Wet ethanol production process yields more ethanol and more co-products

EurekaAlert.com
Public release date: 9-Nov-2009
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

URBANA – Using a wet ethanol production method that begins by soaking corn kernels rather than grinding them, results in more gallons of ethanol and more usable co-products, giving ethanol producers a bigger bang for their buck – by about 20 percent.

"The conventional ethanol production method has fewer steps, but other than distillers dried grains with soluble, it doesn't have any other co-products," said University of Illinois Agricultural Engineer Esha Khullar. "Whereas in both wet and dry fractionation processes, the result is ethanol, distillers dried grains with soluble, as well as germ and fiber. Corn fiber oil for example can be extracted from the fiber and used as heart-healthy additives in buttery spreads that can lower cholesterol."

In comparing the wet and dry fractionation methods, Khullar's research team found that when using the wet fractionation method, the result is even higher ethanol concentrations coming out of the fermenter and better quality co-products than the dry method.

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