
gallons by 2012. The Energy Department estimates that 130,000 barrels
per day of extra ethanol will be needed beginning May 5, an amount
equal to almost 50 percent of current output.
Winsness concluded: "According to the Renewable Fuels Association,
the ethanol industry has been planning for this transition for some
time and producers have taken the necessary steps to respond to the
increased demand. We are excited and grateful for the opportunity to
provide our ethanol clients with additional options to meet the
increased demand in cost-effective and rapid ways."
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