The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher/Owner
Big River Resources LLC's Galva ethanol plant turns out to house the perfect place for a Hand Sanitizer business to help with the continued shortage caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Jim Leiting, CEO of Big River Resources, said, "We have signed the lease agreement with Global Impact Innovation LLC, (GII) of Naperville to use portions of our Galva plant to produce Hand Sanitizer from our corn based ethanol in response to the COVID-19 outbreak."
Leiting said they were working to produce Zein or CBD oil in a facility BRR had built in 2015 at their Galva ethanol plant, but that all changed due to the virus placing a huge demand on sanitizer where ethanol is the major ingredient (70%).
The U.S. government in March relaxed regulations to allow producers of fuel ethanol and beverage alcohol to shift production to ethanol-based sanitizers. The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) issued guidance on March 18 announcing that it is waiving provisions of internal revenue law with regard to distilled spirits, and is providing certain exemptions and authorizations to distilled spirits permittees who wish to produce ethanol-based hand sanitizers to address the demand for such products during the COVID-19 emergency. The following week, on March 26, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued new temporary guidelines that allows fuel ethanol producers to provide alcohol for hand sanitizers so long as the production facility can ensure certain purity and sanitation standards.
Leiting said, Sanitizer production moved into full swing this week after the ethanol being used passed FDA's approval .
The process includes filling 50 gallon drums that are loaded onto pallets. Dr. Oroskar said the plant hopes to produce 500 barrels a day. The product will go to distribution centers where it can have additives such as aloe, scents etc. added to it and bottled according to Dr. Oroskar.
Interviews have been conducted in Galva for more workers and their training has been going on.
GII expected capacity will be around 100,000 gallons per month and will be sold across the United States to hospitals, retailers and government institutions.
This plant is expected to employ 30 or more employees when fully operational in the coming weeks.
Experts say when it comes to preventing the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19, nothing beats good old-fashioned handwashing.
But if water and soap aren't available, your next best option, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Trusted Source, is to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol.
Unless you have a stockpile of store-bought hand sanitizer, you'll likely have a hard time finding any at a store or online right now as most retailers can't keep up with the demand.
The midwestern farmers, and ethanol producers can feel good about their part in providing corn and alcohol to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Re-purposing of corn ethanol from renewable fuels to Hand Sanitizer will not only control the spread of the pandemic, but also expand the use of ethanol and support communities dealing with Hand Sanitizer supply shortages.
"As our nation confronts the Coronavirus Pandemic, we are seeing Americans rise to the occasion to support our communities," said Congressman Ray LaHood (R-IL). "I am grateful to Global Impact Innovations LLC and Big River Resources for their willingness to step up and lend a helping hand during this time of need.
"Converting portions of the plant to produce Hand Sanitizer is a testament to Midwestern ingenuity and could hold great potential for the ethanol industry into the future. I was happy to lend a hand to ensure they can begin production in the coming days."
Federal regulations require waivers to convert plants that produce alcohol-based ethanol to other alcohol-based products.
Rep. LaHood worked with the Trump Administration and Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) under the Dept. of the Treasury to expedite and get their waivers approved in a matter of days.
Anil Oroskar, Dr. Asha Oroskar and Mr. Paresh Ghelani, Founders of GII. said, "The Galva Plant was designed to produce Zein Protein from Corn to address the global problems of plastics polluting our environment and our oceans. However, when the Coronavirus Pandemic hit our nation, it became clear that basic products such as testing kits, medicines, masks and sanitizers were in short supply across the country.
"True to our mission at GII, we made a decision to do our part by Re-Purposing the Galva Plant to produce Ethanol Based Sanitizers to make it available across the U.S. at an affordable price.
"We reached out to U.S. Rep. LaHood and State Senator Chuck Weaver who quickly helped to expedite our request and it was ultimately approved in a matter of days.
"This is a wonderful example of government moving quickly to help the private sector move forward with solutions to solving hand sanitizer supply shortages".
"We thank Late Mr. Ray Defenbaugh, the founding member and chairman of Big River Resources, LLC., Mr. Jim Leiting, CEO of Big River Resources LLC and their entire BRR team. We are grateful for their assistance, and looking forward to doing our part as we are all in it together in these tough times."
Jim Leiting, Chief Executive Officer of Big River Resources said, "Big River Prairie Gold and Big River Resources are excited to partner with Global Impact lnnovations LLC at our Galva ethanol facility to support their effort to produce and supply Hand Sanitizers in this time of the National Crisis due to the Coronavirus.
"We thank our legislators and local Galva City Administration for their support in expediting the licensing and permitting process to allow this to happen in a timely manner.
Global Impact Innovations LLC is a company founded by Mr. Paresh Ghelani, Dr. Asha Oroskar and Dr. Anil Oroskar. GII's vision is to address global problems such as this.