Janesville, Sept 21 - Nine students from Minnesota State University, Mankato’s biological engineering analysis class toured Guardian Energy today to learn more about the ethanol production process.

“It’s always a pleasure to host students from Minnesota State Mankato. For this group of biological engineering students, we were able to showcase how Minnesota-grown ethanol is part of a solar-based ecosystem which converts renewable feedstock into clean energy while strengthening rural economies, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and prices at the pump,” said Jeanne McCaherty, CEO of Guardian Energy. 

During the tour, the students learned about the various components of the ethanol production process such as incoming grain grading, grain handling, fermentation, grain storage, dried distillers grain production and storage, ethanol storage and shipment. 

Today’s tour was sponsored by the Minnesota Bio-Fuels Association (MN Bio-Fuels). Guardian Energy is a member of MN Bio-Fuels.

“Students in the Biotechnology Program and Food Science Technology program have great preparation from their classroom and laboratory experiences.  One of our goals is to have students understand and be able to apply their education to real-world situations.  Our tour of the ethanol plant exposes the students to the much larger scale of an industrial facility. It helps them understand the difference between a laboratory experience and the operation of a real-world production facility,” said Gregg Marg, professor of biological sciences at Minnesota State Mankato.