Based on what's happening in the Gulf of Mexico, corn ethanol production is beginning to look more and more attractive. And thanks to research done by Arisdyne Chief Technology Officer Dr. Oleg Kozyuk, that process is poised to become even more efficient.
Kozyuk's patented hydrodynamic cavitation process significantly increases ethanol yield, thus improving a producer's profitability. It does so by increasing the amount of starch that is released during processing without increasing the system's demand for energy.
"This is an incredibly simplistic, small-footprinted, energy-efficient system that significantly increases ethanol yield," explains Arisdyne VP Fred Clarke.
With some 200 or so ethanol producers scattered about this nation's Corn Belt, Clarke sees nothing but growth in the coming months. "We are on the precipice of announcing our first sale," he notes. "Getting past the first adopter problem will be our biggest hurdle."
The Cleveland-based company licenses the technology and maintains equipment. Or, as Clarke explains it, "Just like Xerox was in business of selling copies not copiers, we license the capability to enhance ethanol yield rather than sell equipment."
Since receiving in 2007 a $1 million alternative fuels grant from Ohio's Third Frontier, Arisdyne has jumped from three to 12 employees. As new agreements are reached with ethanol producers, that figure is expected to climb, says Clarke.
Source: Fred Clarke, ArisdyneWriter: Douglas Trattner