FAQ

1.)  What is ethanol?
2.)  Why have you chosen Karlshamn as the location for the factory?
3.)  How will the plant be financed?
4.)  Many people think that ethanol isn’t particularly environmentally friendly. What is your response to that?
5.)  Will the plant smell?
6.)  Will there be noise from the plant?
7.)  Is there any risk of explosions?
8.)  How are you taking care of waste water?
9.)  What happens to the by-products?
10.) Does it really make sense to use things that can be eaten, like wheat, to produce car fuel?
11.) When will you convert to cellulose?

See also BAFF´s (BioAlcohol Fuel Foundation) "Myths on ethanol": www.baff.info/english/faq.cfm

What is ethanol?
Ethanol is used for a number of purposes. It is an ingredient in drinks like beer, wine and spirits, is used as a solvent in manufacturing, and disinfectants used in hospitals and doctors’ surgeries are actually ethanol as well. A large and growing demand for ethanol is for use as fuel to drive vehicles.
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Why have you chosen Karlshamn as the location for the factory?
Karlshamn has many advantages when it comes to ethanol production. The site we have acquired is ideal for this type of plant. There is a large and first-rate harbour and the city and the company had a meeting of minds from the start.
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How will the plant be financed?
The owners will contribute the equity of the company. The rest of the investment will be loan financed.
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Many people think that ethanol isn’t particularly environmentally friendly. What is your response to that?
In the past, large amounts of energy were expended to produce ethanol. Even if ethanol itself has always been environmentally friendly due to the fact that it does not contribute to global warming when used, the total energy used was still too high. We will utilize a technology that will generate enough energy to make our plant self sufficient and will even create a small energy surplus that can be sold as green energy. The whole process therefore becomes environmentally friendly which has not been possible before.
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Will the plant smell?
No, the plant is entirely odour free.
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Will there be noise from the plant?
The noise levels will be within the threshold values used in Sweden, both inside the factory and outside. The mill that will grind the raw materials is entirely self-contained in order to lower the noise emitted. The plant’s location was chosen to make it as minimally intrusive as possible so that there will be no outside impact.
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Is there any risk of explosions?
No, the whole process will be closed.
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How are you taking care of waste water?
It will be managed in a closed process and then purified internally in our own water treatment plant. All chemicals are separated and recycled.
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What happens to the by-products?
This fuel can be used for vehicles, or to fulfil the plant’s own energy needs.
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Does it really make sense to use things that can be eaten, like wheat, to produce car fuel?
The wheat that is used for ethanol production is industrial wheat, which is not quite the same as the wheat used in food. The quality of industry wheat is too inferior for human consumption but works quite well for ethanol. We also want to supplement wheat with, and eventually convert entirely to, cellulose as our raw material.
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Whenwill you convert to cellulose?
From the time our plant opens we will have a trial production line using straw as raw material. We do not yet know how large a part of the production cellulose will be.
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