From field to table: Plymouth Oil begins production
By Magdalene Landegent, Le Mars Sentinel
Monday, February 22, 2010
The food-grade corn oil plant just north of Merrill, Iowa
is making liquid gold.
Corn oil producer planned near Merrill ethanol plant
By Magdalene Biesanz, Le Mars Sentinel
Monday, April 21, 2008
Plymouth Oil to extract corn oil, germ at Iowa plant
By Susanne Retka Schill
July 2008 Ethanol Producer Magazine
Tax benefits go to Merrill project for new jobs
Sioux City Journal
July 17, 2008
Plymouth Oil may receive $1.2 million in tax benefits
By Magdalene Biesanz, Le Mars Sentinel
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
DTN Ethanol Blog
Todd Neeley DTN Staff Reporter
Tuesday Aug 5, 2008
Corn oil producer planned near Merrill ethanol plant
By Magdalene Biesanz, Le Mars Sentinel
Monday, April 21, 2008
Link to Article
Better together.
That's what Dave Hoffman of Merrill says about the $30 million corn oil plant he and others are planning to build next to the Plymouth Energy ethanol plant near Merrill.
The corn oil plant will produce up to 60 tons every day of the oil used for human food and cooking. Employing 25 people, the plant is slated to be in operation by the spring of 2009.
"It's designed to enhance the ethanol plant," said Hoffman, one of the investors of the Plymouth Oil Company plant.
On top of producing corn oil, the oil plant would provide the high-starch part of corn kernels Plymouth Energy will use in making ethanol.
"It should lower their cost by 9 to 10 cents a gallon," Hoffman said.
The corn oil plant will have equipment to separate corn kernels into the high-starch portion and the germ segment, which is used to produce corn oil.
"The plant will also produce 240 tons of defatted germ meal daily, which can be used for animal feed -- hogs primarily, and also poultry and dairy," Hoffman said. "One of the advantages is we hope to mitigate the higher price of corn."
In the future, he said, the oil plant's corn byproduct may also be used to help curb malnutrition around the globe.
Third World countries with high-starch diets could use the de-fatted corn germ after it is used to produce corn oil for human food, Hoffman explained. Combining it with the starch they have available results in a more balanced diet.
The Plymouth Oil Company plant has been in the planning stages for more than a year, Hoffman said.
"The process is underway for purchasing the land," he said.
The plant will be adjacent to Plymouth Energy's 50-million-gallon ethanol plant north of Merrill.
The ethanol plant is under construction and slated for an August completion. Hoffman is the chairman of the board for that plant. The ethanol plant should create about 35 jobs.
"Either company could stand alone, but they make each other better," Hoffman said. "I think this is another example of how Plymouth Energy and the ethanol industry in general are looking to value add to corn."
Plymouth Oil to extract corn oil, germ at Iowa plant
By Susanne Retka Schill
July 2008 Ethanol Producer Magazine
Link to Article
Web exclusive posted June 30, 2008 at 12:14 p.m. CST
Plymouth Oil LLC is nearing completion of its equity drive for a fractionation and oil extraction unit on the front end of Plymouth Energy LLC, a 55 MMgy ethanol plant under construction in Merrill, Iowa. Plymouth Energy anticipates completing construction in September or October, and Plymouth Oil expects to complete its processing unit in January, said Dave Hoffman, a founding member and board member of Plymouth Oil.
Plymouth Oil was organized as a separate entity because the ethanol plant’s primary lender was not comfortable with financing the new technology. “We weren’t able to show them an ethanol plant with a proven track record [in fractionation and oil extraction],” Hoffman said. The plant will use solvent extraction to produce food grade oil and defatted corn germ. Plymouth Energy will supply about half of the oil plant’s capacity, he said, and is planning to process oil from other plants. Plymouth Oil expects to start operating at a capacity of 300 to 340 tons of germ per day, with a goal of 400 tons per day. At the 400-ton rate, the plant will produce about 80 tons of oil per day.
As a board member of both entities, Hoffman said while the plants can operate independently, Plymouth Oil will produce higher value coproducts while reducing production costs for the Plymouth Energy’s ethanol. Besides the food grain oil and defatted corn germ, removing the germ and oil increases the protein content of the distillers grains to 45 to 47 percent, making them more useable in the poultry and swine markets. Hoffman added the companies are exploring the potential for removing the oil that remains in the distillers grains for sale to biodiesel plants.
The $30 million Plymouth Oil has about 60 investors to date.
Hoffman added that this project addresses the food versus fuel debate by producing both — fractionating the corn to extract the oil and germ for food and processing the starch for ethanol. “We’re excited about this and hope this will catch on with the industry,” he said.
OKOBOJI, Iowa -- A Merrill planned bioprocessing plant won tax benefits for job creation from the Iowa Economic Development Board, which met Thursday at the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji, according to a release.
Plymouth Oil Co., launched by Plymouth Feed Co. and other investors, has bought a 7.1 acre site near Merrill to build a corn oil extraction plant. Raw materials for the process, such as corn germ and corn bran, will come from the Plymouth Energy ethanol plant, which is next to the site.
Plymouth Oil was awarded tax benefits from the High Quality Job Creation Program to create 18 of the 21 jobs at the new facility. High protein distillers' grain will also be produced at the new plant. A $17 million capital investment is planned, the release says.
Plymouth Oil was one of three businesses to win support from the board. Altogether, the awards will create and retain 381 jobs and inject $37 million of new capital investment into the state's economy, the release says.
Quebecor World Dubuque and RENEW Energy Systems of Osage also got development awards.
Plymouth Oil may receive $1.2 million in tax benefits
By Magdalene Biesanz, Le Mars Sentinel
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Link to Article
The State of Iowa pledged about $1.2 million in tax incentives to a plant near Merrill that will make corn oil for food and cooking.
The $30 million Plymouth Oil plant is planned next to the 50-million-gallon Plymouth Energy, LLC ethanol plant near Merrill. The projected completion date is July 31, 2013, according to an Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) spokesperson.
The plant will likely employ about 25 people.
The plant is eligible for tax benefits because 18 of those jobs meet the state's qualification as "High Quality Jobs," having wages that are 130 percent of the county average.
Plymouth County's average wage is $21.38 an hour.
IDED announced the tax incentives package last week, according to spokeswoman Stephanie Bjornson.
That package for Plymouth Oil includes an investment tax credit of $877,450, an amount determined by taking 5 percent of the developers' qualified investment cost.
The package also includes a $48,750 research and development tax credit and a $333,840 refund of sales, service and use tax paid during construction of the plant.
Along with producing corn oil, the oil plant would provide the high-starch part of corn kernels Plymouth Energy will use in making ethanol.
Developer Dave Hoffman earlier said the oil plant should lower the ethanol plant's costs by 9 to 10 cents a gallon.
The plant will also produce 240 tons of defatted germ meal daily, which can be used for hog, poultry and dairy feed.
The ethanol plant is under construction and slated for an October completion. Hoffman is the chairman of the board for that plant. The ethanol plant should create about 35 jobs.
DTN Ethanol Blog
Todd Neeley DTN Staff Reporter
Tuesday Aug 5, 2008
Link to Article
Plymouth Oil to Extract Corn Oil
"With its 55 MMgy ethanol plant near completion in Merrill, Iowa, Plymouth Energy LLC is already looking ahead at expanding its product offering," Ethanol Producer Magazine said. "A sister company named Plymouth Oil LLC has been formed to produce food-grade corn oil from fractionated corn germ and will send the starch from the corn to the ethanol plant for fermentation, according to Dave Hoffman, a board member of both companies and founder of Plymouth Oil. Hoffman said the new fractionation and extraction unit will help to address the food-versus-fuel debate by producing both." According to EPM Plymouth Oil will use solvent extraction to produce the corn oil and defatted germ. "Plymouth Energy will supply approximately half of Plymouth Oil’s capacity of 400 tons of corn per day," EPM said. "Plymouth Oil will produce approximately 80 tons of corn oil per day. Removing the germ and oil increases the protein content of the distillers grains to 45 percent to 47 percent, Hoffman said, making them more usable in the poultry and swine markets."
(Ethanol Producer Magazine, September 2008)
http://ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=4590
DTN:
The separation of oil from corn is considered to be an important revenue generator for future ethanol plants. The one drawback is that compared to oilseed crops such as soybeans, rapeseed, camelina and sunflowers, the corn kernel has very low oil content -- usually on the order of just 4 percent. Soybean oil, which is the primary feedstock for biodiesel production in the U.S., contains about 20 percent oil. Considering that U.S. biodiesel producers are looking for additional feedstocks, corn oil produced by an expanding ethanol industry would be one option. (Todd Neeley)