Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Organization and Basis of Presentation. (Details)

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Organization and Basis of Presentation. (Details) - USD ($)
9 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2020
Sep. 30, 2019
Dec. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]      
Ethanol production capacity per year Following the Company’s sale of its interest in Pacific Aurora, the Company has a combined production capacity of 450 million gallons per year. In 2019, the Company marketed nearly 1.0 billion gallons combined of specialty alcohols and fuel-grade ethanol, and nearly 3.0 million tons of essential ingredients on a dry matter basis. The Company focuses on four key markets: Health, Home & Beauty; Food & Beverage; Essential Ingredients; and Renewable Fuels. Products for the Health, Home & Beauty market include specialty alcohols used in mouthwash, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, hand sanitizers, disinfectants and cleaners. Products for the Food & Beverage markets include grain neutral spirits used in alcoholic beverages and vinegar as well as corn germ used for corn oils. Products for Essential Ingredients markets include yeast, corn gluten and distillers grains used in commercial animal feed and pet foods.    
Operating production capacity 51.00%    
Line of credit, description During the first nine months of 2020, the Company generated $75.7 million in cash from its operations and realized $19.9 million in net cash proceeds from the sale of its interest in Pacific Aurora. These positive cash flows have allowed the Company to make net payments totaling $91.6 million on its debt during the first nine months of 2020. Further, subsequent to September 30, 2020, the Company made an additional $25.3 million in payments on its term debt from proceeds of its offerings of common stock and warrants that generated net proceeds of approximately $70.0 million.    
Sale of assets $ 10,000,000    
Accounts receivable 35,872,000   $ 63,736,000
Allowance for doubtful accounts 16,000   $ 39,000
Bad debt expense $ 1,000 $ 27,000  
Marketing description     The Company, however, has not only continued producing and selling its specialty alcohols, but also converted a portion of its fuel-grade ethanol production to specialty alcohol production to respond to increased demand from the sanitizer and disinfectant markets.