Co-production of feed and furfural from dried distillers' grains to improve corn ethanol profitability

Dried distillers' grains (DDG) was chosen as the starting material for a two-step furfural conversion process aiming at increasing the value of corn ethanol byproducts and thus further decreasing the cost of corn ethanol. Modeling the experimental data, dilute acid extraction was predicted to be able to extract 86.7% of total pentose in DDG. Batch and reactive distillation dehydration (BRD) processes were used to convert the pentose-rich dilute acid hydrolysate into furfural giving maximum furfural yields of 47% and 68%, respectively. In parallel, analyses of composition and in vitro true dry matter digestibility (IVTDMD) of DDG-residue after dilute acid hydrolysis suggested potential animal feed values. An economic analysis of the process was performed using the optimized process parameters predicted from the statistical models. The models confirms that making furfural and selling the DDG-residue as animal feed would make the process more profitable than selling DDG solely as animal feed.