Strong Future ahead for the U.S. Ethanol Industry

Education, Executive Training, Green Jobs, Illinois, Internships, University/College Programs

January 19, 2018

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by Christopher Wense (St. Louis Post Dispatch) … While it appears the steel industry has likely reached its ceiling of growth, the U.S. ethanol industry is only scratching the surface of future biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials from renewable feedstocks, and I wanted to be a part of that expansion.

In conjunction with my studies, I also began an internship at the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center at Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. NCERC is the only facility in the world that conducts simultaneous research on corn ethanol, cellulosic ethanol, advanced biofuels and specialty chemicals. Right in my own backyard, NCERC offered me the opportunity to learn as much as possible about the renewable fuels industry.

During my internship, I received an extensive education in the process for turning field corn into ethanol. The knowledgeable staff at NCERC were amazing to work with and learn from, and I thoroughly enjoyed my internship. The hands-on experience was ideal, as I prefer to learn from doing rather than just reading about it. The internship also proved to be the perfect growing opportunity for future ethanol industry employees like me.

After my internship, in February 2017, I accepted a full-time position at NCERC as an ethanol plant operations technician, while also pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Management and Applied Engineering at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. As part of my job, I help prepare the pilot plant or fermentation suite for trials and research. The seemingly endless opportunities for research and test trials is exciting and reassuring of a strong future for the U.S. ethanol industry. The best part of the job, however, is that I get to pay it forward and work with our interns. Knowing that I get to be a part of helping people who were just like me not that long ago is very rewarding. READ MORE

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