Technoeconomic evaluation of protein‐rich animal feed and ethanol production from palm kernel cake

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Indonesia and Malaysia are net importers of animal feed products to meet the demand of their domestic livestock industries. These countries are also the largest producers and exporters of palm kernel cake (PKC), an animal feed waste by‐product from the palm industry that is used primarily as a ruminant feed. Prior work demonstrated that the bioethanol process can convert the gluco‐mannan fiber in PKC into ethanol and a high‐protein animal feed. We used Microsoft Excel to develop a bioethanol process model for PKC by adapting the well developed corn ethanol process used in the USA. The PKC biorefinery model, using PKC's composition and specialized enzymes to produce fermentable glucose and mannose, projects that 1 kg of PKC can produce 0.58 kg of high‐protein animal feed and 0.20 kg of ethanol, with some residual palm kernel oil. The model estimated an increase in crude protein content from 17% in the PKC to 27% in the high‐protein animal feed. A comprehensive technoeconomic assessment using the results of the process model indicates that a PKC bioethanol factory converting 100 000 Mg year ^–1 of PKC would cost USD 55 million and generate a 23% project internal rate of return (IRR). © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Related collections

Most cited references 18

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Biotechnological processes for conversion of corn into ethanol.

R Bothast, M A Schlicher (2005)

Ethanol has been utilized as a fuel source in the United States since the turn of the century. However, it has repeatedly faced significant commercial viability obstacles relative to petroleum. Renewed interest exists in ethanol as a fuel source today owing to its positive impact on rural America, the environment and United States energy security. Today, most fuel ethanol is produced by either the dry grind or the wet mill process. Current technologies allow for 2.5 gallons (wet mill process) to 2.8 gallons (dry grind process) of ethanol (1 gallon = 3.785 l) per bushel of corn. Valuable co-products, distillers dried grains with solubles (dry grind) and corn gluten meal and feed (wet mill), are also generated in the production of ethanol. While current supplies are generated from both processes, the majority of the growth in the industry is from dry grind plant construction in rural communities across the corn belt. While fuel ethanol production is an energy-efficient process today, additional research is occurring to improve its long-term economic viability. Three of the most significant areas of research are in the production of hybrids with a higher starch content or a higher extractable starch content, in the conversion of the corn kernel fiber fraction to ethanol, and in the identification and development of new and higher-value co-products.