Wheat as a feedstock for alcohol production

Biological Engineering, 2010

This study examined the potential of two winter hulless barley varieties, Eve and VA125, as feedstock for ethanol production. Starch and β-glucan contents of the barley samples were analyzed using official analytical techniques. Both wholegrain and flour samples were hydrolyzed by enzymes and heat treatment preceding fermentation experiments. A simultaneous saccharification and fermentation method was used to convert starch to ethanol. Eve variety had higher starch content than that of VA125. The β-glucan content of VA125 was higher than that of Eve. The highest ethanol conversion efficiency, 88.6%, was attained with the mash prepared from whole-grain Eve. This study demonstrated that winter hulless barley can be a viable feedstock for bio-ethanol production with similar starch content to corn. Dry milling can be used to obtain high starch content flour fractions from barley grain. It is possible to produce ethanol from winter barley varieties with acceptable conversion yields. Optimization of dry milling and ethanol conversion process parameters could improve the economic feasibility of barley-to-ethanol conversion operations.

2012

…, 2011

Wheat grain samples from sixteen winter cultivars originated from four localities were evaluated and compared in traits related to ethanol production as grain yield, grain hardness, content of protein, starch and amylose, and α-amylase activity. Results obtained indicate significant differences between cultivars in amylose content, α-amylase activity, and grain hardness compared to grain yield, protein content, and starch content where differences were not significant. The amylose content, α-amylase activity, and grain hardness were affected by cultivar. Both testing methods for starch fermentation-separated hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) revealed difference between cultivars in ethanol yield.

Foods

Barley and maize have dominated the Irish whiskey sector, but in recent years, alternative grains have started to gain traction. Ireland has a high average wheat yield, producing grain that is high in starch but low in protein, offering the potential for use in distillation. To successfully utilise Irish-grown wheat in distillation, cultivars that are suitable to the Irish climate and give high yields of alcohol need to be identified. This necessitates the development of a rapid screening test for grain alcohol yield. This study examined the optimal temperature, time period, α-amylase dose rate, and calcium concentration to be used in the cooking of wheat grain to maximise alcohol yields. It was determined that lower cooking temperatures are more successful in achieving higher alcohol yields, and it was confirmed that temperature is a key variable in the cooking process. By optimising all parameters, alcohol yields of 458 LA/tonne were obtained, demonstrating that the optimum parame...

2017

Environmental sustainability and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation are two of the greatest challenges currently facing the global distilled spirits industry. Regulatory bodies around the world are in the process of placing stretching environmental targets upon domestic distilled spirits production. For example, the Scotch Whisky Association’s environmental strategy has placed environmental targets upon the industry as a whole, including GHG mitigation, improved energy efficiency and specific renewable energy utilisation targets of 20% by 2020, rising to 80% by 2050 (Scotch Whisky Association 2012). In light of this, the area of environmental sustainability and renewable energy utilisation is one of intense research interest. There is significant opportunity to contribute to environmental targets through the utilisation of co-products in the generation of bioenergy. This approach has a several potential advantages, those being greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation through the substitution of...

Chemical Engineering Research & Design, 2009

This study investigated the economic feasibility of co-producing an arabinoxylan (AX) product with ethanol from wheat, in order to establish whether, under plausible scenarios, it was realistic that a commercial source of wheat AX could be established. The possibility of recovering wheat bran via pearling was also investigated, both as an opportunity to have bran bypass the main ethanol production process and enter the distillers dried grain with solubles (DDGS) co-product in a dry state, or as a means of obtaining bran for AX extraction. Process flowsheets describing three scenarios were created using SuperPro Designer: conventional wheat-to-bioethanol production with DDGS as the principal co-product; bioethanol production with co-production of AX using conventional hammer milling and sieving to recover the bran for AX extraction; and the use of pearling technology to recover bran for AX extraction. Full economic analysis of each of the three scenarios, considering all capital and operating costs, was undertaken, basing comparisons on a constant return on investment in order to estimate the production costs of AX.Sending bran removed via pearling directly to DDGS was not economic; the reduced ethanol yield and increased electricity costs more than offset the savings in drying costs. Simulation of the integrated processes indicated that an AX product of 80% purity could be co-produced with ethanol at a cost of around 3.7–4.5£/kg. This is within the range of comparable viscosity-enhancing ingredients used in the food industry, but is towards the top end of the range. In order to establish a market, AX would therefore need to offer some additional functionality. AX production from bran obtained via pearling was more expensive that from bran obtained via hammer milling and sieving; however, whether the functionality of the AX differs needs to be established. The research indicates that creating a market for AX is feasible in terms of production costs if the AX is co-produced with ethanol. On this basis, further research is justified to investigate the functionality of AX from different sources, to optimise the AX extraction process and to establish the potential of AX as a food or pharmaceutical ingredient.

2013

A comparative study was made for production of alcohol from cereals like Rice and Barley and starch rich tuber crop Potato. For this initially all the starches were subjected to gelatinization followed by Liquefaction by (Liquozyme® SC) and Saccharification by Spirizyme® Fuel.Two methods were studied for each sample like Individual Saccharification and Fermentation(ISF) and Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentaion(SSF).Yield of alcohol and rate of alcohol fermentation were studied for different processes.The sugar depletion rate for each type of

Agronomy Journal, 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. G lobally, fuel ethanol production has now reached 75 billion L yr -1 , and Canada's contribution is approximately 2 billion L yr -1 (Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, 2010;. Some economists have argued that ethanol fuel production from grain feedstocks relies too heavily on government programs to offset what is considered to be an inefficient system incapable of adequately reducing greenhouse gas emission targets . Others have argued that ethanol should only be produced using crop biomass and residues (Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, 2010), considered by many as agricultural waste . However, the dramatic rise in plant construction and output, including seven ethanol plants operating in western Canada with a collective annual output of 0.5 billion L (Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, 2010), suggests that the economics may not be as important as provincial and federal policies targeting energy diversity, agricultural benefits, and rural renewal . Studies also report that >60% of crop residues must be retained to adequately maintain proper C cycling in the soil in wheat production systems . Therefore, if crop residue exports are limited to 40% to maintain soil quality, ethanol production from grain is probably needed at some level to meet the increasing long-term demand for ethanol. Furthermore, grain-based ethanol production provides grain growers the opportunity to sell their grain into dual markets, which enhances marketing options for cereal production. Today, a producer of CWSWS and CPS wheat, which are preferred for wheat ethanol feedstocks, can choose to sell into a milling market or contract the production to an ethanol plant.