Ethanol makers go upmarket, from fuel for cars to drinks for drivers
The federal mandate to mix corn ethanol into gasoline has plateaued at 15 billion gallons a year, so ethanol distillers are looking for other markets and throttling back on production, says Reuters. Three companies — ethanol industry leader Archer-Daniels-Midland, Green Plains Inc. and Pacific Ethanol — are turning to industrial and beverage alcohol production, an avenue open to them because ethanol is grain alcohol.