WASHINGTON, June 18, 2012 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that USDA approved a loan guarantee of $25 million to Myriant Corporation to help construct a bio-based production facility in Lake Providence, La.
"The facility will bring opportunity to an area of Louisiana that has been battered by hurricanes, and has lacked new development. It will also expand a market for farmers," Vilsack said.
The facility will make succinic acid, which is used primarily as a sweetener within the food and beverage industry. Currently it is made from butane, using petrochemicals, but the new plant will convert grain sorghum, an actual food source and a sustainable resource source, into succinic acid and ammonium sulfate. It is expected to produce 15,000 tons per year of succinic acid and 18,000 tons per year of ammonium sulfate.
Myriant is the first bio-based chemical company to receive funding under USDA Rural Development's Business and Industry Guarantee program, which supports local rural businesses and helps create or retain jobs.
The Myriant facility also received $44 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and an additional $10 million from the Louisiana State Department of Transportation for infrastructure improvements.
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