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 to produce.
Carl Lira, Michigan State University, spoke on “Reactive Distillations for Chemical Products from Ethanol.” Carl says he’s looking at methods to diversify the ethanol production platform. For example, he’s looking at new products that can be made from ethanol so that producers can diversify and react to the market in different ways. He’s trying to get them to think with more of a bio refinery philosophy. From a product standpoint, he’s using ethanol as a reagent to produce high quality chemicals. He says they’ve done some economic analysis which is available from the National Corn Growers Association and that it looks very attractive.
You can listen to my interview with Carl here: [audio:http://www.zimmcomm.biz/ncga/cutc-08-carl-lira.mp3]
This coming Thursday is national “Dump the Pump Day,” a day when drivers are encouraged to use public transportation instead of their own vehicles to save money and fuel. Some of those folks will be running on biodiesel, as many communities use the green fuel to run their buses.
On a panel addressing the issue at the 2008 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Tuesday was Robert White with the 
Heavy equipment manufacturer Case has approved the use of B20 biodiesel for more than 85 percent of its products.
The annual “High Octane Award” was presented to David Kolsrud, president and CEO of 
The Award of Excellence for ethanol research was presented by Dr. Kevin Hicks with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service eastern research center. This year the award went to Dr. Jay Shetty, senior director of global applications and grain processing for 
The Subcommittee E of ASTM International, a group that establishes standards for a variety of things including fuels, has voted to recommend the passage of finished specifications for biodiesel blends. 
“We addressed the issues and concerns with solid, scientific research,” said Joe Jobe, CEO of the National Biodiesel Board. “Without the tremendous amount of scientific data provided by independent organizations like Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Coordinating Research Council (CRC) and others, and the cooperation of the petroleum and engine communities, this would not have been possible.”
In April 2004, POET began full production at an ethanol plant in Ashton. Electricity is generated by a natural gas-fired turbine, which requires approximately 16 percent less fuel than typical on-site thermal generation and purchased electricity. Based on this comparison, the system reduces carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 18,900 tons per year, which is equivalent to removing the annual emissions from 3,100 cars or planting 3,900 acres of forest.
The East Kansas Agri-Energy dry mill ethanol plant in Garnett, Kan., began production in 2005. The steam turbine system generates approximately one-third of the facility’s electrical demands. It requires approximately 23 percent less fuel than typical on-site thermal generation and purchased electricity. Based on this comparison, the plant reduces carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 14,500 tons per year, which is equivalent to removing the annual emissions from 2,400 cars or planting 3,000 acres of forest.
According to Dr. Robert Zubrin, author of “