Fuel Ethanol
Today fuel ethanol producers struggle to achieve profitability as margins continue to tighten significantly, driven by both higher corn prices and weakening demand (worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic impact on gasoline consumption and by federal actions that also weakened demand). Boli Bioproducts USA is helping ethanol producers successfully meet these challenges by providing innovative enzyme solutions and unsurpassed technical service and support, allowing fuel ethanol producers to reduce operating costs and improve profitability.
Liquefaction
The purpose of Liquefaction is to release the starch granules in the raw material during the slurry cooking process which occurs by breaking the long starch chains into small chains (shorter chain dextrins); the viscosity of the starch slurry is significantly reduced during the liquefaction process in preparation for Saccharification.
To achieve maximum efficiency during Liquefaction, it is critical to release the starch granules in the raw material as completely as possible. The optimum release of the starch granules in the raw material is highly dependent on several factors such as the starch type (feedstock), feedstock quality, degree of grinding/milling of the feedstock, and the cooking temperature/time. It is very important to balance the increased energy costs (smaller particle size of feedstock, higher cooking temperature, etc.) with the increased raw material utilization in order to maximize the cost benefit to the fuel ethanol plant.
During the Liquefaction process, it is imperative to avoid producing too many small molecular sugars as these sugars will react with the amino acids present(Maillard Reaction); the Maillard Reaction negatively impacts yeast fermentation and it causes the loss of available fermentable sugars. Carefully controlling and monitoring the liquefaction step by measuring the Dextrose Equivalent (DE) value of the Liquefaction process is important to maximizing the efficiency of this step- enzymes play a huge role in achieving the Liquefaction targets.
Boli BioProducts USA’s enzyme products have been designed and formulated to provide fuel ethanol manufacturers with high performance, ease of use, and unsurpassed cost-in-savings. We have the right liquefaction enzyme solutions to help you meet your goal to increase yield and productivity.
Saccharification & Fermentation
In fuel ethanol, Saccharification and Fermentation are carried out at the same time in the liquefied mash; this is called Simultaneous Saccharification Fermentation (SSF). Saccharification hydrolyzes the shorter chain dextrins into fermentable sugars; yeast utilizes these fermentable sugars which are then converted into ethanol and CO2 during Fermentation.
The speed of Saccharification and Fermentation in the fuel ethanol process must carefully be balanced so as to obtain the maximum ethanol yield. If the initial speed of Saccharification is too great, this results in too high of a sugar concentration which in turn causes a faster Fermentation rate. If the Fermentation rate is too high, the Fermentation temperature also increases rapidly causing the yeast to lose its vitality too quickly before the conversion to ethanol is completed. Other unwanted consequences of out of balance Saccharification/Fermentation steps include bacterial contamination (caused by higher fermentation temperatures) and enzyme deactivation (caused by the formation of organic acids and other by-products), both of which have a deleterious effect on yield, cost, and productivity.
Boli BioProducts USA offers a wide range of innovative and proven enzyme solutions, providing Fuel Ethanol producers maximum flexibility in choosing the best option for their specific Saccharifcation and Fermentation process needs.
Our enzymes solutions for Saccharification and fermentation
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Maintain the optimum balance of Saccharification speed and Fermentation rate
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Maximize conversion to fermentable sugars-obtain higher ethanol yields
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Have exceptional tolerance to accommodate a wide range of process conditions during Saccharification and Fermentation
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Provide yeast with proper nutrient levels to maintain yeast vitality
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Maximize raw material utilization
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Offer exceptional cost-in-use savings versus other commercially available products
Our Enzymes for Saccharification and Fermentation Include