Genencor International, a division of Danisco A/S, announced today the availability of a new acid fungal protease enzyme product for use in the ethanol industry. According to a company release, the new product, called FERMGEN™ will be introduced this week at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Thanks to Erick Erickson in Nebraska for forwarding the release to me.
Sweetening the Ethanol Pot
Brazil makes almost all of its ethanol from sugar, and some US lawmakers in sugar-producing states would like to see more of that here. The question is whether it would be economically viable to do so. AP reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to issue a long-awaited study around July 1 on the viability of converting sugar into …
Famine to Feast?
Just a few weeks ago, the media was focused on there not being enough ethanol to meet the demand with the phase out of MTBE. Now we’re seeing articles questioning if we might be heading toward producing too much ethanol. Forbes’ Dirk Lammers writes “some analysts say the burgeoning industry faces risks of oversupply, volatile commodity prices and a dependence …
Chippewa Valley Celebrates Milestone
Chippewa Valley Ethanol Company in Benson, Minnesota is celebrating a decade in the ethanol industry. The plant opened in 1996 and today is a 45 million gallon per year ethanol biorefinery. In addition to producing fuel ethanol and marketing E85, CVEC also produces a top-shelf vodka under the Shakers brand. According to a Renewable Fuels Association press release, CVEC also …
Test Specifications for B20
The Engine Manufacturers Association has released a test specification for biodiesel fuel to facilitate testing and evaluation of how blended biodiesel fuels perform in today’s clean-burning diesel engines. According to a release, the EMA specifications establish technical requirements for blends of petroleum fuel and biodiesel fuel that can be used to assess the effects of such biodiesel fuels on engine …
Biogas Grant
Intrepid Technology and Resources, Inc., an Idaho-based renewable alternate energy company, has received a $50,000 grant from the Idaho Department of Water Resources to install anaerobic digestion technology to produce useable energy from dairy biogas. According to a company release, the grant will be used to purchase energy measurement equipment at the Whitesides Dairy biogas plant. The equipment will monitor …
IRL Doing Well with Ethanol
Indy Car drivers seem pretty pumped about ethanol, according to this Dallas Business Journal article, which quotes Bombardier Learjet 500 winner and two-time Indianapolis 500 winnner Helio Castroneves and 2004 IndyCar Series Champion Tony Kanaan – both Brazilians. The article says the IRL switch to ten percent ethanol this year has been “problem-free” and Dan Layton, spokesman for Honda Performance …
Ethanol Plant Number 101
Front Range Energy LLC and Pacific Ethanol Inc. today announced the completion of Front Range Energy’s ethanol plant in Windsor, Colo. According to a Pacific Ethanol release, the ICM-designed facility has a nameplate capacity of 40 million gallons per year of fuel ethanol. The plant produced its first ethanol on June 9, 2006, and expects to ship its first loads …
ADM CEO High on Ethanol
Archer Daniels Midland CEO Patricia Woertz is expecting big profits from biofuels for her company in the next few years. According to an AP article, Woertz said profits from the renewable fuel plants “will be quite robust at something less than that.” Speaking by webcast from a conference in Paris Tuesday, Woertz also said that while there are a number …