Ethanol from cheese whey

US company Plover Ethanol is to open a new ethanol plant in Wisconsin with ethanol production due to start this month. The five million gallon per year ethanol plant began construction in August of 2001. Ethanol production is due to begin this month. Plover plans to begin producing ethanol from a variety of feedstocks. The plant was originally designed to process two million bushels per year of corn seed into the synthetic fuel but it will also have the capability of utilising cheese whey and potato waste feedstocks to produce alcohol. Situated in a region heavily populated by dairy and cheese plants, Plover intends to capitalise on its location by accepting cheese whey, a by-product of cheese processing and producing an additional two to three million gallons per year of alcohol utilizing waste heat from the main plant. Additional equipment such as an expanded distillation system will be added to accommodate the additional throughput. The plant is situated in central Wisconsin.