Ethanol getting more efficient

Confirming what many in the corn ethanol industry already suspected is an updated analysis of the amount of water and energy it takes to produce ethanol. The details are pretty dramatic.

According to Argonne National Laboratory, ethanol facilities in the U.S. are using less energy and water than five years ago -- but producing more ethanol. Water consumption is down 26.6 percent, grid electricity use down almost 16 percent and total energy use about 22 percent lower.

The analysis is a comparison of ethanol industry data from 2001 to 2006. In 2001, U.S. ethanol production was 1.77 billion gallons, but in 2006, that had grown to 4.9 billion gallons, an increase of 276%.

The Argonne analysis also found that nearly a quarter of today's ethanol producers today are capturing their carbon dioxide emissions for use in dry ice production and carbonated beverage bottling. Plus 37 percent of distillers grains – the livestock feed co-product of ethanol production – are now sold in the wet form, saving drying and transportation costs (and energy!).

The Renewable Fuels Association's Bob Dinneen said it best: “This is not your father’s ethanol industry anymore.” Instead, he said, the industry has adopted new technologies, is looking at new feedstocks and is becoming more efficient every day.

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