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Ethanol Production Manager

Ethanol, a substance found in alcoholic beverages, is considered one of the oldest known "recreational" drugs. It is more commonly known as ethyl alcohol, but it is known by other names, too: grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, pure alcohol, alcohol (in the simplest sense), or spirits.

The career outlook for an ethanol production manager is favorable. They make on average $30 to $50 thousand a year.

Aside from its more widely known use as an intoxicating drink, ethanol has economic uses: It finds tremendous use as automotive fuel or fuel additive. To a lesser extent, it is also used as fuel for so-called direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFC) used in production of electricity; feedstock; antiseptic (for example, in hand sanitizer gels and in medical wipes), antidote for methanol and ethylene glycol poisoning; solvent found in tinctures, paints, and perfumes.

Because of its many practical uses, ethanol is produced on an industrial scale, using sugar cane or corn as raw materials.

Industrial-scale ethanol production is a complex process using either the dry milling method or the wet milling method. The top man in charge of the whole process is the ethanol production manager.

The ethanol production manager plans, organizes, directs, and controls all aspects of the production process from delivery of raw materials to the manufacturing plant, to the storage of ethanol-finished products in preparation for commercial distribution. The manager is also responsible for overall supervision of workers involved in the operation and control of certain production equipment like compressors, centrifuges, boilers, tanks, valves, pipelines, columns, heat exchangers, pumps, condensers, and evaporators.

Among the biggest responsibilities of the ethanol production manager are ensuring the use of less energy during the production process, and solving environmental problems (ethanol is known to produce significant amounts of ozone and other pollutants). For this reason, the job of Ethanol Production Manager is included in the list of green careers.

The person best fit for the job is a graduate of Chemical Engineering, preferably a holder of a Masters degree. He must have at least five years progressive experience in ethanol process engineering and similar processes involving solvents, syrups, corn products, and bio-diesel. In addition, he must be familiar computer software like Microsoft Office and AutoCAD.