Patent ID: 8058039

Claim:
A method for increasing the amount of ethanol produced during large scale ethanol production comprising: introducing a fermentation mixture comprising yeast S. cerevisiae into a vessel used during ethanol production; introducing an antibiotic as an active agent to the vessel used during ethanol production, and fermenting the fermentation mixture by said yeast to produce ethanol; wherein the fermentation temperature is maintained between 30 to 38Â° C. and the fermentation pH is maintained between 2.5 to 6, and wherein the antibiotic is selected from the group consisting of Erythromycin and salts of Erythromycin, and said antibiotic is added to said vessel in an amount ranging from at least 0.5 ppm to about 6 ppm of the fermentation mixture, the antibiotic controls growth of lactic acid bacterial species present in the vessel during ethanol production without inhibiting the growth of said yeast in the vessel thereby resulting in increased ethanol production from the fermentation mixture.