Al-Corn Clean Fuel
797 5th St,, Claremont, , Michigan, United States

Al-Corn Clean Fuel is a farmer-owned ethanol production cooperative in Claremont, MN. Al-Corn’s 500 members invest in the company financially and agree to deliver a quantity of corn to the plant determined by their investment. The “corn commitment” has been a key contributor toAl-Corn’s success. Annually Al-Corn grinds 17.5 million bushels of corn and produces 50 million gallons of ethanol. In addition, the plant produces 132,000 tons of high protein livestock feed and 12 million pounds of corn oil, we also capture 70,000 tons of beverage grade carbon dioxide, all of which are resold.Founded in 1994, Al-Corn Clean Fuel is a farmer-owned ethanol production cooperative located in Claremont, MN. The cooperative was created when depressed corn prices drove local farmers to seek new opportunities to add value to their corn crop.  For two decades Al-Corn Clean Fuel has created a guaranteed and stable market for corn, maintained a strong cash position during an uncertain economy and made investments that added significant value for members and their local communities.  The initial investment by Al-Corn members was for facility planning and construction. Today, members purchase shares so that they can deliver corn and participate in adding value to their corn crop via processing. These members agree to deliver a quantity of corn to the plant, which is determined by their investment. The “corn commitment” has been a key contributor to the success of Al-Corn Clean Fuel.The Al-Corn Clean Fuel plant utilizes a dry milling process, the most commonly used method in the ethanol industry. The whole corn kernel is ground into a powder, mixed with recovered process liquids to form a mash (similar to oatmeal) and then cooked with enzymes that turn the starch into glucose. Yeast is added and the mash is fermented and CO2 is collected. The resultant “beer” is distilled to separate the ethanol from the solids and remaining liquids. These are further processed to recover liquids for the mashing process, and to produce high protein livestock feed and distillers corn oil.  Annually Al-Corn Clean Fuel grinds 17.5 million bushels of corn and produces 50 million gallons of ethanol. The plant produces 132,000 tons of high protein livestock feed, 12 million pounds of corn oil and 70,000 tons of beverage grade carbon dioxide The majority of these products are consumed by refiners, livestock feeders, meat packers and biodiesel producers right here in Minnesota.  Al-Corn Clean Fuel continues to utilize the best available control technologies in order to reduce energy consumption and production costs while at the same time increasing efficiencies and reducing emissions.  The Al-Corn plant has reduced water consumption to less than 2.4 gallons of water per gallon of ethanol and was the first plant to achieve “zero liquid discharge”. In addition, energy conservation efforts have reduced the plant’s energy use by more than 35% compared to the original plant design.