Pennsylvania Site of Cellulosic Ethanol Pilot Plant

Pennsylvania gets the nod from partners General Motors Corp. and Coskata Inc. for a new cellulosic ethanol plant that will produce the fuel for testing by the auto maker later this year.

The pilot plant will be located at the Westinghouse Plasma Center in Madison, PA, current site of a pilot-plant gasifier, GM and Coskata reveal in a joint statement.

Gasification is the first step in Coskata’s process to make ethanol out of almost any renewable source, the fuels supplier says. Plasma torches are employed to super-heat the source material, creating a synthesis gas of carbon dioxide and hydrogen. The gas is cooled and consumed by Coskata’s patented microorganisms that excrete ethanol and water.

The plant is expected to produce 40,000 gallons (151,380 L) of cellulosic ethanol for testing by GM at its Milford, MI, proving grounds.