Making Biofuels Part 1

Lecture Notes

Here we see the major components in corn and soybean grains. The starch comprises approximately 70-75% of the corn grain. It's readily hydrolyzed, meaning it's broken down and converted into smaller molecules that can be distilled into ethanol. There's also a portion of the remains, the dry distillers grain (DDG) that can be used as animal feed. The oil content in corn is 4 - 7% and is 18-20% in soybeans; much of this oil is used in food, although we also use soybean oil for biodiesel production. And then finally we look at the protein content in these two crops, so 20-25% in corn, 80% in soybean meal. Again, these are primarily used as feed and also as feedstocks for biochemicals and other bioproducts.