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ARS Home » Plains Area » Brookings, South Dakota » Integrated Cropping Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #192796
Title: SOME PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF DISTILLERS DRIED GRAINS WITH SOLUBLES (DDGS)

Author
item Rosentrater, Kurt

Submitted to: Applied Engineering in Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/13/2006
Publication Date: 7/1/2006
Citation: Rosentrater, K.A. 2006. Some physical properties of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Applied Engineering in Agriculture 22(4):589-595.

Interpretive Summary: The fuel ethanol industry is currently experiencing a rapid expansion in the US. Along with increasing supplies of ethanol, a growing quantity of processing coproducts, primarily distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is also being produced. The goal of this paper was to provide baseline physical property data for typical DDGS that are produced in eastern South Dakota. This information is essential for the design of equipment, processes, and facilities to handle and store, as well as utilize, these coproducts.

Technical Abstract: The production of corn-based ethanol in the U.S. is dramatically increasing, and consequently so is the amount of coproduct materials generated from this processing sector. These streams are primarily utilized as livestock feed, which is a route that provides ethanol processors with a substantial revenue source and significantly increases the profitability of the production process. With the construction and operation of many new plants in recent years, these residuals do, however, have much potential for value-added processing and utilization in other sectors as well. Extensive research has been conducted into determining DDGS nutritional properties. Physical properties, however, have been largely ignored, but are needed for the proper design of processing operations and byproduct applications. Thus the objective of this research was to quantify physical property values for typical DDGS streams. Using standard laboratory methods, several physical properties were determined, including moisture content, water activity, thermal properties, bulk density, angle of repose, and color. The data generated during this study will be useful to both the ethanol and livestock industries, but further study is warranted in order to capture more fully the differences in physical properties between plants and over time, and also to develop rapid sensing techniques for the determination of these properties.