Patent ID: 9062327
Filing Date: 2015-06-23
Classification: C12P,Y02E

Abstract:
1. A method for producing ethanol and that employs corn plant material comprising cobs characterized by having previously been subjected to upstream processing that has been performed upstream of an ethanol manufacturing facility and that has comprised the steps of: employing harvesting equipment to pick, from a plurality of farm fields, corn plant material including ear corn comprising corn and cobs as components, and to return a corn plant ingredient other than corn to the farm fields; delivering corn plant material comprising cobs, from a plurality of farm fields, to a downstream location that is (a) downstream of said farm fields, (b) remote from the farms where the cobs are harvested and (c) physically associated with an ethanol manufacturing facility that receives corn as a feed material; and wherein said method comprises the steps of: providing an ethanol manufacturing facility with which said downstream location is physically associated and that is remote from the farms that supply said ethanol manufacturing facility with feed material; receiving, at said downstream location, from a plurality of farm fields, corn plant material comprising cobs characterized by having undergone said upstream processing; subjecting the material that has undergone said upstream processing to further processing at said downstream location; and employing the material that has undergone said upstream processing as a source of fuel for processing a corn plant ingredient into ethanol at an ethanol manufacturing facility with which said downstream location is physically associated; there being no consumption, of the material that has undergone said upstream processing, to dry corn at said downstream location.