National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center
Edwardsville, Illinois
Intern: Ashia Small
Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville
The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) is a not-for-profit research
center that concentrates on improving fuel ethanol from corn and improving
the economics of the production processing. NCERC is the only pilot facility
in the world that fully emulates both the wet milling and dry-grinding processes.
The facility conducts both its own research as well as research on behalf of
private clients.
The intern student evaluated the feasibility of replacing natural gas burned
to make ethanol with methane. The methane would be produced by anaerobic digestion
of stillage, which is a byproduct of ethanol production.
Results:
The student used flask fermentation to simulate the fuel ethanol process.
The following observations were made:
- Anaerobic digester effluent could be used in the same way as thin stillage
in preparation of corn mashes for ethanol fermentation.
- No effects on ethanol
yield were observed.
- Anaerobic digestion of thin stillage may be able
to reduce the energy consumed during fuel ethanol production by 1/3.
- No adverse effects on water usage by ethanol plants are expected.
- Further research would be required to find out if undesirables or
inhibitory compounds in the fermentation broth or the DDGS (dried
distillers grains with solubles) would build up in the process.
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