Special Section: Corn

A 'corn'er on the market
Energy pumps revenue into corn industry

By Dan Lemke

In 2003, Minnesota corn farmers produced more than 970 million bushels of corn on 7.2 million acres. Beside food and feed, corn produces tons of biomass that can be used for energy, fiber and industrial products.  The corn kernel is processed for high-fructose corn syrup, vegetable oil and even pharmaceutical ingredients.

New uses are continually expanding the demand for and consumption of corn. Yet producers are mindful that they need to keep looking for new opportunities. “Margins continue to get tighter because of rising input costs,” says Elbow Lake farmer Jerry Larson. He heads the Minnesota Corn Research and Promotion Council’s expanded-uses team.

MCRPC supports projects that develop new uses for corn. AURI has partnered with the corn growers on a number of projects, particularly in developing corn and ethanol coproducts.

Some prime areas for research and development include:

Ethanol

Since the 1970s, when ethanol was in its infancy, Minnesota corn growers have become national leaders in building this alternative-fuel industry. In the state today, more than 152 million bushels of corn are processed annually into 400 million gallons of ethanol. And more production capacity is being built.

Larson says expanding markets for ethanol is a priority, including efforts to increase the ethanol percentage in fuel blends. The council is pressing for the development of more markets for E-85, which is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. In addition, research is being conducted on an E-diesel fuel mixture, with a 5 percent ethanol addition in petroleum diesel. Larson says the council also promotes using hybrid cars as flexible fuel vehicles.

Ethanol coproducts

Ethanol processing coproducts are a valuable opportunity. Dry distiller’s grains are used as a protein source for livestock feed and as an energy source. DDGs contain approximately 8 to 10 percent oil, which not only provides energy to animals but is valuable in biomass fuels. DDGs contain 8,459 Btu per pound and currently compare favorably on cost with fossil fuels. AURI has worked on a number of projects using DDGs as ingredients in pellet fuels.

High-value fractions

The corn kernel and DDGs can be fractionated into oil, fiber and other high-value components such as proteins and amino acids. Those products can be further refined for ingredients used in pharmaceutical and food applications.

Energy from stover

Stover - corn husks and stalks - can potentially be fermented into ethanol or digested to produce methane or incinerated for energy. The fibers can also be converted to glucose or used for pulp to make paper and other products. 

Hydrogen 

Ag products may play a role in the development of hydrogen as a power source. Larson is dubious that hydrogen will be widely used as transportation fuel in the near future. However, it may be used to power mobile phones and laptop computers and used in military applications, he says.

Genetics

Genetic research is important to value-added development, Larson says. By breeding corn varieties with traits for specific end uses, product development can be more efficient. For example, highly-fermentable starch hybrids can produce more ethanol per bushel. 

A look ahead

“There are real opportunities for new corn-based development in energy, food products, biofuels, you name it -- We’re just scratching the surface,” says Al Doering, AURI technical services specialist in Waseca.