Grain Processing Corporation (GPC) is undertaking significant projects to reduce emissions and water discharges at its Muscatine, Iowa facility.

Manufacturing turns raw materials into useful goods. All manufacturing processes create waste materials. State and federal regulations limit the amount of harmful by-products that are released into the environment. Companies also, like GPC, are doing their part to reduce the environmental impact manufacturing has on air and water quality.

Sustainability is a commitment that is rooted in the culture of GPC. The following completed, and currently underway, projects will deliver on GPC’s promise to reduce and manage its environmental footprint in our home community of Muscatine, Iowa.

This website is intended to provide information about those projects.

Completed Projects and Accomplishments:

• January 2018: Began operation of two particulate and sulfur dioxide-reducing scrubbers on the steeping process.
• May 2018: Dryer House 4 ventilation and adjacent storage tanks were improved by aspirating vapors through a wet scrubber and to the existing thermal oxidizer to reduce sulfur dioxide and volatile organic compound emissions.
• June 2018: Commenced operation of a regenerative thermal oxidizer on the alcohol fermentation tanks to substantially reduce organic emissions.
• October 2018: Reduced fugitive dust and storm water runoff from a waste storage pile by installing a covered storage building for waste material handling.
• November 2018: Reconstructed a process water recovery digester which resulted in a discharge reduction of biochemical oxygen demand and suspended solids to the Mississippi River by 36%.
• November 2018: Began operation of two regenerative thermal oxidizers to reduce particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds from gluten drying.
• March 2019: Improved aspiration of our south grain elevator corn truck unloading by replacing an older baghouse to reduce particulate emissions.
• August 2019: Installed a regenerative thermal oxidizer on the building aspiration scrubber at Dryer House 5, to reduce the volatile organic compound emissions by 98%.
• Fall 2019: Installed new baghouse on dry milling process to capture particulate emissions.
• February 2020: Improved corn rail and truck unloading by installing new receiving and storage areas with associated baghouse control, reducing particulate emissions from corn unloading and reducing truck traffic through the plant.
• April 2020: Ceased operation of North Corn Receiving substantially reducing particulate and diesel emissions from truck traveling through the plant on a daily basis.
• June 2020: Enhance gluten rail load-out area and associated storage bin to reduce particulate emissions and storm water runoff.

Underway Projects and Deliverables:

• Fall 2020: Replace aged alcohol distillation facility with new infrastructure, resulting in lower volatile organic emissions.
• September 2020: Replace burner on a process dryer to decrease nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide emissions.
• December 2020: Add scrubber control to existing beer well and beer column emission vents to reduce volatile organic compounds.

If you have questions or concerns about Grain Processing Corporation’s facilities, please call 563-264-4892.