INCREMENTAL ETHANOL YIELDS FROM PROCESSING CORN FIBER BY THERMAL PRETREATMENT AND ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS

Authors: BEERY, K - PURDUE UNIV; MOSIER, N - PURDUE UNIV; HENDRICKSON, R - PURDUE UNIV; BREWER, M - PURDUE UNIV; Dien, Bruce; DRESCHEL, R - WILLIAMS ENERGY SVCS; WELCH, G - WILLIAMS ENERGY SVCS; Bothast, Rodney; LADISCH, M - PURDUE UNIV

Submitted to: American Chemical Society National Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/31/2000
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Corn fiber that is currently sold as cattle feed can be used as the substrate for additional ethanol production in wet milling plants. An industry/university/government laboratory team carried out analysis of the integration of a fiber utilization process into a corn-based ethanol plant. The material and energy flows associated with fiber pretreatment and the magnitude and cost of incremental ethanol were determined. Key assumption required to generate this assessment were based on a combination of operating plant data (for a starch-to-ethanol plant), tests of pretreatment conditions with respect to corn fiber, and chemical analysis and fermentation of the resulting product streams (to give estimates of conversion efficiencies). This team effort has generated a process analysis that suggests the fiber from corn seed has the potential to add 6 to 12% additional ethanol production to an existing corn-to-ethanol plant. An analysis of process parameters and details for integrating a fiber conversion process into an ethanol plant will be discussed.