Our USDA Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics is Gale Buchanan. He was here at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference to talk about the need for research in a growing bio economy. In fact, he sees a need for a tremendous amount of research to address the opportunities presented by the whole energy picture. He also talked …
Cellulosic Ethanol Co-Products
We hear a lot about co-products with ethanol production like the DDGS but what about in cellulosic ethanol production? Well, Danielle Julie Carrier, Arkansas State University is doing work on that subject. I was very interested to hear that there are some possibilities. She’s working with switchgrass and they’ve found that if you wash the feedstock prior to the pre-treatment …
Energy BioSciences Institute Development
The luncheon speaker at the Transition To A Bio Economy conference focused on managing risk. Paul Willems works for BP Energy Biosciences Institute. He says it’s a collaboration between the University of California, Berkely, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the University of Illinois and BP. Paul says that their mission is to apply modern biology towards energy problems. The Institute …
Flexibility and Diversification Key To R&D Risk
Two key words in a presentation at the Transition To A Bio Economy Conference were flexibility and diversification. These are important to managing risk, especially in R&D for renewable fuels. Our presenter was Gordon Rausser, University of California, Berkeley, who was here with his assistant Maya Papineau. I interviewed them both together after the presentation. Gordon says that we should …
New Ethanol Products
While Cindy and thousands of people involved in ethanol production are attending the FEW in Nashville, I thought I’d share an interview I did at the recent Corn Utilization and Technology Conference. While we’re focused on ethanol as a fuel and that seems to be its primary use, some research is being done on other products ethanol can be used …
Study Finds Oil Impacts Prices More Than Policy
Government biofuel policies affect fuel and farm commodity prices, but the price of a barrel of oil can have even larger effects. That is the conclusion of a report by the University of Missouri Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI). The study researched biofuel scenarios based on 500 random draws of possible weather, production and other market influences. The …
Fungus Improves Corn Ethanol Process
A fungus that can be grown in ethanol production leftovers could help save energy, recycle more water and improve livestock feed ethanol co-products. That is according to research done by a team from Iowa State University and published this week by Science Daily. “The process could change ethanol production in dry-grind plants so much that energy costs can be reduced …
LifeLine’s Vision for Corn and Ethanol
LifeLine Foods sells ethanol, but ethanol is just one of many products the company produces. The St. Joseph, MO-based corn milling plant started off as a manufacturer of snack foods in 2001. Today, LifeLine’s identity is continually evolving. The 51 percent farmer-owned company is committed to innovation and is now partnered with ICM, Inc, a world leader in ethanol facility …
LifeLine Foods Just Happens to Sell Ethanol
One of the largest snack suppliers in the U.S. is also the supplier of ethanol fuel for the Indy Racing League. Yup, LifeLine Foods is fueling and feeding the American public. Bill Becker, president and CEO of Lifeline, says that’s just the tip of the iceberg. LifeLine is investing in technology that will allow the company to do much more …
Evidence that Ethanol Works
The ethanol industry in Brazil has been developing some major traction. Marcos Jank, President of UNICA, says the demand for ethanol in Brazil is now matching that of the demand for gasoline. He says ethanol is gaining ground and Brazil “won’t move back to gas.” Marcos was one of seven speakers at today’s Ethanol Summit held at the Indianapolis Motor …