30% and Growing Fast!

Biodiesel Magazine January 18th, 2012
See Entire Article HERE
Corn Oil Advancements

"Among the most promising feedstock currently in use today, one that’s factored into the working group’s econometric assessment, is corn oil extracted from the backend of ethanol plants, thanks to improvements in extraction technology over the past several years. In fact, corn oil becomes relevant to the group’s projections around 2013 and it continues to become more relevant as greater technology adoption increases throughout the ethanol industry. By 2015, the group estimates the feedstock will provide an even more meaningful contribution to the biodiesel industry.

According to Alan Weber, partner at Marc-IV Consulting and lead economic advisor to the committee, the group assumed that about 30 percent of the dry-grind ethanol plants incorporated corn oil extraction technology from DDGS in 2011. By 2016, the group model determined that half of all ethanol plants are assumed to be extracting oil from DDGS and by the end of its 10-year horizon, nearly 70 percent of all ethanol plants will have this capability.

“I think those assumptions are going to be proven true and probably even quicker,” Weber says. “Most industry discussions have indicated that within the next couple years, at least half of the ethanol plants will probably have installed capacity.”

How much corn oil yield could potentially come from an existing bushel of No. 2 yellow dent corn used in ethanol production? According to Weber, the group assumed that corn oil yields from de-oiled DDGS per bushel of corn processed will increase from 0.5 pounds in 2010 to 0.6 pounds by 2015 and one pound by 2020.

“Even moving up to one pound is probably only, at most, two-thirds the oil potential in that bushel of corn,” Weber says. “A lot of this also comes down to market dynamics of what the value of the oil is versus its value as a feed ingredient in DDGS, the region where the ethanol plant is located and what the markets are for the DDGS in that region, because the type of livestock can impact how much protein and fat is desired.”

Weber notes that if the biodiesel industry were to pull 0.6 pounds of corn oil from de-oiled DDGS and every dry-grind ethanol plant in the U.S. were to install corn oil extraction technology, “we’re talking 370 to 375 million gallons worth of corn oil potential,” he says. “If we move up to removing one pound per bushel, that’s more than 600 million gallons of inedible corn oil that could be utilized if all of the dry-grind ethanol facilities were removing corn oil from DDGS.”

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SkunK