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ARS Home » Plains Area » Brookings, South Dakota » Integrated Cropping Systems Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #211650
Title: Effect of Moisture Content and Soluble Level on the Physical and Chemical Properties of DDGS

Author
item GANESAN, V - SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV
item Rosentrater, Kurt
item MUTHUKUMARAPPAN, K - SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIV

Submitted to: Cereal Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/4/2008
Publication Date: 7/1/2008
Citation: Ganesan, V., Rosentrater, K.A., Muthukumarappan, K. 2008. Effect of Moisture Content and Soluble Level on the Physical and Chemical Properties of DDGS. Cereal Chemistry. 85(4):464-470.

Interpretive Summary: Over the years, much research been conducted on the handling and storage characteristics of bulk solids and granular materials. Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a coproduct of the corn-based fuel ethanol industry, is increasingly used as a protein source for ruminants and non-ruminants. DDGS typically contains 86 to 93% (db) dry matter, 26 to 34% (db) crude protein, and 3 to 13% (db) fat. As the ethanol industry is set for tremendous growth in the next several years, growing quantities of DDGS are anticipated. To effectively utilize these materials, they have to be transported greater distances in order to reach livestock markets throughout the country, and must be stored until final use. DDGS flow is problematic, as it often cakes and bridges, and storage bins, trucks, and railcars cannot be unloaded. This behavior probably results from interactions between variables, including particle shape, particle size, storage moisture, temperature, relative humidity, and time. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of various moisture content levels (10, 15, 20, 25, and 30% db) on the resulting physical and chemical properties of DDGS with varying soluble levels (10, 15, 20, and 25% db). Carr Indices were used to quantify the flowability of the DDGS samples. Results showed that the color values and protein content of DDGS were significantly affected by an increase in the soluble level. Additionally, both soluble level and moisture content had a noticeable impact on some physical properties (Aerated Bulk Density, Packed Bulk Density, and Compressibility). Thus it was concluded that there can be possible flow problems in DDGS as soluble level and moisture content increase.

Technical Abstract: Over the past few decades, much research concerning handling and storage characteristics of bulk solids has been conducted. Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is a bulk material that has been widely used as a protein source for ruminants and non-ruminants for more than two decades. DDGS typically contains 86 to 93% (db) dry matter, 26 to 34% (db) crude protein, and 3 to 13% (db) fat. With the exponential growth of the fuel ethanol industry in the past several years, significant quantities of distillers grains are now being produced. To effectively utilize these coproduct streams in the domestic market, they have to be transported greater distances, and must be stored until final use. DDGS flow is often problematic as it can become restricted by caking and bridging which occurs during shipping and storage. This issue probably results from interactions between particles, particle size, storage moisture, temperature, relative humidity, and time variations. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of various moisture content levels (10, 15, 20, 25, and 30% db) on the resulting physical and chemical properties of DDGS with varying soluble levels (10, 15, 20, and 25% db). Carr Indices were used to quantify the flowability of the DDGS samples. The results showed that the colour values and protein content of DDGS was significantly affected with an increase in the soluble level. On the other hand, both soluble level and moisture content had a noticeable impact on some physical properties (Aerated Bulk Density, Packed Bulk Density, and Compressibility). Also, it was found that there can be possible flow problems in DDGS as soluble level and moisture content increases.