Wedoany.com Report on Mar 16th, RCM Thermal Kinetics launched its NEXT (New Ethanol Expansion Technology) engineering initiative in early 2025, and its first project was recently completed in the Midwestern United States. This project upgraded an existing ethanol facility with an original annual capacity of 40 million gallons to 105 million gallons through process optimization. It stands as the first standard plant to surpass the 100-million-gallon mark without adding parallel distillation columns or replacing major equipment.
The facility had previously been incrementally expanded to 65 million and 86 million gallons, with the latter long considered the practical capacity limit for hundreds of similarly designed plants across North America. The application of the NEXT initiative has broken this ceiling, demonstrating that older plants can achieve capacity breakthroughs through advanced processes.
Christopher J. Brown, founder of Thermal Kinetics, stated: "Our senior engineer, Roy Viteri, applied the precise engineering techniques of the petroleum industry. We employed a method of targeted upgrades and advanced system design to unlock hidden capacity within the plant's existing footprint, rather than replacing major equipment."
The capacity leap to 105 million gallons sets a new benchmark for the ethanol industry, showing that existing plants can achieve high-performance levels without incurring the high costs of equipment replacement. Roy Viteri added: "This project demonstrates the potential of advanced process design within real-world constraints. It provides a pathway for existing plants to increase output, lower per-gallon costs, and enhance competitiveness in the renewable fuels market."
Scott Yenzer, the new General Manager of Industrial Markets, noted: "As the first completed NEXT project, this installation validates the program's potential. Thermal Kinetics currently has several NEXT projects underway, reflecting the rapid adoption of the initiative and the company's continued progress in ethanol plant innovation."
