Ethanol Blog

During the current economic climate that is forcing ethanol producers to squeeze every penny they can, one expert believes that all producers should be capturing corn oil for additional revenue, according to a post on the Domestic Fuel website (http://bit.ly/…).

Joe Riley, general manager with FEC Solutions, said he considers extracting corn oil to be a fundamental piece of ethanol plant profitability.

Riley said that a 50 million-gallon-per-year ethanol plant has the potential to extract between 1.5 and 1.7 million gallons of corn oil. That forced him to wonder why only about half the U.S. refiners are doing so.

The industry has since been reassured of its initial qualms about low-oil dried distillers grains being lower in value, he said. Also, demand for oil for biodiesel operations is predicted to be increasing.

Riley said that refiners not extracting oil could be missing an opportunity for additional profits, though it is important for producers to be sure they have the right market for their corn oil, whether it be the feed industry, biodiesel industry, export markets or specialty or oleo chemical markets.

Cheryl Anderson can be reached at Cheryl.anderson@telventdtn.com