Demand for fuels produced from renewable resources has
increased in recent years due to increased prices for oil,
concerns about greenhouse gas production, and increasing
reliability on foreign sources of energy in the US [1]. One of the
most prevalent renewable energy sources in the US is ethanol.
Ethanol is generally produced from corn (maize) in the US with
a total production at the end of 2005 of 1.5 1010 l/year with
an additional 5.7 109 l of capacity under construction [2].
Many states in the US have little or no fuel ethanol production,
making a transition to ethanol-blended gasoline dependent on
importing ethanol from other states or countries. Development
of local feedstocks to produce ethanol in these states would