Scientific American: A new plant is rising from the fields around Emmetsburg, Iowa--one that will ferment into ethanol the cobs, stems and husks of corn from nearly 50,000 hectares of farmland. Such cellulosic ethanol offers a way to get the energy and environmental security benefits of biofuels without disrupting the food supply when the edible corn itself is used.
"The facility will be operational in 2014," says Jeff Lautt, chief executive of Poet, LLC, one of the largest brewers of ethanol in the U.S. "We are on...