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Title: ASSESSMENT OF ETHANOL PRODUCTION OPTIONS FOR CORN PRODUCTS: ENGINEERING FRAMEWORK FOR ESTIMATING THEORETICAL YIELDS AND PRACTICAL MAXIMA

Author
item GULATI, MANISH - PURDUE UNIV
item KOHLMANN, KAREN - PURDUE UNIV
item LADISCH, MICHAEL - PURDUE UNIV
item Hespell, Robert
item Bothast, Rodney

Submitted to: Pacific Basin Society Chemical International Congress Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/22/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The production of ethanol from corn fiber has the potential to increase ethanol yields by a maximum of 0.3 gal/bushel with an incremental yield of 0.13 from hexose, 0.1 from xylose and 0.07 from arabinose, if all are hydrolyzed and fermented at 100% efficiency. A more realistic yield is 0.22 gal/bushel of corn, assuming an 80% efficiency for the hydrolysis and fermentation of the individual hexoses and a 70% efficiency for hydrolysis and fermentation of xylose and arabinose. This work reviews corn's structure and summarizes published compositional analyses of the corn kernel. The distribution of these components between the major fractions derived from corn processing, either through wet or dry milling, places a practical limit on the extent to which ethanol productivity can be improved. Our analysis facilitates comparison of incremental ethanol yields which can be expected if the corn co-products are further processed to fermentable sugars. An engineering framework for assigning economic consequences of the additional utilization of fiber is presented.