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NEW YORK, Jan 13, 2006/ --- As oil prices continue to rise, Americans are getting their fuel from an unlikely source – corn.

Across the country, plants are opening that convert corn into ethanol - a clean burning, renewable fuel.

Ethanol improves car performance since it cleans the engine, fuel lines and increases the octane of a blended fuel. It also helps the environment – a 10 percent blend of ethanol in fuel can reduce emissions by up to 30 percent.

Thousands of gas stations across the country offer drivers 10 percent ethanol blend fuel, and more than 600 stations offer 85 percent ethanol. That number is expected to grow with the recently passed energy bill that mandates an increase in ethanol fuel production.

As demand grows, producers are using automation technology to produce ethanol more efficiently.