ACE Conference 2026

2018 Fuel Ethanol Workshop Opens in Omaha

Cindy Zimmerman

The 34th annual International Fuel Ethanol Workshop is being held this week, June 11-13, in Omaha. The event features industry awards, speakers, sessions and a large trade show.

Organizers say the event is on pace to be the biggest since 2009, with over 550 biofuels producers registered and more than 300 industry companies and organizations exhibiting.

The opening general session Tuesday features the High Octane Award and Award of Excellence presentations with Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor as keynote for this year. A panel discussion on “Surveying the Health of Renewable Fuels Policy under the Trump Administration” will include representatives from the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE), and Growth Energy.

Fuel Ethanol Conference content sponsored by

Coverage of the Fuel Ethanol Conference is sponsored by Syngenta Enogen

ACE, biofuels, Enogen, Ethanol, Ethanol News, FEW, Growth Energy, RFA

Ethanol Exports Still Strong in April

Cindy Zimmerman

Despite being lower than March, April was still another strong month for U.S. exports of ethanol and the co-product dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS), according to Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) Research Analyst Ann Lewis.

U.S. ethanol exports totaled 162.3 million gallons (mg) in April, a 25% drop from the near-record export volume recorded in March, but still the fourth-largest monthly export volume in six years. Brazil was the leading destination for U.S. ethanol exports for the sixth straight month, receiving 38% of total exports, although shipments to the country were 36% lower than March.

Canada received 27.6 mg of U.S. ethanol in April, up 13% from March and a six-month high (17% market share). U.S. ethanol exports also flourished in several previously tepid markets in April, including Oman (12.6 mg, up 254% from March) and the Netherlands (11.4 mg, up 583%). The U.S. also continued modest export growth in India with a 4% gain over March with 12.3 mg. As predicted, China stepped completely out of the market for the first time in six months, as implementation of the additional 15% import duty shut out U.S. product. Year-to-date exports stood at 684.3 mg through April—44% stronger than the first four months of 2017—implying a record annualized export volume of 2.05 billion gallons.

U.S. exports of DDGS rallied in April to a six-month high of 997,633 metric tons (mt), up 10%. Shipments to top customer Mexico (representing 18% of total exports) swelled by 20% over March to 182,642 mg.

Read more from RFA.

Distillers Grains, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Exports, RFA

2018 CUTC is a Wrap

The first Corn Utilization and Technology Conference was held 30 years ago. Since 1987, CUTC has brought together leading innovators to focus on new uses for corn with the goals of expanding markets and demand while improving quality and efficiency.

National Corn Growers Association CEO Chris Novak says this year’s conference this week was another great success for the future of the industry. “Corn can be at the forefront of a biobased economy,” said Novak. “We have the opportunity to use corn and corn products to replace petrochemicals in a way that will create additional demand for our farmers and create more sustainable products.”

Listen to Novak’s wrap up interview from CUTC: CUTC interview with NCGA CEO Chris Novak

2018 CUTC Photo Album

AgWired Animal, AgWired Energy, AgWired Precision, Audio, corn, CUTC, NCGA

Ethanol Policy Concerns for Corn Growers

Cindy Zimmerman

This week’s apparent backing off by the White House from a deal involving biofuels policy leaves a cloudy situation for ethanol, according to National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) CEO Chris Novak.

During an interview at this week’s Corn Utilization and Technology Conference, Novak says while nothing official has come out of the White House, they are pleased with word from ethanol champions in the Senate that the president has decided not to move forward with a plan to allow biofuels credits for exports. “This was a step that would have undermined the Renewable Fuel Standard,” said Novak. However, that means nothing is being done now to allow summer sales of E15, “and yet at the same time, in total, this would have been a bad deal for American farmers.”

Meanwhile, EPA is continuing to grant refinery exemptions that have resulted in lost gallons and demand destruction and Novak says NCGA is a party to two industry lawsuits filed against the agency in the past week.

Listen to this interview with Novak –
Interview with NCGA CEO Chris Novak

2018 CUTC Photo Album

Audio, corn, CUTC, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NCGA

DuPont Launches New Products for Fuel Ethanol Market

Cindy Zimmerman

Building off the launch of its fuel ethanol platform DuPont™ XCELIS™ at the National Ethanol Conference, DuPont Industrial Biosciences has unveiled the first three products from the innovation hub.

DuPont™ SYNERXIA® THRIVE GX: Next Generation in Yeast for the Fuel Alcohol Industry
DuPont™ DISTILLASE® DXT: Advanced Glucoamylase Blend
DuPont™ OPTIMASH® AX: Xylanase for Enhanced Liquefaction

The new products are designed to increase yields, speed fermentation and reduce energy and chemical consumption. The new XCELIS™ platform also will feature an online partner community for the industry, GRAIN CHANGERS. This online community and innovative product offerings represent a new age for DuPont’s XCELIS™ biorefinery team. By improving performance, efficiency and fuel ethanol yields – and working hand-in-hand with customers – XCELIS™ helps ethanol producers reach their goals with new products, tools and technologies.

Learn more from DuPont Industrial Biosciences.

Dupont, Ethanol, Ethanol News

Ethanol and Trade Center Stage for NCGA

National Corn Growers Association president Kevin Skunes of North Dakota says he expected to be focused mainly on the farm bill this year, but trade and ethanol have “taken a lot of oxygen out of the room.”

During an interview at the Corn Utilization and Technology Conference (CUTC) this week, Skunes saiede they are disappointed that the House version of the farm bill was defeated as a result of a “non-agriculture issue” because farmers are really struggling right now. “The number one priority in a farm bill for us is a robust crop insurance program,” he said.

In this interview, Skunes also comments on trade issues, ethanol, the Bayer Monsanto closing, and more.

Interview with NCGA president Kevin Skunes

2018 CUTC Photo Album

AgWired Energy, Audio, corn, CUTC, NCGA

RFS Deal Becomes No Deal

Cindy Zimmerman

The White House has reportedly backed away from a deal that would have made changes in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that concerned the biofuels industry.

An announcement was expected this week, but late yesterday both of Iowa’s senators tweeted that the deal was off. “#Iowa is feeling that love today, as the President just assured me he “won’t sign a deal that’s bad for farmers!” Thank you, Mr. President!” tweeted Sen. Joni Ernst. “Pres Trump helped farmers by rejecting bad ethanol deal. I appreciate. GREAT NEWS” added Sen. Chuck Grassley.

The deal would have allowed year-round use of E15 but let ethanol exports count for Renewable Identification Numbers, which the industry said would be devastating. No official word from the White House but it appears to put the whole issue back to square one where it was last fall when the meetings started to find a compromise for oil refiners looking for a way out of paying to not blend ethanol.

Ethanol, Ethanol News

Purdue Tackles Biorefinery Blockage Issues

Cindy Zimmerman

Purdue mechanical engineering doctoral student Yu Liu working on solving biorefinery blockage issues

A team led by Purdue University scientists is receiving a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office to solve the problem of biomass flow for biorefineries.

Lignocellulosic biomass, often made up of materials such as corn stover and soybean hulls, often accumulates and compacts while moving through augers, forcing costly shutdowns for cleaning and repairs. The goal for the researchers is to transform solid biomass into a slurry that can act more like a liquid flowing freely through material transportation systems in biorefineries. To do that, the researchers will create models to predict the physical properties necessary for a liquid-like flow of solid materials, then develop methods for modifying the biomass to meet the models’ specifications, changing particle size, shape and charge.

Researchers will start with corn stover, which could be the foundation to develop similar technology for other biomass products, including wood chips, soybean hulls, wheat straw and sugarcane in the future. The funding, which will amount to $2.3 million total with cost share from partners, will cover three years.

advanced biofuels, biomass, Cellulosic, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Research

Midwest Voters Want Trump to Protect RFS

Cindy Zimmerman

A new poll, funded by the National Biodiesel Board, shows that voters across three Midwestern states overwhelmingly say they support federal policies to encourage growth in biodiesel and renewable fuels use.

In a survey of voters in Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota, respondents’ support cut across party lines, with more than two-thirds of Republicans and nearly three-quarters of Independents saying they support U.S. efforts to boost the expansion of the biodiesel industry. In total, 73 percent of voters agreed.

A substantial majority of voters in these Midwestern states, including 63 percent of Independents, say EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s efforts to lower demand for biofuels does not reflect the President’s promise to support renewable fuels and the RFS. More than 80 percent of Republican voters in the survey said it was important to them that President Trump keep his promise to defend the RFS.

NBB Vice President of Federal Affairs Kurt Kovarik said the response from Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota accurately represents the opinion of America’s Heartland, which propelled President Trump to the White House. “When candidate Trump promised he would be their defender in Washington, DC, farming communities turned out to the polls in big numbers for him in November of 2016,” Kovarik said. “To be frank, rural voters haven’t seen that similar support reciprocated from EPA Administrator Pruitt and that’s reflected in the survey.”

Read more from NBB.

Biodiesel, Ethanol, Ethanol News, NBB, RFS

Ethanol Report on EPA Lawsuits

Cindy Zimmerman

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) has joined a coalition of biofuel and agriculture groups in a lawsuit against EPA over lost volumes of renewable fuel resulting from retroactive small refinery exemptions from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations.

RFA is also a petitioner in a lawsuit filed last week over three specific small refinery exemptions granted by the agency. “EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has had a fire sale on small refiner exemptions for anyone with a stamp and an envelope, making a mockery of the President’s commitment to a 15 billion gallon RFS for conventional biofuel. This must end. We take no pleasure in having to litigate to protect the integrity of the RFS, but it appears we have no other recourse,” said RFA CEO Bob Dinneen.

In this Ethanol Report, Dinneen discusses why RFA is taking this legal action and also comments on what they expect the White House to announce today: Ethanol Report on EPA Lawsuits

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EPA, Ethanol, Ethanol News, Ethanol Report, RFA, RFS