A company is planning on developing an ethanol production facility near Grand Island, Nebraska. The primary technology in the facility will use the starch from corn grain to produce 125 million gallons (gal) of ethanol annually. The company is also working with researchers at the University of Nebraska and plans to test a new process to convert the cellulose in the residue (corn stover) into ethanol.

The company is planning on getting the feedstock for the ethanol production from nearby farms where the corn crop has the following characteristics:

• 75% starch in the dry corn grain
• 35% cellulose in the dry corn stover

Corn growers in the region can potentially all their harvested grain to the company for the ethanol production. Up to 40% of the corn stover are used by the growers for residue management to maintain soil quality; the rest is potentially available for sale to the company for their new process.

You will need to find credible sources of information to make reasonable assumptions of per acre yields of corn and corn stover. The following information will be helpful to you:

• 1 lb of glucose can theoretically be converted into 0.5 lb of ethanol.
• Ethanol has a density of 6.6 lb/gal.
• Corn grain has a moisture content of 16% (wb)
• The corn stover has a moisture content of 30% (wb)

Your report should address the following:

• The company is interested in knowing the land requirements for meeting its 125 million gallon ethanol production goal using the primary technology (ethanol from the corn grain).
• The company is also interested in knowing how much additional ethanol could be produced from the available corn stover if the new process is successful.
• If the corn stover can be sold at a profit of $20 per dry ton to the ethanol plant, what is the potential value-addition (in $) for a 750 acre farm.

• Inherent in this scenario are several assumptions related to crop yields and the efficiencies of all the processing and handling operations involved (both on the farm, during storage and transportation, and in the ethanol production facility). Comment on the potential limitations of your calculations by briefly describing 3 specific reasons why your calculations might not be accurate.