BNSF, UP to serve new ethyl acetate plant in Nebraska

Strobel Energy Group has signed a contract to design and construct an ethyl acetate facility in Nebraska that will be served by BNSF Railway Co. and Union Pacific Railroad.

Strobel officials announced late last week that the company has signed an engineering, procurement and construction agreement with Prairie Catalytic LLC, a subsidiary of Greenyug LLC, to design and build the commercial scale bio-ethanol-to-ethyl acetate facility in Columbus, Nebraska.

The Prairie Catalytic production facility will be located next to the Archer Daniels Midland Co.'s corn processing plant, which will supply the project with bio-ethanol feedstock and other services, according to a Strobel press release.

Strobel has begun the engineering design and anticipates beginning construction in the third quarter. Commissioning and production of the new plant is expected to begin in a year.

The plant will be connected to BNSF and UP rail lines, Strobel spokesman Bryan Ferguson said in an email.

Ethyl acetate is a specialty solvent used in paints, coatings, pharmaceuticals, adhesives and a variety of consumer goods.