New yeast strains could boost ethanol output from corn by 10%

Agricultural Research published information on new yeast strains that have the promise of increasing ethanol yields from corn by 10%.

With corn ethanol efficiency reaching 2.8 gallons per bushel, and corn yields of 149 bushels per acre in 2006, a 10% gain in efficiency could result in up to 458 gallons per acre, which would make ethanol increasingly highly efficient. The USDA concluded that ethanol was 34% energy positive based on 125 bushels per acre and a range of 2.5-2.6 gallons per bushel.

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