LINCOLN – In the parking lot of Nebraska Innovation Campus’ (NIC) Food Processing Center (FPC), a white tent houses a temporary hand sanitizer production facility. More than 20 organizations have come together to help meet the escalating needs of our healthcare community. This means hospitals like Nebraska Medicine will get the supplies they need at no cost.
“We are very grateful to Nebraska’s ethanol producers, UNL, the State of Nebraska, and many other people and organizations for pulling together to make this happen,” said James Linder, MD, CEO of Nebraska Medicine. “At Nebraska Medicine we are using up to 500 liters (more than 132 gallons) of hand sanitizer a day. We are constantly looking for innovative ways to protect our frontline medical workers as they respond to this pandemic.”
Hunter Flodman, PhD., assistant professor of practice in chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), who is also the technical advisor for the Nebraska Ethanol Board (NEB), and Jan tenBensel, NEB Chairman, have spearheaded the project. They started brainstorming ideas on Wednesday, April 1, and on Sunday, April 5, in a few short hours, more than 1,200 gallons of hand sanitizer had been mixed. By Monday, the team was in full production mode.
“After we found a home for the project, everything has been falling into place,” tenBensel said. “We reached out to our ethanol industry partners, and one-by-one they started donating their goods and services and continue to do so. The response is remarkable.”
After the first full day of production, the team was able to distribute more than 2,000 gallons of hand sanitizer. They anticipate thousands more gallons by week’s end, which will go to hospitals, doctors’ offices, nursing homes, first responders, and other facilities in need. The project will continue as resources allow.
This coordination has included the time, talents, and finances of many partners. While this is an ongoing effort and more ethanol plants will contribute as the FDA allows, the organizers recognized the following for their support: Aurora Coop; BASF Enzymes; Beatrice Scale Company; Bosselman Enterprises; Cargill; CKS; Gov. Pete Ricketts and these State of Nebraska agencies: Nebraska Department of Administrative Services, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, and the Nebraska Ethanol Board; Greenfield Global; Green Plains Inc.; HowatRisk; Johnson Matthey; KAAPA Ethanol; Market Actives; Nebraska Innovation Campus; Renewable Fuels Nebraska; Sapp Bros.; Syngenta; The American Cleaning Institute; and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln including the College of Engineering.
