What is Ethanol and How is it Made?
Ethanol is a common alcohol made by fermenting the sugar and starch components of renewable plant materials by using yeast. Humans discovered ethanol not long after they figured out how to put fire to good use.
Today, ethanol is used in food and beverages, manufacturing processes, industrial products, and as a fuel. Ethanol can be found in most all of the gasoline sold in Kentucky and the United States because it burns cleaner and boosts engine performance.
Ethanol Quick Facts
How Ethanol is Made
Ethanol can be made from any sugar, starch, or cellulosic material through a fermentation process. In the United States, ethanol is most often made from grains such as corn, wheat, and barley because they are in good supply. In more tropical areas, such as Brazil, ethanol is made from sugar cane. Scientists have also been working to improve ethanol production from non-food crops and materials such as switchgrass, woody biomass, and algae.
When corn is used to make ethanol, one bushel will provide 2.8 gallons of ethanol and 16.5 pounds of distiller's grains, a high-protein livestock feed.
Who Makes Ethanol in Kentucky?
Commonwealth Agri-Energy is a farmer-owned ethanol production facility in Hopkinsville, KY. It uses locally-grown grains to produce ethanol, distillers grains (livestock feed), and dry ice to sell back to local markets. Most of their ethanol is transported by train for use in Nashville fuels.
This year, Commonwealth Agri-Energy will use 15,000,000 bushels of local corn to produce:
45,000,000 Gallons of Fuel Ethanol
129,000 Tons of Distillers Dried Grains (livestock feed)
110,000 Tons of CO2 (collected for dry ice)
7,000 Tons of Animal Feed Grade Distillers Corn Oil
Learn more at http://www.commonwealthagrienergy.com.
