Corn ethanol rises from the grave?

Texas-based EdenIQ today unveiled a new method for increasing the ethanol yield from corn (PDF).

The Corn3 Yield Enhancement Program, as it’s called, boost production to more than three gallons from a bushel of corn, up from the industry average of 2.69 gallons per bushel.

“In these turbulent times of volatile corn and energy prices — and razor-thin margins — our programme can move many ethanol producers from breakeven to profitability,” said Larry Gross, CEO of EdenIQ. “A plant producing 100 million gallons of ethanol per year can use Corn3 to reduce its annual corn bill by as much as $20 million.”

The Corn3 method requires no capital investment and uses a “proprietary combination of biological and mechanical processes” to produce an immediate increase in yield, according to EdenIQ.

“Regardless of your views on the politics and economics of corn ethanol, everyone can get excited about reducing the amount of corn in ethanol by over 10 percent,” Gross said.