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Nebraska researchers studying intensified corn management systems believe it’s possible to increase corn production by 50 percent without using any more land, and at the same time improve its environmental impact.

Railways are essential to an ethanol producer’s business. Ships are a viable option for only a small number of facilities and trucks can’t handle all of the volume. So rail it is. As the ethanol industry expands, so must the railroad’s capability to handle this commodity.

Two recently released genome studies are expected to provide answers to how to bolster the production of ethanol from corn and biomass.

As the media pegs corn ethanol as a principal driver of high food prices and escalating world hunger, are more powerful causes being overlooked?

A surprise visit from the ethanol compliance inspector doesn’t have to be an adversarial event. A Minnesota woman is trying to make her regulatory work educational, proactive and fine-free—wherever possible. Her simple advice is to know your permit’s inclusions and limitations, keep your records organized and up-to-date, and appoint a point person responsible for your plant’s compliance. And, if your plant receives a warning letter, act quickly, cooperate with regulatory authorities and take immediate corrective measures. A lapse in compliance doesn’t have to escalate into a fine.

Winnebago, Minn.-based Corn Plus LLLP is interested in an innovative distillers grains microwave drying technology that could bring the facility one step closer to becoming energy independent.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. has kept the nameplate capacities of each of its plants a closely guarded secret for many years. After discovering its Cedar Rapids, Iowa, facility could produce as much as 820 MMgy, EPM wondered how such a large plant might impact the industry.

The clock is ticking on public acceptance of ethanol as the United States' corn-based industry is under relentless attack. With cellulosic conversion technologies as the ostensible lone saving grace for ethanol, EPM takes a look at what fruits the first-quarter '08 produced.

The Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 was passed in December, and the U.S. EPA is scrambling to meet its December 2008 deadline to issue the rule. Answers to the
myriad of questions on the rule’s details will have to wait until then.

Plants intending to swap their natural gas boilers for those capable of combusting solid fuels must consider which fly-ash abatement technology will best meet their needs at the right price.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer is optimistic about the Farm Bill and the support it will provide for biofuels. Shortly after he was appointed, the former North Dakota governor talked to EPM about his new role and the Farm Bill negotiations.

Brazil’s ethanol icon spreads out, adding biodiesel to its expertise, crossing the border to Colombia and experimenting with acid-wash lignin processing.

Prospects for ethanol trade over the coming three to five years are probably good. As to the specifics—it’s anybody’s guess.

Its feedstock is a staple, yet backers of the UK’s biggest ethanol venture did their sustainability homework and claim little net impact on food.

Patent Policy and Sustainable Cellulosic Biofuels Development