A recent Environmental Work Group corn ethanol greenhouse gas report has caused lifecycle analysis experts and economist from Argonne National Laboratory and three universities to lash out and what they call “erroneous conclusions”. The experts issued a scathing 13-page response to EWG’s May report titled “Ethanol’s Broken Promise.” EWG “confused parameters” and “misunderstood” previous modeling results, according to experts from …
Green Plains Purchases Supreme Cattle Feeders
Green Plains (GPRE) has acquired the assets of Supreme Cattle feeders from Agri Beef Co. The deal includes the feed yard doing business as Supreme Cattle Feeders and the Cimarron Grain Storage facility located near Kismet, Kansas. “Supreme Cattle Feeders is one of the premier cattle feed yards in the U.S. and this operation is an ideal adjacent business for …
Corn Growers CEO Addresses FEW
National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman took the podium to address the general session at the Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Indianapolis this week. It’s the 30th year for the workshop and during his remarks he commented on how things have changed in the past 30 years – from the acres of corn planted and bushels harvested to the gallons …
Hydro Dynamics Bolts On Biodiesel for Ethanol Plants
A Georgia company is making ethanol plants more profitable by offering technology for “bolt-on” biodiesel operations. Hydro Dynamics, Inc. has partnered with World Energy and PhiBro Ethanol Performance Group to offer Hydro Dynamics’ ShockWave Power Reactors that turns corn oil from ethanol production into biodiesel. The majority of ethanol plants already recover their corn oil and much of this ends …
Edeniq Stresses Cellulosic Ethanol is Here
At the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference last week, Steve Rust with Edeniq talked about new processing technology and products taking ethanol to the next level. “Cellulosic ethanol is for real now,” says Rust. “People need to know that because this is key right now with discussions on the Renewable Fuel Standard.” Rust says new technology like Edeniq’s PATHWAY Platform …
USDA Announces BCAP Funding
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack has announced that the USDA will begin accepting applications June 16 through July 14, 2014 from energy facilities interested in receiving forest or agricultural residues to generate clean energy. The support comes through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. Agriculture residues, such as corn …
Increases In Ethanol Efficiences Will Decrease Land Use
A study done by researchers at the University of Illinois’ College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, has found that several factors will lower the need for land used to produced corn-based ethanol to as little as 11 percent of the corn acres by 2026 when adhering to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 15 billion gallon ceiling on domestic ethanol …
2 Ethanol Plants Select ICM’s Added Value Technologies
In the past few weeks ICM has signed on three new ethanol plants which will use two of their second-generation ethanol technologies. Patriot Renewable Fuels has selected ICM’s Fiber Separation Technology (FST) while Front Range Energy has selected ICM’s patent-pending Selective Milling Technology (SMT) for their ethanol plant located on Windsor, Colorado. SMT is what is known as a “value-added …
Gen 1.5 – Corn Fiber to Ethanol
Somewhere between corn ethanol and cellulosic ethanol is a midpoint that can be found in the corn kernel. “Generation one is starch to ethanol and generation two is corn stover and grasses but there is cellulose in the corn kernel,” explained ICM, Inc. technical director Scott Kohl during a session last week at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference. “That’s …
Wet and Dry Milling Focus of Conference
The 2014 Corn Utilization and Technology Conference is underway in Louisville, Kentucky and this year the focus is on wet and dry milling technologies and new uses. National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) president Martin Barbre says the event brings together researchers with the common goal of facilitating the next ground-breaking technologies and corn-based products of the future. “It’s a great …