10 August 2016
DETAILS
Fuel ethanol production capacity
in the United States was
nearly 15 billion gallons per year,
or 973,000 barrels per day (b/d),
at the beginning of 2016,
according to EIA's most recent
U.S. Fuel Ethanol Plant Production Capacity report.
Total capacity of operable ethanol plants increased
by more than 500 million gallons per year
in January 2016 compared with January 2015.
The majority of the 195 ethanol plants,
and most of the U.S. fuel ethanol production capacity,
are located in the Midwest region
(as defined by
Petroleum Administration for Defense Districts).
Total nameplate capacity in the Midwest
was 13.5 billion gallons per year (883,000 b/d),
an increase of more than 500 million gallons
compared with 2015.
Of the top 13 fuel ethanol-producing states,
12 are located in the Midwest.
Actual U.S. production of fuel ethanol reached
a total of 14.8 billion gallons (966,000 b/d) in 2015.
In EIA's AugustShort-Term Energy Outlook (STEO),
U.S. production of fuel ethanol
was forecast to reach 15.1 billion gallons
(982,000 b/d) in 2016, equivalent to
slightly more than 100% utilization
of reported nameplate capacity
as of January 1, 2016.
Nameplate production capacity,
the measure of capacity that EIA tracks,
is the plant manufacturer's stated design capacity
to produce denatured
(made unfit for human consumption) fuel ethanol
during a 12-month period.
However, nameplate capacity is not
a physical production limit for many ethanol plants.
By applying more efficient operating techniques,
many ethanol plants are capable of
being operated at levels that regularly exceed
their nameplate production capacity,
if market conditions provide an incentive to do so.
This level of operation, called
maximum sustainable capacity,
is inherently subjective.
Principal contributor: Chris Buckner
WWW.CHEMWINFO.COM BY KHUN PHICHAI
