Ethanol Report from FEW

Cindy Zimmerman

The 2021 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) was live and in-person this year and members of the ethanol industry were thrilled to be able to meet and talk with each other once again.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper was the keynote speaker this year and he had a lot to talk about, from the recent adverse court decisions to the potential for ethanol to lead in a low carbon future.

This edition of The Ethanol Report podcast features remarks from Cooper, RFA Senior VP for government and public affairs Troy Bredenkamp, past RFA Chair Mick Henderson with Commonwealth Agri-Energy in Kentucky, and RFA board member Walt Wendland, CEO of Ringneck Energy in South Dakota.

Ethanol Report 7-15-21 (22:36)

The Ethanol Report is a podcast about the latest news and information in the ethanol industry that has been sponsored by the Renewable Fuels Association since 2008.

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House and Senate Bills Would Provide E15 Fix

Cindy Zimmerman

As the 2021 Fuel Ethanol Workshop (FEW) was getting underway Wednesday, ethanol’s champions in Congress were introducing bills that would allow E15 to be sold year round despite the recent circuit court decision.

Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN) and Adrian Smith (R-NE) led Co-Chairs of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus in introducing the Year-Round Fuel Choice Act, bipartisan legislation that would ensure that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) can grant waivers to allow E15 and higher blend fuels to be sold at retailers year-round.

At the same time, Senators Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) reintroduced the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act which would extend the Reid vapor pressure (RVP) volatility waiver to ethanol blends above 10 percent. Senator Fischer introduced the legislation in the 115th Congress but it never made it out of committee.

American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings endorses this swift legislative action to address the issue. “Since 2019, E15 adoption at retail sites has almost doubled with nearly 2500 locations and extending the 1-psi RVP waiver to E15 only makes sense to reflect the realities of today’s motor fuel market and year-over-year track record of successful growth. Without this legislation, it is possible to lose E15 sales next summer which would harm everyone through higher pump prices and greenhouse gas and tailpipe emissions.”

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper thanked the ethanol champions for their support. “We are very fortunate in this industry to have such dedicated and devoted champions and leaders who understand the benefits of renewable fuels,” said Cooper. “In light of the DC circuit court decision we know that our friends in Congress want to be helpful with a legislative solution on RVP.”

RFA CEO Geoff Cooper comment on E15 bills (:31)

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RFA CEO Keynotes 2021 FEW Live

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) President and CEO Geoff Cooper told participants at the 2021 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo Wednesday that low-carbon ethanol’s “brightest and sunniest days remain ahead” despite recent judicial setbacks and a growing policy push on electric vehicles.

Even after two recent disappointing court decisions, “The ethanol industry is still in a stronger position today than we’ve been in for years,” Cooper told the Des Moines audience. “Our outlook remains bright, despite what the headlines and our opponents would like us to believe.”

The potential impacts of the June 25 Supreme Court decision on small refinery exemptions and the July 2 D.C. Circuit Court decision to reverse year-round E15 sales will be more limited than some believe, Cooper said.

Cooper highlighted that ethanol can play a major role in efforts to greenhouse reduce emissions from the transportation sector, especially if additional state low-carbon fuel standards, or a national LCFS program, are adopted. “Even after accounting for all of energy and emissions associated with every step of the ethanol production process, today’s corn starch ethanol is shown to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 50 percent compared to gasoline,” he said. “Clearly, we are already on our way to ‘net zero’ with ethanol. Proper accounting of soil carbon accumulation in corn fields, using biogas for thermal energy, or adopting carbon capture and sequestration could make corn ethanol carbon neutral—or even carbon negative.”

Listen to Cooper’s remarks here:
FEW 2021 Keynote RFA CEO Geoff Cooper (27:00)

Click here for the keynote remarks as prepared, and here for the slides used in Cooper’s presentation.

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BBI Presents Annual Ethanol Awards

Cindy Zimmerman

The International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo (FEW) kicked off live and in-person this morning with annual awards presented by BBI International and Ethanol Producer Magazine.

Steve Markham, who currently serves as director of risk at CHS Inc., is the 2021 recipient of BBI’s High Octane Award, which acknowledges a person who has helped the industry progress over time, especially through market development and product championing. The High Octane Award is given to the ethanol industry’s top market builders, strongest advocates and our most ardent and engaged industry supporters.

During his decades-long career, Markham has been a driving force in the development of domestic and international distillers grains usage. He pioneered the practice of third-party marketing for the valuable ethanol industry coproduct. Markham also played an important role in facilitating early research projects for distillers grains and guided industry developments related to rail and barge transportation as market demand for distillers grains grew. Markham is a passionate advocate of the important work the U.S. Grains Council does to increase global demand for distillers grains and is a regular speaker at the organization’s overseas events.

Kurt Rosentrater, executive director and CEO of the Distillers Grains Technology Council and associate professor at Iowa State University’s Department of Agriculture and Biosystems Engineering, is the 2021 recipient of BBI’s Award of Excellence, which recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the fuel ethanol industry through their research, technical advisory and/or development activities.

For nearly 20 years, Rosentrater’s unique approach to research has helped overcome challenges and improved utilization of distillers grains coproducts. Specifically, his work has helped improve material handing and storage of distillers grains. He was the first to develop a commercially viable method to pelletize 100 percent distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Rosentrater has also helped develop new market opportunities for distillers grains in aquaculture.

The 2021 FEW opened this week with over 300 exhibitors and 1800 attendees.

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Groups Urge EPA to Propose Higher Octane Fuel Standard

Cindy Zimmerman

A coalition of agriculture and biofuel groups is urging the administration to propose a higher octane fuel standard as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updates its greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger vehicles and light duty trucks,

In a letter to President Joe Biden, the group also requested that EPA open a comment period on the role that high octane low carbon (HOLC) fuels can play in advancing the administration’s “climate, environmental justice, public health, economic revitalization, and energy security objectives.”

The letter notes that the Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI), which manufactures 99 percent of affected vehicles, also supports a transition to HOLC fuels “in new and existing internal combustion engines…as soon as possible” to facilitate the nation’s transition to a lower carbon economy.

Letter signers includes the High Octane Low Carbon Alliance, comprised of the Clean Fuels Development Coalition, National Farmers Union, National Corn Growers Association, and the Renewable Fuels Association. Additional organizations include American Farm Bureau Federation, American Coalition for Ethanol, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, state NFU and corn grower groups

“High octane, low carbon fuels, including higher-level blends of ethanol, hold so much potential – and we should be doing everything we can to realize that potential,” said NFU President Rob Larew. “These fuels improve vehicle and fuel efficiency, which in turn can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, conserve oil, and strengthen energy security.”

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Ethanol Industry Excited for FEW 20021

Cindy Zimmerman

Members of the ethanol industry are gearing up to be able to see each other again next week at the 2021 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop and Expo (FEW) July 13-15 in Des Moines.

The general session kicks off Wednesday morning with the keynote address from Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper who will have plenty to discuss regarding the current state and future of the ethanol industry with recent negative court decisions. Cooper will be followed by a panel discussion on “Charting the Prospects for the Renewable Fuels Sector in the Biden Era” featuring Troy Bredenkamp with RFA, American Coalition for Ethanol CEO Brian Jennings, and Chris Bliley with Growth Energy.

The following panel “Paradigm Shift: Surveying Producer Attitudes about New Products and Markets in a New Era of Biorefining” will provide perspectives from ethanol producers including Mick Henderson, Commonwealth Agri-Energy; Walt Wendland, Ringneck Energy; and James Broghammer, Pine Lake Corn Processors.

Over 300 exhibitors will be at FEW this year and more than 430 biofuels producers are registered. Registration is complimentary for producers.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, FEW, RFA

10th Plant to Install Whitefox ICE Technology

Cindy Zimmerman

Golden Grain Energy LLC in north central Iowa will be the tenth facility to install Whitefox ICE® membrane dehydration unit for improved energy use and future expansion.

With a firm commitment to sustainable and energy efficient ethanol production, Golden Grain was one of the first Midwest plants certified under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard program. The plant has continued to take significant steps through innovative technology and operations to increase its efficiency and lower its carbon intensity (CI) score. Installing Whitefox’s energy-efficient membrane technology will further improve its efficiency and competitive advantage.

Chad Kuhlers, CEO of Golden Grain Energy, said, “We’ve been in discussions with Whitefox and watching the technology continue to advance for a few years now, and we felt the time was right to adopt membrane dehydration as part of our operational future. Whitefox systems have been verified in 24/7 operations at several other plants. With the other yield and operational improvements Golden Grain has implemented, Whitefox is a good solution for our plant to de-bottleneck existing process units and we expect additional benefits in plant maintenance and overall operational efficiency.”

The installation will take ICE® membrane system capacity to over 150 million gallons per year.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

Biodiesel Board Seeing Membership Growth

Cindy Zimmerman

With interest in low carbon fuels growing, the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) is experiencing growth in membership within the biodiesel and renewable diesel industry. Eight new companies have joined the organization in the last year, according to CEO Donnell Rehagen.

“It’s an incredible time for the biodiesel and renewable diesel industry as we push toward our vision of 6 billion gallons by 2030,” said Rehagen. “With the growth in demand, we see broader and growing interest in the success of the industry. The addition of these members demonstrates the value they see in being part of our trade association that has been built to expand this industry year after year.”

NBB’s newest members include the American Lung Association, fuel supplements manufacturer ET Products, rail shipper OmniTRAX, Propane Education and Research Council (PERC), home heating supplier Cubby Oil & Energy, technical service provider V-TIC Services Inc., NEXT Renewable Fuels, Inc. of Oregon, and Continental Refining Company, a soybean crush plant with biodiesel and renewable diesel refining and blending capabilities.

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Research Suggests Use of Biofuels Reduces Cancer Risk

Cindy Zimmerman

A newly published review of top scientific literature suggests that ethanol-blended fuels “result in less toxic emissions from vehicles and present a lower risk to human health than regular gasoline.”

The study was a collaboration between The Hormel Institute, University of Minnesota and the Energy Resources Center, University of Illinois Chicago, and was supported in part by the Renewable Fuels Association.

The review article, “An Assessment on Ethanol-Blended Gasoline/Diesel Fuels on Cancer Risk and Mortality,” was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2021) by Dr. Steffen Mueller of the Energy Resources Center and Dr. Shujun Liu and Gail Dennison of The Hormel Institute. It reviews research on the toxicity of gasoline and expected toxicity reductions with ethanol.

“I’m excited to see the research point to what we’ve suspected after years of working in this field – that replacing aromatics with ethanol indeed can have a direct positive impact on human health,” said Dr. Mueller, Principal Economist at the Energy Resources Center, University of Illinois, Chicago. “To further protect people from the unnecessary promotion of diseases like cancer, it is critical to continue research that examines the human health effects of these emissions.”

The research suggests cancer risks are positively associated with exposure to occupational and environmental chemical carcinogens, including those from gasoline combustion exhausted in vehicles. The toxicity of chemical agents has been thoroughly studied, however less effort has been put into studying the epigenotoxicity (e.g., aberrant DNA methylation that may lead to cancer). While the authors concluded that the available research points to biofuels containing fewer carcinogens and therefore reduced cancer risk, larger exposure studies are still needed to confirm the results.

Read the review here.

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House Bill Would Clarify Refinery Waiver Language

Cindy Zimmerman

Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Angie Craig (D-MN) last week introduced the Small Refinery Exemption Clarification Act of 2021 to clarify the definition of “extension” in response to the recent Supreme Court ruling that favored oil refineries over biofuel producers.

“The biofuels industry is an important driver of economic growth in Iowa, supporting hundreds of jobs and expanding market options for our corn and soybean growers. That is why we must erase ambiguities and ensure oil refineries are not able to take shortcuts when it comes to blending biofuels. I would like to thank Rep. Craig for joining me in this effort. As a cleaner and more affordable option for consumers, I will continue supporting efforts that will help bolster biofuels,” said Rep. Feenstra.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper said, “As we argued before the Supreme Court, we believe Congress has always intended the small refinery exemption to be temporary in nature. We also continue to believe the statute only allows EPA to extend exemptions for refineries that were continuously exempt, but only if they can prove disproportionate economic hardship will be caused solely by RFS compliance.”

Feenstra is a freshman member of Congress who talked about his passion for biofuels in a recent interview.
All Ag News interview with Rep. Randy Feestra (R-IA) (8:45)

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