TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INSTRUMENTATION AND TESTING - Preferred Apparatus: The temperature gradient controlling heat-removal unit comprises a heat-removal coil placed inside the vacuum dehydration retort.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Method: The mixture of ethanol (95 vol.%) and water (5 vol.%) is obtained by the steps of: providing ears of corn including kernels, cobs, and shucks which have been previously separated from their associated stalks; separating the kernels from the associated cobs and shucks to produce a feedstock; fermenting the feedstock into beer feed; and distilling and dehydrating the beer feed to produce the mixture of ethanol (95 vol.%) and water (5 vol.%). The dehydration step is performed by distilling the mixture in a vacuum from 0.145-0.110 atmospheres while maintaining the retort head temperature equal to the associated minimum boiling point temperature of 34.380-32.24degrees C, respectively, to produce a premium quality motor fuel-grade ethanol having a concentration of 99.19-100 wt.% of ethanol, respectively. In the method (M1), where 99.5 wt.% of motor fuel-grade ethanol is provided by maintaining a pressure of 0.125 atmospheres in the vacuum dehydration unit and maintaining the retort head temperature in the unit to an azeotropic minimum boiling point temperature of 33.4degrees C. A predetermined amount of heat is added to the liquid reflux within the base of the vacuum dehydration retort to insure the necessary vapor boil-up rate to provide the desired industrial product flow rates of fuel-grade ethanol. The temperature gradient controlling heat-removal unit comprises a heat-removal coil placed inside the vacuum dehydration unit. In the process (M2), a predetermined amount of heat provided solely by combustion of the cobs and shucks of the associated corn kernels is added as needed to the liquid reflux within the base of the vacuum retort to insure vapor boil-up rates required to provide the desired industrial product flow rates of fuel-grade ethanol. The amount of thermal energy provided from combustion of the cobs and shucks of the associated corn kernels used as the feedstock processed into the ethanol exceeds the amount of energy necessary for both the distilling and dehydrating steps by at least 33%. The excess thermal energy is utilized to generate electricity which is supplied to an electrical power grid. EXAMPLE - No suitable example given.