TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - BIOLOGY - Preferred Components: The plant material is derived from a plant selected from sorghum (milo), sweet sorghum, oats, barley, wheat, rye, millet, berry, grape, rye, maize, rice, potato, sweet potato, cassava, sugar beet, sugar cane, pineapple, grasses and trees (preferably sugar beet). Preferred Process: The fermentation involves mixing the extruded brei with water and yeast to form a fermentation mixture; and maintaining the fermentation mixture at 18-40 degrees C for 5-120 hours before subjecting 100% of the fermented mixture to distillation to separate the ethanol from the fermented mixture. The fermentation is run as batch process or a continuous process. The use of the process (P1) further involves liquefaction step and/or saccharification step carried before the fermentation step; and adding at least one enzyme to the extruded brei, where 25 g of a mannanase enzyme per hectoliter of extruded brei are added. The residual fermented mixture obtained after extraction of ethanol is introduced into a biogas reactor and used as a fuel to produce energy. The distillation is performed using energy produced from a biogas reactor. The fermented mixture comprises at least 9.5 (preferably at least 10) vol.% ethanol, calculated based on the volume of the extruded brei. In the process, 100% of the fermented mixture is subjected to distillation to separate the ethanol from the fermented mixture, thus providing a residual fermented mixture. The residual fermented mixture is introduced into a biogas reactor and used as a fuel to produce energy. The distillation is performed using energy produced from a biogas reactor. In the process, at least greater than or equal to 19 (preferably greater than or equal to 25)% ethanol is produced than by a conventional plant-to-ethanol process, where the conventional plant-to-ethanol process is performed in the absence of a vacuum extruding step. The liquid separated from the residual solid matter and/or any aqueous effluents from the process is used as water for irrigation, cooling systems, or any other suitable use, such as in the preparation of new fermentation mixtures.    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: The process (P1) further involves pressing the plant material at an increased pressure to provide a compressed plant material, which is then subjected to vacuum extrusion. The vacuum extruding involves subjecting the plant material to a reduction in pressure of greater than or equal to 3 (preferably 3-100) kPa. The vacuum extruding involves introducing the plant material to a vacuum chamber and operating the vacuum chamber at 90-99% vacuum. The plant material is mashed or crushed prior to the vacuum extruding. The plant material is plant material that has already been subjected to conventional sugar extraction treatments. The plant material is not heated prior or is heated to 70-90 degrees C prior to the vacuum extrusion. The plant material further comprises micro-organism contaminants and the vacuum extruding damages at least one micro-organism contaminant, thus providing an extruded brei comprising fewer micro-organism contaminants than the plant material. EXAMPLE - Sugar beets having 14% sugar content were harvested, defoliated, and stored outdoors. Prior to use, the beets, including beets that were damaged or that had rotted during storage, were pre-washed in a container filled with water. A diagonal auger was inserted into the pre-wash container and served to transport the sugar beets to a conveyor, where stones were picked out. The beets were crushed and subjected to a two-step compression and decompression procedure to disrupt the beet cell walls and provide extruded beet material (i.e., treated brei), which was collected in stainless steel tanks and mixed, with water, activated yeast, yeast nutriment and, in some cases, enzymes, and fermented to form fermentation mixture containing treated brei (400 kg), water (6.25 vol.%), yeast nutrient (20 g/hl), activated yeast (6%), no additional enzymes. The fermentation was carried out at 33 degrees C for 72 hours to produce 9.97% of ethanol.