Two researchers at Iowa State University have found new potential for ethanol, using new technologies to purify the fuel to a food-grade alcohol that can be used in alcoholic beverages, cough syrup, mouthwash and other products.
 
 Jacek Koziel, assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering, and Hans van Leeuwen, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, have collaborated for more than a year on the research of two new processes used to reduce impurities in ethanol: ozonation, which bubbles ozone gas through the fuel; and filtering the ethanol through granular, activated carbon to absorb remaining impurities. 
 
 "There is a lot [of fuel-grade ethanol] around," van Leeuwen said. "There's a production of 4.6 billion gallons per year, and although it's needed for fuel, it's tempting to take that cheap substrate and say, ‘OK, we can purify it to get it to food-grade.'"
 
 Fuel-grade ethanol produced from corn is similar to alcohol produced for the beverage industry, van Leeuwen said. He serves as vice president of private company MellO3z, which has done extensive research using ozonation as a new way to purify alcoholic beverages in order to make the drinks smoother. He was not always a "booze" person though, Van Leeuwen said. His expertise lies in the purification of wastewater. He and MellO3z partner Rick Wood decided to explore the possibilities of applying wastewater purification practices to other areas, such as alcohol and ethanol, a few years ago.
 
 The project has received quite a bit of attention lately, along with funding. The Grow Iowa Values Fund recently issued a $79,900 grant for continued research on the new processes, and the state matched a donation of $10,000 given by MellO3z. In addition, Van Leeuwen has submitted a research proposal to the USDA for a federal Small Business Innovative Research grant. Koziel and van Leeuwen plan to use the money mainly to focus on optimizing the processes they have submitted patents for, Koziel said.
 
 "That optimization means finding the right dose of ozone and the right dose of granular, activated carbon to remove impurities but, at the same time, making sure we are not removing some of those compounds that import the desirable taste or aroma," Koziel said.
 
 One reason the project has been so attractive for funding is the extremely low cost of the processes. It is estimated that the cost of the new treatment is only one cent per gallon or less, whereas the current technology used to purify alcoholic beverages—through multiple distillation—costs 30 to 50 cents per gallon, according to van Leeuwen. 
 
 "We're looking at 95 percent or more [savings] and achieving … the same results," van Leeuwen said.
 
 Iowa is the country's leading producer of fuel ethanol. The state currently has 25 production facilities that produce 1.6 billion gallons of ethanol per year. "We hope if [our] process proves to be viable commercially, then it would bring a lot more revenue to the state," Koziel said.

Iowa State University (ISU) researchers van Leeuwen, left, and Koziel are developing a process to quickly and cheaply convert fuel ethanol into other products

Iowa State researchers purify fuel ethanol into food-grade alcohol

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Upcoming Events

2024 International Fuel Ethanol Workshop & Expo

Biodiesel Summit: Sustainable Aviation Fuel & Renewable Diesel

Carbon Capture & Storage Summit

North American SAF Conference & Expo

2025 International Biomass Conference & Expo

Iowa State researchers purify fuel ethanol into food-grade alcohol