Both the current corn starch to ethanol industry and the emerging lignocellulosic biofuels industry view recycling of spent fermentation broth or stillage as a method to reduce fresh water use. The objective of this study was to understand the impact of recycling stillage on conversion of corn stover to ethanol. Sugars in a dilute-acid pretreated corn stover hydrolysate were fermented to ethano...

BACKGROUND This study aims to chemically characterize thin stillage derived from lignocellulosic biomass distillation residues in terms of organic strength, nutrient, and mineral content. The feasibility of performing anaerobic digestion on these stillages at mesophilic (40 °C) and thermophilic (55 °C) temperatures to produce methane was demonstrated. The microbial communities involved were fur...

We investigated effects of microfiltration (MF) on heat transfer fouling tendencies of thin stillage. A stainless steel MF membrane (0.1 micron pore size) was used to remove solids from thin stillage. At filtration conditions of 690kPa, the MF process effectively recovered total solids from thin stillage. Thin stillage was concentrated from 7.0% to 22.4% solids with average permeate flux rates ...

Cereal Chem. 90(1):70–79 Wider exploration of ethanol coproduct uses is necessary as the ethanol industry continues to face challenges. Currently, process streams such as thin stillage and condensed distillers solubles (CDS) are processed into distillers dried grains with solubles and used as animal feeds, but other higher value opportunities may exist. The objective of this study was to identi...

The estimated global ethanol production in 2009 was about 74 mln m. After fermentation remains waste from bottom of distillation columns, termed stillage. This highly aqueous residue containing organic solubles is considered a troublesome and potentially polluting waste due to its extremely high BOD and COD values. Moreover, for each liter of produced ethanol 8 -15 liters of stillage are genera...

BACKGROUND Replacing the energy-intensive evaporation of stillage by anaerobic digestion is one way of decreasing the energy demand of the lignocellulosic biomass to the ethanol process. The biogas can be upgraded and sold as transportation fuel, injected directly into the gas grid or be incinerated on-site for combined heat and power generation. A techno-economic evaluation of the spruce-to-et...

Cereal Chem. 83(3):311–314 Dry-grind corn processing facilities produce ethanol, carbon dioxide, and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). To produce DDGS, drygrind corn processors concentrate thin stillage in multieffect evaporators. Concentration of thin stillage uses large amounts of energy, and efficient operation is important for long-term economic stability of the industry. Little...

Dextransucrase (DS) is a glucosyltransferase (E. C. 2.4.1.5) that catalyzes the transfer of glucosyl residues from sucrose to dextran polymer and liberates fructose. This enzyme isassociated with wide application range oligosaccharides. DS production by Leuconostoc mesenteroidesT3 was optimized using Central Composite Design under Response Surface Methodology. Three variables were chosen for op...

The production of dry-grind corn ethanol results in the generation of intermediate products, thin and whole stillage, which require energy-intensive downstream processing for conversion into commercial animal feed products. Hydrothermal carbonization of thin and whole stillage coupled with anaerobic digestion was investigated as alternative processing methods that could benefit the industry. By...

Municipal compost sample was pyrolyzed to produce compost char as a sorbent for removing the herbicide atrazine from solution. The compost-based char was compared with an activated carbon derived from corn stillage. When compost was pyrolyzed, the char yield was greater than 45% when heated under air, and 52% when heated under N2. In contrast, when the corn stillage was pyrolyzed under N2, the ...