DuPont recently received confirmation from an independent sources that its ethanol yield calibration system really works.
The external independent validation came from the Illinois Crop Improvement Association (ICIA), which demonstrated that the Ethanol Yield Potential (EYP) near infrared (NIR) calibration does reliably predict the ethanol output of whole corn grain. The calibration, developed by DuPont business Pioneer Hi-Bred, allows ethanol plants to rapidly and consistently evaluate incoming grain, helping both plant managers and growers determine which corn hybrids and management practices can improve ethanol production.
“Rapid determination of EYP of corn can be a valuable step in improving ethanol plant efficiency,” said Dennis Thompson, ICIA chief executive officer. “ICIA recognizes the need for rapid measurement tools based on standardized reference lab methods. Our initial validation procedures have shown a strong correlation between the Pioneer EYP calibration and our laboratory method.”
The calibration has been incorporated into the QualiTrakSM system from Pioneer, a measurement and reporting program that facilitates the flow of ethanol yield information to both plant personnel and corn growers. The technology allows ethanol producers to use analytical data to manage the corn grain feeding for their ethanol production process through rapid analysis and grading at the point of grain receiving. Farmers are then able to take this information and combine it with their on-farm agronomic performance data to tailor the corn hybrids they plant and apply management practices to maximize the ethanol yield on every acre.
“Fueling Revolution” is the theme for the 2008 Ethanol Conference and Trade Show being held August 12-14 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
According to the company, Primafuel Solutions will deliver next-generation, market-ready technology solutions to the biofuels industry. By taking Primafuel’s advanced technology platforms to market, Primafuel Solutions is working with customers to facilitate the transition to more sustainable bio-refineries. The team’s initial offering is SMAART™Oil, a down-stream system that extracts more food and fuel from the same bushel of corn.
“Removing the tariff would not lower food prices,” said RFA president Bob Dinneen. “Such an action would halt development of new ethanol technologies and take the jobs and economic opportunity being generated by the domestic ethanol industry to foreign countries. I strongly encourage President Bush to recognize that skyrocketing oil prices play a far greater role in the complex issue of food prices than does ethanol and reject the efforts to remove the secondary tariff.”
Biofuels groups from the US, Canada, Brazil and Europe put aside their differences this past week to present a united front to world leaders meeting in Japan.
Nearly three years after Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, destroying a large portion of the city and trashing more than half of its 370 buses, the city is getting some public transportation fueled by biodiesel.
Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell has signed into law measures that will provide incentives to biodiesel producers while mandating a rising scale of biodiesel percentages in all diesel sold in the state.
A committee of scientists that helps the government make decisions is recommending that the U.S. keeps working on biodiesel.
Originally created to replace over 100 separate newsletters POET distributed every year, Vital is putting a face to the ethanol industry. Throughout 2008, Vital will base its editorial on four main themes: the future of ethanol, community profiles, industry information and environmental advancements. 