The incoming 1st Vice President of the National Corn Growers Association is Ron Litterer, Greene, IA. Here at the Farm Progress Show, I talked to Ron about the impact of using more and more corn for fuel and what his thoughts are on the issue of how that affects other uses of the commodity. Ron’s being interviewed here by Tom …
Monsanto’s Processor Preferred Program
Hello from the Farm Progress Show in Amana Colonies, IA. This is one of the biggest farm shows in the United States. Over 460 companies are on display out here in the middle of a corn field. The weather is not cooperating yet. It’s raining and muddy but I’m sure it will clear up over the next day or so.
Another Record (yawn)
Gotta admit – it’s getting old. Every month is a new record with ethanol production. I mean, just how many times can we say that? But, it’s a good thing – we’ll worry when it starts going down! The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) today announced that U.S. ethanol production increased in June to 318,000 barrels per day (b/d), an all-time …
New Blog on the Block
St. Petersburg Times reporters David Adams and Craig Pittman have started a new Florida-based biofuels blog called The Fueling Station. They promise to “provide regular updates with news about your favorite energy source from renewables to nuclear.” On the site now are interviews with Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Dr. Jose Sifontes in Gainesville talking about “his waste transformation bioreactor …
Ethanol Efficiency Explained by Rocket Scientist
Here’s an interesting commentary from the Providence (RI) Journal written by a “former rocket scientist and combustion specialist.” Maurice Webb is his name and he explains the gasoline vs. ethanol mileage question as follows: The fact is that higher fuel-heating values do not necessarily provide better engine performance (mileage). Engines equipped with carburetors do not perform well with ethanol because …
Ethanolics Anonymous?
There’s a saying in the ethanol world – “drink the best and burn the rest” – but a couple of Iowa State University researchers are out to turn that saying on its head. ISU researchers Hans van Leeuwen and Jacek Koziel are working on a process to quickly and cheaply convert fuel ethanol into the purer alcohol used in cocktails …
Ethanol-Powered Car Sets New Speed Record
GM Performance Division’s Ecotec-powered Bonneville Student Project Chevy Cobalt SS set a 172.680 mph land speed record this month at the Bonneville Salt Flats in its final run using E85 ethanol. The car was converted to run on E85 by three female engineering student interns – 19-year-old Heather Chemistruck from Virginia Tech University, 21-year-old Lauren Zimmer from Purdue University and …
Andretti Makes History
Mario Andretti sure was proud Sunday as his 19-year-old son Marco won his first Indy race in Sonoma, California on the Infineon Raceway. That was race number 13 of the season, just one more to go this year on ten percent ethanol before the big switch to 100 percent next year. Meanwhile, Team Ethanol can be proud of Sunday’s race. …
Growing Fuel In Trees
A tree that can reach 90 feet in six years and be grown as a row crop on fallow farmland could provide an additional feedstock for biofuels production. According to a Purdue University release, researchers Clint Chapple and Rick Meilan (pictured with trees) are using genetic tools in an effort to design trees that readily and inexpensively can yield the …