Reuters reports on a first for Brazil’s biofuels industry: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva showcased Brazil’s prowess in the alternative fuels industry on Tuesday when he inaugurated Barralcool, the first integrated biofuels plant that will produce cane-based ethanol and biodiesel from oilseeds. Brazil, with its huge agricultural potential, has for decades had the world’s most advanced biofuels market. After …
Southridge in the Southeast
Southridge Ethanol has popped up recently as a company with “a mission to become the ethanol producer of choice in the southeastern region of the United States,” according to the company website. Just in the past month, the company has announced it’s intent to acquire ethanol plant equipment from South Louisiana Ethanol; that the Quitman County Mississippi Economic Development Committee …
Southeast Missouri Ethanol Plant Moves Ahead
Ethanex Energy Inc. has received regulatory approval under a waiver to begin construction on its ethanol production plant to be located in Cape Girardeau. According to a company release, Ethanex at SEMO will be a state of the art 132 million gallons per year fuel-grade ethanol plant. The facility will include patented fractionation technology that reduces energy consumption by 25%, …
Sky Could be the Limit for Corn Yields
Over the past decade, corn yields have been increasing an average of 3.4 bushels per acre per year. That is double the average of the previous decade and all indications are that will continue, which is good news for the corn ethanol industry. Pioneer Hi-Bred International senior marketing manager Joe Foresman says regarding corn yields, “With the genetic advancements that …
EPA Investigates Blended Ethanol
Most cars are manufacturer-approved to run on up to ten percent ethanol blended with gasoline. Flex fuel vehicles can run on up to 85 percent. But the Environmental Protection Agency is looking into whether 20 or 30 percent ethanol-blended gasoline meets Clear Air Act standards. At issue, according to this story in the Aberdeen (SD) News, is that so-called blender …
Study Finds Biotech Will Meet Food and Fuel Demands
A National Center for Food and Agricultural Policy study suggests that biotechnology plays a vital role in meeting the increased demand for corn production for food, feed and fuel. According to the study, U.S. farmers gained an additional 8.3 billion pounds of yield last year due to biotech crops, including an extra 7.6 billion pounds of corn production, a 29 …
Ethanol Plant Converting to Biomass
Broin Companies of South Dakota plans to build a cellulose-to-ethanol production facility in the state of Iowa with a completion date expected in 2009. The announcement came during a joint press conference Monday at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines with Jeff Broin, CEO of Broin Companies, Iowa Governor Thomas Vilsack, and Iowa Governor-Elect Chet Culver. Voyager Ethanol, located in …
25 x ’25 Could Help Rural Economy
The alliance known as 25X’25 has just completed a study that outlines the positive impact producing 25 percent of the nation’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2025 could have on rural America. According to J. Read Smith, co-chair of the 25x’25 Project Steering Committee, “Not only would reaching the goal drastically reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources, it …
The Andersons Run With Marathon
Marathon Oil Corporation and The Andersons, Inc. are planning to start construction immediately on an ethanol plant in Greenville, Ohio. According to a joint press release, the Greenville site will be the first to be constructed by The Andersons Marathon Ethanol LLC, a 50/50 joint venture between The Andersons, Inc. and Marathon Petroleum Company LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of …
Ethanol Plant Permit Applications Abound in Illinois
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is snowed under with air permit applications from ethanol plant projects. According to a story from the Illinois Farm Bureau publication FarmWeek, there were 13 applications in September alone. On average, an ethanol project receives a permit about six months after submitting an application. Permits for controversial projects or those that go through a public …