Iowa State University is using some high technology to try and boost the release rates of corn sugars for ethanol production. According to an ISU release, a team of Iowa State researchers has demonstrated that pre-treating milled corn with ultrasonics can break the corn pieces into even finer particles. That exposes more of the corn’s starch to the enzymes that convert starch to simple sugars. The research team also plans to see if ultrasonics releases some sugars from the fibrous, cellulosic material in corn.
Idaho Biodiesel School
The University of Idaho is holding a one-day crash course in biodiesel June 15 in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. Among the topics are Growing Oilseeds in the Pacific Northwest, Biodiesel Production Practices, and Biodiesel Economics. The course is just $75. More information available here.
Sunshine State Biofuels Conference
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson is planning a biofuels conference to bring together the various elements critical to successful alternative energy programs to be held August 31 through September 1 in Orlando. According to an agency release, the event will serve as a forum for researchers, industry representatives and policymakers to discuss the production, distribution and use of biofuels, particularly ethanol, in Florida. The conference comes on the heels of the Florida Legislature passing comprehensive energy legislation, much of which is directed toward promoting renewable energy and providing a number of grants and incentives programs.
IL Governor Argues Against New Ethanol Research Center
Looking at the headline you would think Governor Rod Blagojevich is against new ethanol research. Not so. According to the AP story, he is against the government wasting money, building a new center when they can just upgrade the current National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center in Edwardsville instead. The new center is proposed to research cellulosic ethanol, however, so the current center might have to change it’s name. The three-year-old research center at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was built in part with $14 million in federal money. According to the article, revamping the center could cost as little as $8 million and be accomplished in six months.
Wow – what a concept! The government not wasting money.
VeraSun is Hot
Forbes is calling the pending IPO of VeraSun Energy a hot investment. “VeraSun Energy is profitable. Its planned IPO will be a winner, as the price of oil has hit about $70 per barrel amid high worldwide demand and growing concerns about the stability of the Middle East. VeraSun says it’s the second-largest ethanol producer in the United States with about 5% of the market, trailing Archer Daniels Midland, which claims about 24% of sales. However, VeraSun is the largest “pure play” in the sector because it focuses exclusively on the production of ethanol.”
Several other business pubs also did articles on VeraSun’s IPO, expected to dawn next week, because they increased the estimated price for shares by $2-3 up to $21-22 per share.
Mt. Vernon Plant Plans
ASAlliances Biofuels LLC plans to build a $125 million ethanol plant in Mount Vernon, Ind., according to news reports. ASAlliances Biofuels is a partnership comprised of the some of the biggest names in the ethanol and agribusiness industries – Cargill, Fagen and United BioEnergy. The Mount Vernon plant would be located adjacent to a Cargill grain elevator and would produce 100 million gallons of fuel grade ethanol and 315,000 tons of dry distiller grain annually.
BioWillie Distributor Buys Into NC Plant
Earth Ethanol, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Earth Biofuels, Inc., today announced that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire majority interest in North Carolina-based Albemarle Biorefinery, Inc. of Raleigh, North Carolina. According to a Business Wire release, the company intends to build a state-of-the-art ethanol facility in the town of Jamesville, Martin County, North Carolina. Earth Biofuels produces and distributes biodiesel fuel through the company’s network of wholesale and retail outlets. The fuel is sold under country musician Willie Nelson’s brand name “BioWillie.”
Fast Fine Tuning
Chuck is in Nashville this week and plans to visit with a guy he interviewed at the Indy 500. Brad Mayo is a “tuner” – he fine tunes street cars to make them run faster on ethanol blended fuel.
You can listen to Chuck’s interview with Brad about the finer aspects of fine tuning here: 
Brad Mayo Interview (5:14 min MP3)
Post Update: Here’s a picture of Brad’s car that he’s working on and it will be using ethanol.
Ethanol Plant News
As always, it’s a challenge to keep up with all the ethanol plants being opened, planned, expanded, etc. But, here’s some of the latest in a nutshell.
Illinois – Johnson Grain has announced it will build a 200 million gallon capacity plant near Springfield, IL (Belleville News Democrat-AP)
Minnesota – Highwater Ethanol, LLC is planning a 50 mgy plant in southwestern MN. (Grand Forks Herald-AP)
Iowa – Three plants proposed within 50 miles of Sioux City in “ethanol frenzy.” (KTIV news)
Colorado – Plans for at least four new ethanol production plants in Colorado are continuing despite the governor’s veto of an ethanol mandate bill. (Fort Morgan Times)
North Carolina – Groundbreaking for the ethanol-production facility near Aurora has been delayed until July because the plant is skipping the initial first phase and going to full capacity from the start. (Washington Daily News)
California – Shares of Pacific Ethanol were up in trading this week. (MSN-AP Business News)
Canada – A 150-million-litre ethanol plant costing between $115 million and $130 million is planned for Belle Plaine. (Star Phoenix)
Greenspan Sees Future in Cellulosic Ethanol
Testimony of former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday has gotten quite a bit of news coverage, especially his comments about ethanol. In his written remarks to the committee, Greenspan said “Corn ethanol, though valuable, can play only a limited role, because its ability to displace gasoline is modest at best. But cellulosic ethanol, should it fulfill its promise, would help to wean us of our petroleum dependence, as could clean coal and nuclear power.” Google News Search lists over 300 articles related to Greenspan’s remarks mentioning ethanol.