Antibiotics pose concern for ethanol producers

Minnesota Public Radio
by Mark Steil, Minnesota Public Radio
March 24, 2009

St. Paul, Minn. — Ethanol production relies on enzymes, yeast and sugar to convert corn into fuel. And just as the wrong bacteria in the body can sicken people, it can also cause a variety of ailments in a batch of ethanol.

Mark von Keitz with the University of Minnesota's Biotechnology Institute said, in ethanol production, the main enemy is a bacterial bug that makes lactic acid.

"What these organisms do is they also compete with the yeast for the sugar," said von Keitz. "But instead of making alcohol they make primarily lactic acid."

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