Ethanol Protein – Importance of Co-Product Quality

Why is the importance of ethanol protein co-product quality? At least eight ethanol plants have recently installed new process technology that separates higher value corn fermentation protein from whole stillage. This ethanol protein is a combination of corn protein and yeast protein from the ethanol fermentation process. This protein product is destined for growing animal feed markets where it delivers value to customers aiming for least-cost diet formulations while maintaining nutritional benefits. These markets include swine nursery piglets, poultry, fish, and pet food, and the quality and consistency are critical to customers. Feed nutritionists design formulations with tight specifications, and with the lowest possible total cost for parameters like amino acids (lysine and methionine), digestible energy, and digestible protein. The average and standard deviation of these parameters are important as a higher concentration of digestible protein enable feed nutritionists to customize diets within a fixed volume. Put in a more basic way – if chickens can only eat so much food each day, producers want them to eat what counts for weight gain and meat quality while minimizing the cost of daily rations. Concentration and consistency enable this to take place.

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