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The ethanol industry is feeling the heat and pressure to remain profitable. One way to ease the pressure is to increase yields. Arisdyne Systems Inc. wants to help ethanol producers increase yields by increasing heat and pressure (on a microscopic scale) using controlled-flow hydrodynamic cavitation.

Federal regulations already place caps on a wide range of industrial emissions so it seems inevitable that carbon dioxide will soon be one of them. If the U.S. adopts a carbon cap-and-trade program, many ethanol producers will be faced with a choice—adopt new production technologies or absorb the expense of purchasing carbon credits. Those choosing to adapt will not only avoid incurring another expense, but may be able to realize an additional revenue stream as well.

EdeniQ Inc. has a three-phase yield enhancement program to help producers obtain more ethanol—including cellulosic ethanol—from a bushel of corn.

NASA researchers are mining satellite data to show the effects of land use change on soil carbon pools, the amount of land dedicated to biofuel feedstocks, and the overall productivity of croplands. When complete, the research may prove useful in determining where high-yield crop production can be maintained for long periods of time and provide an accurate estimation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused by various crop management decisions.

Just a year ago, dry fractionation providers were educating ethanol plant managers and owners about the technique's potential for generating multiple revenue streams. Today, fractionation is still causing excitement in the industry, but finding equity sources to finance the installation of fractionation equipment is a challenge.

The European Commission has agreed to continue to allow Swedish ethanol supplier SEKAB to import low-cost Brazilian ethanol at a lower import duty until early next year. Sweden is unique among European Union member states in its promulgation of E85 and flexible-fuel vehicles. Can Sweden continue to secure its import privilege in the face of opposition from the European ethanol industry?

The U.S. DOE controls the majority of federal funding opportunities for ethanol and renewable energy producers. The agency’s loan guarantee program was created specifically to provide millions of dollars for renewable energy projects - but in its first four years failed to award a single recipient. What was the hold-up and is a fix on the way?

Randy Hill believes he has the solution for transporting and drying large amounts of wet, woody biomass. The president of Advanced Trailer is working with the University of Idaho to evaluate the economic and environmental benefits of using his agricultural crop drying trailers to move biomass.

For 40 years Ottawa-based Iogen Corp. has researched and developed enzymes to turn cellulosic material into low carbon dioxide-based cellulosic ethanol. Today, the company is in its fourth year of producing ethanol at one of the world’s first demonstration-scale cellulosic ethanol plants, manufacturing enzymes and continually improving operations.

As the race to produce cellulosic ethanol commercially progresses, companies such as Coskata, Inc. need to remain at the top of their game, or in some cases, change the way the game is played.

As oil companies become more directly involved with the production of biofuels, the ethanol industry must evaluate its relationship with Big Oil and determine whether to cooperate, compete, or co-exist.

The U.S. EPA is the regulating body of renewable identification numbers, as determined by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. However, it is up to individual companies to wade through the evolving regulatory requirements and to comply with the EPA’s rules.

Many companies believe bankruptcy should only be considered as a final option. However, filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy can sometimes be used as an effective strategy to protect a company and its stakeholders from further damages.

Adequate fall protection equipment continues to be a concern for agencies tasked with ensuring employee safety. Terminal operators striving to make their storage facilities as safe as possible should consider various safety systems to help employees avoid possible accidents.