CHS Annawan Renewable Fuel Plant - Virtual Tour

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Welcome to a Virtual Tour of CHS Annawan.

The plant is optimally located in north-central Illinois offering reliable access to locally grow corn supplies and superior downstream logistics to domestic and international markets. Since commissioning the plant in 2008, CHS Annawan has demonstrated strong operating and financial performance. With recent investments in operating improvements coupled with the plant's scalable infrastructure, CHS Annawan is well positioned to continue to deliver superior performance into the future.

Site Overview

Site Overview

• ICM Fagen design-build commissioned in 2008. • Permitted to produce up to 130 million gallons of ethanol / • Approximately 196 acre plant site with optional 250 contiguous acres / • Established industrial infrastructure and efficient site layout designed for expansion

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Scale House

Scale House

Inbound/outbound scales with RFID supplier tracking system


Office Building

Office Building

6,000 square foot office facility

Grain Receiving and DDG Loadout

Grain Receiving and DDG Loadout

• Efficient site logistics
Grain Receiving: / • Two 500,000 bushel grain bins / • Inbound and outbound scales with RFID reader / • Two grain unloading bays with 18,000 BPH legs / • Truck turnaround on site in average 8 minutes
• Distillers Grain Loading: • 2 truck/container/rail loading bays at 15,000 BPH / • Wet pad truck loading as required

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Container Loading

Container Loading

DDG's containers loaded directly on site reducing handling costs and improving margins.

Process Building

Process Building

• Process maintenance / • Process control room / • Fermentation Row: Seven 800,000 gallon fermenters and a 1,000,000 gallon beer well / • Corn oil extraction

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Click for photos on Corn Oil Separation
Energy Center

Energy Center

• Four ICM rotary drum dryers with 45 mm Btu/hr burners / • Six Flottweg centrifuges / • Two Victory Energy boilers and one Nebraska boiler all rated at 100,000 pounds/hour / • Two ICM Thermal Oxidizers at 135 mmBtu/hr

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New Boiler

New Boiler

Installed new 100,000 pound/hour boiler in 2012 to support increased production volumes as well as to provide redundancy to maximize plant up time.

Distillation and Dehydration

Distillation and Dehydration

• Eight evaporators by A&B Process systems / • Beer column / • Rectifier / • Side stripper

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Sieve Bottles

Sieve Bottles

Installed three additional sieve bottles to support meeting EU ethanol specifications without reducing plant run rates.


Pump/Motor Redundancy

Pump/Motor Redundancy

Installed additional pump and motor capacity to support maximum operating capacity (including at beer feed, beer bottoms, side stripper bottoms, rectifier bottoms, cook water, thin stillage feed and vacuum pump).

Water Treatment Center

Water Treatment Center

Worked with U.S. Water Services to transition to a Zero Liquid Discharge water treatment system dramatically reducing the amount of water required to produce ethanol and eliminating waste water discharge to the environment.

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RO Description

RO Description

Multi-stage RO System

Ethanol Storage

Ethanol Storage

• Two 1.5 million gallon finished ethanol product storage tanks / • 200 proof tank / • 190 proof / • Denaturant tank / • Distillers Grain storage: • DDG building dimensions 125 ft x 175 ft / • Two 4,000 ton storage silos / • Wet pad dimensions 105 ft x 85 ft

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10 MW Substation on Site

10 MW Substation on Site

Substation provides 10 MW feed supplied by Corn Belt Energy Cooperative.


Ethanol Truck Loadout

Ethanol Truck Loadout

On site truck ethanol loading station

Ethanol Loading

Ethanol Loading

• Two rail loading stations can simultaneously load two cars per hour / • Automated truck self loading station / • Currently load and ship ’96 car unit trains

Rail Yard

Rail Yard

• Superior rail infrastructure: • Six ladder tracks with 8 miles of installed rail / • 15 total switches / • Capacity to handle 275 cars on the ladder tracks and 75 cars on “in plant” tracks / • Steel ties throughout / • Served by Iowa Interstate RR

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