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The chart demonstrates how the optimal production of starch can be affected when bran and/or corn germ is added into the starch stream.
The corn kernel contains a total of about 83 percent endosperm, or starch. An optimal starch stream for the production of ethanol is at about 80 to 81 percent starch. Up to that level, nonfermentable bran and corn germ, which are generally undesirable, remain at minimal levels, as the lower lines in the chart show.
As the chart also shows, bran and fiber levels start climbing with the attempt to gain more starch above the low-80s starch level. That means those nonfermentable germ and bran solids are being included in the starch stream, which can lower fermentation efficiency. (There can be times when the plant may want slight increases in germ. For example, a customer for the high-protein meal might want a slight increase in energy in the meal. CPT’s precision milling technology can be “dialed in” to provide the energy-charged fat level desired.)
Think now about the aggregate mass of material going into the ethanol plant. The chart shows that once most of the recoverable endosperm has been captured, returns diminish as more germ and bran are contained in the Degermed Debranned Corn (DDC) stream.
That’s why we refer to the 80 to 81 percent starch as the “sweet spot.” It provides to the ethanol plant the optimal amount of fermentable starch and the lowest amounts of nonfermentable germ and bran.
There are two more benefits from that purer starch stream. The lower fat and fiber content means higher-value, high-protein meal than conventional DDGs, and it requires less drying. And that bran and germ captured before ethanol production is valued more highly in co-product markets.
Sweet!
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