Ethanol By-Product for Livestock

Cindy Zimmerman

All the talk about food vs. fuel seems to not take into account the fact that a by-product of ethanol production is livestock feed. In fact, one bushel of corn produces about three gallons of ethanol and 17 pounds of distillers grains. That product can be fed to livestock either in the wet state or dried as DDGs. Drying takes more time and energy, but locating cattle right nearby ethanol plants could help speed the feeding process for the wet product.

I did an interview this week for the Missouri Beef Industry Council with Rex Ricketts, who is the University of Missouri Extension Commercial Agricutlure Program Coordinator. Rex recently conducted this year’s Missouri Beef Tour for producers, which focused on the opportunities ethanol plants offer for livestock producers.
Listen to MP3 Ricketts Interview (6 min. MP3)

Ethanol

PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 Weekend

Chuck Zimmerman

PEAK Anitfreeze Indy 300In case you didn’t know it, the final race of the Indy Racing League season is this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. I’m on my way there today since there’s a whole weekend of activities planned to help promote ethanol with the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council. I’ll be following the activities of Jeff Simmons in particular as he competes in the #17 Team Ethanol Car for Rahal-Letterman Racing.

Besides the PEAK Antifreeze Indy 300 on Sunday, we’ve got a pump promotion going on tomorrow morning.

IRL IndyCar® Series drivers Tony Kanaan, Dario Franchitti, Jeff Simmons and Jeff Bucknum will be on hand Friday at the 7-Eleven convenience and fuel station in Romeoville, pumping low-priced fuel ($2.20 unleaded) for customers as they promote the use of ethanol in street fuel as well as their 220 mile per hour racing machines. The drivers will be available to speak with the media while they interact and pump fuel for the public.

There’s more to come so keep tuned in starting tomorrow in Chicago.

EPIC, Ethanol, Indy Racing

NCGA Disputes Brown Numbers

Cindy Zimmerman

Crisis prognosticator Dr. Lester Brown has gotten some ink lately with his predictions of how ethanol production is going to lead to world starvation.

National Corn Growers Association CEO Rick Tolman has a good analysis of Brown’s numbers in a recent NCGA “Our View.” He refutes Brown’s assertion that “the grain required to fill a 25-gallon SUV gas tank with ethanol could feed one person for a year,” especially by noting that he does not account for the distillers grains that are a by-product of ethanol production and fed to livestock.

And then there is this paragraph:

Brown also suggests, “As the price of oil climbs, so will the price of food.” I wish that he could talk with the farmers around the United States that are still getting less than $2 a bushel for their corn. Not even taking inflation into account, the prices paid to farmers today for corn are in many cases less than they were 30 years ago. Meanwhile, oil prices have more than doubled in the past three years. At the beginning of 2004, oil traded for $34 per barrel. As of August 23, 2006, the price was $72 per barrel.

Well noted. Farmers as a breed are among the hardest working, least appreciated laborers in this nation and I get tired of people who infer they are corporate fat cats who live on government subsidies while abusing our natural resources. Nothing could be further from the truth. They work harder than the majority of us who sit in air conditioned offices in the summer while they are sweating out the weather which determines what kind of crop they will produce, and watch the markets which determine what kind of price they will get. Meanwhile, we reap the benefits of the most wholesome, abundant and affordable food supply in the world. Given half a chance, I’ll bet we could produce an abundant and affordable energy supply as well.

Ethanol, Opinion

BQ-9000 List Grows

Cindy Zimmerman

World Energy According to the National Biodiesel Board, World Energy – one of the nation’s first biodiesel suppliers – has become the latest company to become an Accredited Producer under BQ-9000, a voluntary quality control program. So far, 11 companies are accredited, with another 7 undergoing the process.

BQ-9000 is a quality assurance certification program that includes procedures for fuel production, storage, handling and management aimed at ensuring fuel quality throughout production and distribution.

Biodiesel

Ethanol and Water Mix

Cindy Zimmerman

Oil and water may not mix, but ethanol and water do.

According to this story from the Pratt (NE) Tribune, field tests were recently done in Nebraska on a valve that is bolted onto an existing engine that allows it to run on a mixture of ethanol and water.

Ecosense The valve, designed by Ecosense Solutions of Missouri, can be attached to an internal combustion engine (it attaches to the top of the manifold) without drastically changing the basic engine. It was field tested on a stationary irrigation motor in Nebraska.

Bottom line was that with a mixture of 80 percent ethanol and 20 percent water, emissions were reduced by half and there was a cost savings of $2-3 per hour to operate the engine.

More testing is being done to fine tune the system, but the article says that irrigators in California are taking a close look at the valve because of emission laws that will take effect in 2007 and make it difficult for them to meet those standards using natural gas which is getting very expensive.

That’s the nutshell version – be sure to read the whole article for details.

Ethanol, Research

IRL Finds Better Mileage With Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Indy Car Series According to this Indianapolis Star article in the Des Moines Register, the Indy Racing League is getting better fuel mileage this year on ten percent ethanol. “Of course, the league’s cars aren’t known for their fuel efficiency; traditionally, they burn through a gallon in less than two miles.”

Next year, the league will fill its cars with 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol. The entire racing industry will study this move. If successful, it could spark a sweeping change in racing. The league’s engineers are confident it will proceed smoothly.

Ethanol, Indy Racing

Bill for Biofuels Investment

Cindy Zimmerman

US Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) has introduced legislation to create a “Biofuels Investment Trust Fund.”

According to a Nelson release, the fund would “direct tens of millions of dollars through the Department of Energy and USDA into research that will increase and diversify biofuel production in the U.S.”

The trust fund would especially focus on the development of switchgrass as a dedicated energy crop. According to Nelson, “The United States must continue to push ahead with research and development of biofuels and cellulosic ethanol represents the next generation of this important alternative, renewable fuel.”

Nelson formed and was the first chairman of the Governor’s Ethanol Coalition when he was governor of Nebraska in 1992.

Cellulosic, Ethanol, Government

Earth Biofuels News

Cindy Zimmerman

Earth Biofuels Earth Biofuels Inc. subsidiary, Earth Ethanol, has agreed to buy half of South Louisiana Ethanol LLC, which owns an old ethanol production facility near New Orleans.

The plan is to reconstruct the plant, located in Plaquemines Parish, to produce at least 65 million gallons of ethanol per year. The plant is located on the Mississippi River and within the Gulf Opportunity Zone, an area the federal government has targeted for rebuilding through tax incentives after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Earth Biofuels also recently announced another addition to its star-studded board – legendary NASCAR-driver Rusty Wallace.

According to a company release, Wallace joins fellow advisory board member Julia Roberts and Board of Directors members country music legend Willie Nelson and actor Morgan Freeman in promoting the use of renewable fuels such as Earth Biofuels’ biodiesel and ethanol.

Wallace is a former NASCAR Premier Series champion and 55-time race winner. He ranks as one of the top-five money winners in NASCAR history.

Biodiesel, Ethanol

Broin High on Ohio

Cindy Zimmerman

Broin Companies Broin Companies is officially announcing plans this week to build a $100 million ethanol production facility near Leipsic, Ohio with Summit Ethanol. In addition, Broin is exploring three other Ohio locations for ethanol facilities, two of which are Marion and Fostoria, both located in northwest Ohio as is Leipsic.

According to Bob Berens, Broin Companies Director of Site Development. “We have not committed to building on any location other than Leipsic at this time. However, the potential exists to develop and construct additional ethanol facilities in Ohio and the locations we have targeted have met the preliminary screening we apply to our business model. We are excited about the potential that Marion and Fostoria offer, but will only pursue the option if the fit is perfect for Broin Companies and the communities involved.”

Ethanol, Facilities

Chinese Ethanol

Cindy Zimmerman

Reuters reports that China is emerging as a global ethanol exporter. According to the article, exports of Chinese ethanol – made from either corn or cassava (tapioca) – have gone from zero to over 500,000 tons this year.

China is the world’s third largest ethanol producer, behind Brazil and the United States, even though it only had four plants in 2005.

Ethanol, International