ACE Conference 2026

EPA Decision Boosts Isobutanol

Cindy Zimmerman

In news that was somewhat overshadowed during his Midwest tour last week, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced the registration of isobutanol as a fuel additive for blending into gasoline at levels up to 16 volume percent from the previous 12.5 percent blend level.

Pruitt issued a letter of notification on June 12 to Butamax Advanced Biofuels LLC registering isobutanol “after all applicable Clean Air Act requirements were met and after careful review of the numerous comments received.” Isobutanol or biobutanol is considered to be a second generation biofuel that can be made from biomass.

Butamax is a joint venture between BP and DuPont that was locked in a legal battle over the technology with Gevo Inc. for many years until the two companies came to an agreement in August 2015. Shares of Gevo skyrocketed over 300 percent this week on news of the EPA decision.

Ethanol, Ethanol News, isobutanol

ACE Awards 2018 Scholarships

Cindy Zimmerman

(L to R) Keithen Drury, Emma Baker, Brett Galles

The American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) has announced the winners of its 2018 scholarship program recipients. Keithen Drury, Brett Galles, and Emma Baker will each receive a $1,000 scholarship to help further their collegiate education.

Keithen Drury from Blue Hill, Nebraska, is pursuing a degree in Mechanical Engineering at Dordt College in Sioux Center, Iowa. Keithen is the son of Terry and Penny Drury. His father Terry is employed at ACE ethanol producer member Chief Ethanol Fuels in Hastings, Nebraska.

Brett Galles of Remsen, Iowa, will be attending Iowa State University in Ames where he plans to study Industrial Engineering. Brett is the son of Bart and Kelly Galles. His father Bart is employed with ACE ethanol producer member Little Sioux Corn Processors in Marcus, Iowa.

Emma Baker is from Lena, Illinois, and will be pursuing nursing at Highland Community College in Freeport. Emma is the daughter of Ray and Amy Baker. Her father Ray works for ACE ethanol producer member Adkins Energy in Lena, Illinois.

The ACE Scholarship Program was initiated in 2004, and ACE has awarded $53,000 since then. Scholarships are made available to employees and dependents of employees and shareholders of ACE Ethanol Producer, Voting and Associate member companies and organizations in good standing.

ACE, Education, Ethanol, Ethanol News

House Democrats Demand Answers from EPA

Cindy Zimmerman

Democratic members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Committee on Agriculture led by Reps. Dave Loebsack (D-IA) and Cheri Bustos (D-IL) are demanding that EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt provide additional information regarding his agency’s “failed implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).”

A letter signed by a dozen Democrats presents a series of questions seeking information about “the mismanagement of a program that provided waivers to some of our nation’s largest, most profitable refiners, but were intended to help support small refiners with demonstrated economic hardship and were in danger of going bankrupt.”

The lawmakers also want information about the EPA’s retroactive awarding of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINS), which they have repeatedly requested and which the EPA has refused to answer.

“We appreciate the effort of these members to bring attention to EPA’s woeful disregard of the statute and its indiscriminate granting of hardship waivers,” said Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen. “The Agency’s lack of transparency in this process prompted RFA to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which has been met with complete silence. We have also filed suit in the 10th circuit challenging specific waivers and in the DC Circuit contesting EPA’s failure to reallocate gallons.”

Read the letter.

EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Government, RFA, RFS

Growth Energy Touts Prime the Pump Success

Cindy Zimmerman

More than 2,800 retail sites will offer E15 by 2021, generating approximately 350 million new ethanol gallons annually, according to a new report by Growth Energy on the success of E15 and the accomplishments of Prime the Pump, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping build the infrastructure and distribution of higher biofuel blends.

“Thanks to the hard work and generosity of participants in the Prime the Pump program, American consumers can purchase E15 at more than 1,400 locations across 30 states,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor.

The initiative has succeeded in doubling the number of E15 stations four years in a row to the current 1400, and added three major new retailers to the program in 2017, including a partnership with Kwik Trip which successfully rolled out E15 at 300 sites in just four months.

However, Skor notes that this great momentum is at risk without Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) relief for year round sales of E15. “It’s a major obstruction for those going the extra mile to expand into new markets and grow our industry,” said Skor. “Retailers in many markets simply can’t or won’t retool their labels and fuel offerings each summer, which means that E15 is off the menu all year and what’s at stake is 7 billion new gallons of ethanol demand.”

Click here to read the Prime the Pump one pager.

E15, Ethanol, Growth Energy, Retailers

DuPont Launches New Products for Fuel Ethanol Market

DuPont Industrial Biosciences used the Fuel Ethanol Workshop to showcase three new products geared toward the fuel ethanol market.

All three products are part of the XCELIS platform, which also includes an online partner community for the industry called Grain Changers. Each of these products is already available, according to Judy Underwood, global marketing leader for biorefinery business with Dupont Industrial Biosciences.

Underwood said DuPont™ SYNERXIA® THRIVE GX is a next generation yeast product for the fuel alcohol industry. A second product, DuPont™ DISTILLASE® DXT, is an advanced glucoamylase blend, designed to help customers extract even more value from liquefied grains through a combination of advanced glucoamylases, trehalase and cold cook alpha amylase.

“Starch gets trapped by the corn fiber, and the fiber presents itself as a really strong matrix,” said Underwood. “So this is a way to loosen up that fiber and let some of that starch out so that the alpha amylase in liquefaction can tackle it and solubulize it, leading to higher yields. Really good for producers that have an issue with residual starch.”

The third product, DuPont™ OPTIMASH® AX, is designed to help customers extract even more value out of nonstarch carbohydrates. It relaxes fibers to release inaccessible starch; increases ethanol yields up to one percent and is complementary to alpha amylase performance.

Underwood said launching three products this year is exciting, but the company is far from finished with innovation in this area.

“We want the audience to know that we are not done and we are still really very invested in this market. We are very invested in research and development to bring even new solutions to the market over the next months and years that will help them become more efficient and drive towards whatever goals they’re pursuing,” said Underwood.

Listen to Chuck’s interview with Judy here: Interview with Judy Underwood, Xcelis

2018 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photo Album

AgWired Energy, Audio, Dupont, Ethanol

White Energy Teams with Occidental for CO2 Study

Cindy Zimmerman

Occidental Petroleum Corporation and White Energy are teaming up to evaluate the economic feasibility of a carbon capture, utilization and storage project.

The project would capture carbon dioxide (CO2) at White Energy’s ethanol facilities in Hereford and Plainview, Texas, and transport it to the Permian Basin, where Occidental would use it in its enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations. Occidental injects CO2 into oil reservoirs, causing trapped oil to flow more easily and efficiently.

The engineering study, expected to last six months, will examine the costs of building a carbon capture facility. If Occidental and White Energy determine the project is economically feasible, operations could begin as soon as 2021. The carbon capture project would be designed to be eligible for 45Q tax credits and California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Carbon Capture and Storage protocol, both currently in development, demonstrating that these important incentives result in near-term investment, reduced CO2 emissions and jobs.

Carbon, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Oil

BASF and Lallemand Partner for Ethanol Plant Products

Cindy Zimmerman

BASF Enzymes LLC and Lallemand Biofuels & Distilled Spirits (LBDS) have partnered to help add value to ethanol producers.

As part of the collaboration, BASF will use its enzyme portfolio for applications in liquefaction and fermentation in order to maximize fermentation performance. LBDS will use its TransFerm yeast product line that provides increased ethanol yields and reduces the need for glucoamylase addition.

BASF and LBDS bring collective know-how and insights with yeast and enzymes, complimented by technical support for process optimization of the whole ethanol process. This comprehensive collaboration will increase the overall value to our customers with robust fermentations and higher ethanol yields.

BASF, enzymes, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Production

Enogen Waves Flag for Ethanol at NASCAR Race

For the sixth consecutive year, Syngenta Enogen sponsored NASCAR® racing at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa this past weekend.

The Iowa 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race presented by Enogen on Sunday highlighted both corn and ethanol around the track and allowed Syngenta to thank some of the farmers who are enzyme suppliers for their local plants.

Chris Tingle, head of commercial operations for Enogen at Syngenta, says Enogen premiums-to-date paid to Enogen corn growers are expected to surpass $100 million this year. “This is a milestone year for Enogen corn and we are pleased to be able to take this opportunity to say thank you to the ethanol plants and corn growers who are making this game-changing technology a success. To do so in collaboration with NASCAR makes it even more special.”

NASCAR has been supporting American ethanol since 2011 when it began using Sunoco Green E15 (15 percent ethanol) in all three touring races. Grower account lead Craig Abell had the opportunity to check an item off his bucket list when he waved the green American Ethanol flag to start the race. “Been watching NASCAR for 30 years, so I’ve prepared for this moment my entire life!” said Abell

By the end of 2018, Syngenta anticipates more than 280 million bushels of Enogen corn will have been grown on nearly 1.5 million acres and contributed to approximately 7 billion gallons of ethanol produced.

Listen to interviews with Tingle and Abell to learn more about the Enogen technology and how it is helping both corn farmers and ethanol producers be more profitable.

Interview with Chris Tingle, Syngenta Enogen

Interview with Craig Abell, Syngenta Enogen

NASCAR Xfinity Series Iowa 250 presented by Enogen Photo Album

AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, Audio, corn, Enogen, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NASCAR, Syngenta

RFA’s Cooper on EPA Actions

Cindy Zimmerman

As EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was kicking off his three state ethanol tour last week in Kansas, he was the main topic of a panel discussion on “Surveying the Health of Renewable Fuels Policy under the Trump Administration” was being held at Fuel Ethanol Workshop in Omaha.

Renewable Fuels Association Executive Vice President Geoff Cooper was among the panel participants who discussed what they know about Pruitt’s actions impacting the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFA). “What we know is there’s some squirrelly things going on,” said Cooper in an interview after the panel. Those squirrels are mainly the small refinery exemptions that Pruitt has been granting by the dozen.

“We are seeing destruction of demand as a result of these waivers,” said Cooper. “President Trump campaigned through the Midwest on a promise of supporting this industry and those commitments haven’t really added up with the actions of his EPA administrator.”

Listen to Cooper’s take on Pruitt’s actions in this interview: Interview with Geoff Cooper, RFA

2018 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Photos

Fuel Ethanol Conference content sponsored by

Coverage of the Fuel Ethanol Conference is sponsored by Syngenta Enogen

Audio, EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, FEW, RFA

Pruitt’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Ethanol Tour

Cindy Zimmerman

Renewable Fuels Association CEO Bob Dinneen channeled author Judith Viorst in an editorial post Friday summarizing EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s ethanol “Redemption Tour” last week.

Day 1 of his Redemption Tour had Pruitt telling ethanol producers his role was to provide stability to the market only to be told the company he was visiting would be shutting down a brand new, state-of-the-art renewable diesel plant because of market volatility created by Pruitt’s indiscriminate use of small refiner waivers. The same meeting included farmers telling Pruitt they were “mad as hell” at him.

Trying to deflect criticism, Pruitt told ethanol producers EPA had the authority to expand E15 sales year-around and that EPA could reallocate RINs lost to waivers. But the next day, he said EPA lawyers weren’t so sure about reallocating RINs and RVP could only be done if part of a package in which refiners got something too. Really? 1.6 billion gallons in lost biofuel market share is not enough for them?

Read it here.

EPA, Ethanol, Opinion, RFA