Ethanol in the news!

Y’know, for a blog that’s supposedly all about ethanol, it’s been a while since we posted any news updates about it. Our fascination with electric cars and satellite solar power swept us away from ourselves for a moment, we suppose. But here are some ethanol tidbits dredged up from the Corn Car News Ticker.

- Massachusetts-based biofuel company Qteros reported a massive increase in their cellulosic ethanol yield, thanks to a “superbug” called Q Microbe, essentially the yeast and enzyme parts of the typical bioconversion process. Can we call it something other than “superbug,” please? After the avian and swine flu scares, naming this lifesaving microbe after a media codeword for “unstoppable pandemic” seems unwise.

- US ethanol production is driving the global market for the stuff; America “accounted for 44% of the total world ethanol production in 2008.” This is credited to federal tax benefits and subsidies that make biofuel prices competitive, and an international drive towards cellulosic, non-food-crop biofuels. If any other industrialized countries want to step up their game, they can refer to our list of contenders for King Ethanol and get some pointers.

- Meanwhile, automakers have lobbied the US Environmental Protection Agency to stall on mandating higher blends of ethanol in gasoline until they do more conclusive testing of its effect on vehicles. The current 10 percent blend is set to rise to 15 percent, which the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers says might cause problems for “vehicle emissions, performance and durability.” Funny how selective they are in worrying about performance and durability, especially with Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors among the doubters. Not that a call for more testing is inherently bad, but it’s something they could have applied to themselves a bit more judiciously.