One company says their recent development speeds up the process of making ethanol.
Syngenta launched Enogen corn in 2011. Tim Tierney works for Syngenta.
?What we?ve done is that we have bio-engineered an alpha amylase enzyme in the corn kernel, in the endosperm. That alpha amylase enzyme is need for ethanol production.?
He says Enogen corn has become more popular over the last five years.
?Now we?re on about 2 billion gallons of production in 20 plants across the United States stretching from Arizona through the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Iowa. We?re moving further into the northern and eastern corn belt as well.?
Tierney says Enogen corn has many benefits.
?The benefits are higher production of ethanol at the plant, better yields, and better starch We can also reduce the amount of water in the process because of the viscosity break Enogen provides.?
He adds saving water means less energy use in the ethanol plant because of better heat transfer between the different processing units.
