2105 Donaldson Road
Nebo, Kentucky

Grains that are commonly used for ethanol production are corn, wheat, barley, sorghum and other vegetable products.  The Kentucky 5 Star Energy plant will use corn. 

Preparation of the corn involves milling and slurrying it with water then heating it with various additives to hydrolyze the starch.  The process converts the complex starch into glucose compounds.

The process takes place at around 220ºF and lasts for about 2 hours.

After cooking, the resulting product is called mash.  The mash is cooled to a temperature of around 90º prior to fermentation.  The fermentation step causes the enzymes to break the down to glucose which can be fermented to alcohol.  The fermentation releases carbon dioxide which can be sold for use in carbonated beverages.

The fermentation takes place over about 4 days at a temperature around 85°.  

Once distilled, the ethanol is condensed to a liquid that is a 99.7% pure.

The ethanol is then poisoned for consumption by the addition of up to 5% gasoline. This is done to ensure the ethanol is not sold or consumed as a potable alcohol.

The by-product from distillation is called distillers dry grain (DDG) and is a valuable source of protein for feedlots.