02/15/2007 11:02AM
With the expansion of the U.S. ethanol industry and higher prices for corn, a reduced share of the corn crop is used directly for domestic livestock feeding. However, a coproduct of ethanol production, distillers grains, may substitute for corn in some livestock rations, particularly for beef and dairy
12/08/2006 12:10PM
According to industry estimates, producing more than 30 Ggal of ethanol from U.S. corn would seriously disrupt feed and food markets. With that in mind, alternative feedstocks are being considered for increasing ethanol production. Based on pilot operations in Canada and the U.S., the office of the U
12/08/2006 08:55AM
The efficiency of ethanol productionhas long been questioned. Critics would argue that the industry could not survive without government subsidies and that it takes more energy to produce a unit of ethanol than the energy derived from the ethanol. There might have been some merit to these arguments,
07/08/2006 08:05AM
Wet byproducts from ethanol production are tricky to store for later use as cattle feed because of their high moisture content and threat of spoilage, but mixing them with drier, bulkier feeds improves storability, according to University of Nebraska-Lincoln research.
UNL animal scientists have just
06/21/2006 07:16AM
In wet milling, the grain is soaked or "steeped" in water and dilute sulfurous acid for 24 to 48 hours. This steeping facilitates the separation of the grain into its many component parts.After steeping, the corn slurry is processed through a series of grinders to separate the corn germ. The corn oil
06/21/2006 07:07AM
In dry milling, the entire corn kernel or other starchy grain is first ground into flour, which is referred to in the industry as "meal" and processed without separating out the various component parts of the grain. The meal is slurried with water to form a "mash." Enzymes are added to the mash to convert
06/21/2006 06:59AM
Ethanol provides a vital value-added market for corn and other commodities, providing an economic boost to rural America. Demand created by ethanol production increases the price a farmer receives for grain. An increasing number of farmers are joining together in cooperatives to build ethanol production
06/17/2006 07:50AM
Henry Ford's first car -- the quadricycle, built in 1896 -- was made to run on pure ethanol. His Model T was built to run on gasoline, ethanol or a combination of both.
Ethanol is distilled in a similar way to moonshine, or bootlegged alcohol. Corn and water are mixed into a mash, enzymes turn starch