Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corporation, Harris Companies, a mechanical contracting firm; and AE and E - Von Roll, Inc., a technology provider of steam generating systems using renewable, waste and conventional fuels, have together patented a technology application that helps ethanol plants run more efficiently, reduce emissions and improve their overall energy balance.

FCStone Carbon, LLC has joined the patent owners to provide marketing and arrange financing options for ethanol producers interested in the technology.

"With ethanol prices lower than they've been in recent years and capital costs required for expanding or building new plants soaring, producers are looking for ways to operate more efficiently and reduce costs," said Tom Aller, president, IPL.

"Collectively, our partners offer ethanol producers a suite of services to reduce fuel costs and emissions, while requiring minimal upfront capital dollars. This technology is the answer to being a low-cost ethanol producer in today's competitive marketplace."

The patented process involves the way steam is produced for the ethanol manufacturing process. Using AE and E-Von Roll's fluidized bed reactor technology, residue and byproducts of making ethanol are used as fuel to generate steam used in the plant. This process reduces the amount of natural gas needed by the whole plant by more than 50 percent while reducing emissions at the plant. This means lower operating costs and a better environmental impact.

As ethanol production has more than doubled in the past eight years, energy balance is a key issue. This technology will help producers reduce energy consumption while increasing the efficiencies of ethanol production.

Energy costs for a typical 50-million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant represent approximately 20 percent of the plants total annual operating costs. For every gallon of ethanol produced, 29 cents is spent on natural gas and four cents is spent on electricity.

"We see this as another risk mitigation and cost reduction tool that we can bring to the industry," said Mike Knobbe, president, FCStone Carbon, LLC. "Our objective is to help develop and commercialize technologies that enable our customers to improve efficiencies, reduce their environmental impact and capture green house gas emissions credits, which we can market on their behalf. The AE and E-Von Roll fluidized bed process is a proven state of the art technology that will accomplish that objective."

The patented steam production process was first implemented in the United States in Winnebago, Minn., at Corn Plus Cooperative and is yielding impressive results. The AE and E-Von Roll fluidized bed boiler system satisfies up to 100 percent of the plant's need for process steam and has resulted in the reduction of total plant natural gas consumption of greater than 52 percent. Other ethanol plants are currently considering the technology.

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