Application of Feed Value Analysis On Prediction of Cellulosic Ethanol Production.

Biofuels, such as ethanol and butanol, can be produced from the polysaccharides present in biomass. Lignocellulose from various plant biomass materials differs in the degree of lignification, hence conversion efficiencies differ for each feedstock. An emerging ethanol industry based on biomass conversion will need a robust evaluation system to determine realistic values for convertible carbohydrates (fiber) for various biomass materials. Ethanol conversion analysis involves three consecutive controlled processes mimicking current industry approaches- pretreatment, enzyme hydrolysis, and yeast fermentation. Animal nutrient research uses fiber analysis and rumen fluid incubation analysis as tools for evaluating feedstock. There have been limited studies to correlate fiber analysis results with ethanol conversion results. Those approaches have been inevitably indirect and limited, because the ethanol conversion correlation was with actual fiber or lignin concentrations rather than with potential fiber fermentability. Measuring fermentation gas during the incubation of a sample with rumen fluid is a mean of determining the energy value in animal nutrition research. Since conversion analysis and rumen fermentability share the common requirements of polysaccharide degradation and substrate fermentation, this project will endeavor to develop a rapid prediction method for ethanol production from various feedstocks by substituting the rumen fermentation gas method for the complicated and time consuming ethanol conversion analysis. Correlations of gas production aspects (gas amount, rate, lag time, etc) with ethanol yield using a logistics model will be assessed. This project can result in a faster and simpler ethanol production predictor suitable for a wide range of agronomic feedstocks.