Ethanol. Right. Now.

Ethanol efficiency to be featured at ACE conference in Kansas City

Two new studies on ethanol efficiency have found that the ethanol production process itself is more efficient and the resulting ethanol has a more positive energy balance.

The first is from Dr. Steffen Mueller at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who studied the dry mill ethanol process and found that today's ethanol producers are using far fewer energy inputs than they did in 2001, as well as producing more ethanol per bushel of corn.  That study can be read here.

The second is from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a study on the net energy balance of ethanol.  The agency has updated data from 2004 and found that for every 1 BTU (British Thermal Unit) of energy used to create ethanol today, 2.3 BTUs of energy are produced in return.  This is a clearly positive energy balance, up from the 1 to 1.77 positive energy balance from 2004 data.  The USDA report can be read here.

The technology innovations that are driving these increases in efficiency will be featured at the American Coalition for Ethanol conference in Kansas City on August 3-5.  The full agenda may be viewed here.  We hope to see you there!

New report shows positive GHG emissions profile for ethanol, and quick rate of efficiency improvement

A new, extensive report has been prepared for the International Energy Agency's Bioenergy Task Force on the greenhouse gas emissions profile of today's grain-based ethanol.  The research finds that many analyses on ethanol's lifecycle emissions do not accurately factor in the improvements in both growing the feedstock and processing the feedstock in to ethanol. 

The report analyzed GHG reductions from grain-based ethanol since 1995 and projected them out to 2015, concluding that ethanol's GHG reductions over that time period will grow by 100%.

The report stated:  "The GHG emissions savings from ethanol production and use have more than doubled between 1995 and the projected level in 2015.  This indicates the danger of making policy decisions based on historical data without taking into account learning experiences and the potential gains that can be expected as industries develop."

The research also found that ethanol's energy balance continues to improve as well.

For 2005, grain ethanol’s energy balance ratio was estimated at 1:1.42, meaning every unit of energy used to produce ethanol returned 1.42 units of usable energy to the consumer. By 2015, the energy balance ratio is expected to be 1:1.93, a 55% increase in energy efficiency in just 10 years. Both the GHG performance and energy balance of ethanol will continue to improve, standing in stark contrast to the profile of gasoline and petroleum which will get worse.

The entire report can be downloaded here: http://www.ethanol.org/pdf/contentmgmt/An_Examination_of_the_Potential_for_Improving_Carbon_Energy_Balance_of_Bioethanol.pdf

Ethanol's positive energy balance is confirmed by new research

New research due out soon from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln finds that ethanol may be two to three times more energy efficient than previously thought.  The study says that 1.5 to 1.6 more units of energy are found in the ethanol than are required by the production process.  And if you're looking at just the fossil fuel inputs, the study finds that 13 gallons of ethanol are created for every 1 gallon of petroleum used in the lifecycle of the corn-ethanol production process.  That's a pretty good return on investment!

Read an article here from the Grand Island, Neb. newspaper: http://www.theindependent.com/news/x1378746971/UNL-study-Ethanol-energy-efficiency-growing