Mary Grace C. Danao

Effect of harvest moisture content on selected yellow dent corn: Dry-grind fermentation characteristics and ddgs composition

ABSTRACT Efficiently utilizing the nongrain portion of the corn plant as ruminant food and the grain for ethanol will allow the optimization of both food and fuel production. Corn and corn stover could be more effectively used if they were harvested earlier before dry down. Corn harvested at different moisture contents (MCs) may exhibit different processing characteristics for the ethanol industry, because of differences in physical and chemical properties. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effect of corn harvest MC on dry-grind fermentation characteristics and dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) composition. Pioneer hybrid 32D78 was harvested at seven different dates from August 21 to November 23, 2009, with harvest MCs ranging from 73 to 21% (wb). The corn samples with different harvest MCs were evaluated by a conventional dry-grind process. Final ethanol concentration from the corn with harvest MC of 54% (kernel dent stage) was 17.9% (v/v), which was significantly h...

Prediction of Starch Content and Ethanol Yields of Sorghum Grain Using near Infrared Spectroscopy

A rapid quantification method was developed and validated for non-destructive measurement of starch content, theoretical ethanol yield and actual ethanol yield of 48 cultivars of sorghum grain using Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy in diffuse reflectance mode. Multiplicative scatter correction, Savitzky–Golay derivative smoothing and mean centring were used for processing the spectra of ground sorghum grain. The processed spectra were correlated with starch content, theoretical ethanol yield and ethanol produced through simultaneous saccharification and fermentation using partial least-squares regression (PLSR). The spectral range and number of factors were optimised for the low number of factors, high coefficients of determination for calibration (R2) and validation (r2), low root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP), high ratio of performance to deviation (RPD) and high ratio of the standard error of prediction to the range (RER). The best PLSR model for starch content utilised the 4000–6000 cm−1 wavebands and had the following values: R2 = r2 = 0.97, RMSEP = 5.5 g kg−1 grain, RPD = 5.9 and RER = 15. Likewise, the model for theoretical ethanol yield utilised the 4000–8000 cm−1 wavebands and had R2 and r2 values of >0.90, RMSEP = 4.9 g kg−1 grain, RPD = 4.47 and RER = 12.8. It was more difficult to predict actual ethanol yield using FT-NIR spectroscopy given the small data set, and spectra were collected prior to the fermentation step. Resulting PLSR models had R2 and r2 values of <0.60, RMSEP = 11.2–21.4 g kg−1, RPD < 3 and RER < 6. These results demonstrated that FT-NIR spectroscopy may be a practical method for rough screening of sorghum cultivars for desirable starch content and theoretical ethanol yield. The models may be improved by including more cultivars in the model and additional compositional information, such as tannin and free amino nitrogen contents, in the chemometric analysis and using FT-NIR scans of the fermentation products to predict actual ethanol yields.

Development of a grain monitoring probe to measure temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide levels and logistical information during handling and transportation of soybeans

Six probes were designed to record grain conditions during transport of soybeans.GPS coordinates were collected to describe logistics of grain handling & transport.The probes were used during the 2014 & 2015 harvest season in Mato Grosso, Brazil.Grain temperature & relative humidity during transport were uniform & constant.CO2 levels inside the trailer varied with soybean moisture content & trip duration, and percentage of damaged beans. In Brazil, over 60% of soybeans are transported by truck from farms to processing, storage and export terminals. Poor road conditions, improper truck maintenance, overloading, and inefficient transfer of grain are major causes of transportation losses. With 1.7millionkm of roads and only 20% of which is paved, there is an urgent need to exploit opportunities for reducing postharvest losses from truck transport of grains in Brazil. This study describes the design, fabrication and testing of custom instrumentation for recording grain conditions and logistics during short-haul truck transport from farms to storage. Robust, low-cost instrumented probes containing four vertically-arranged chambers, with on-board data logging and global positioning system capability, were developed and deployed in the Sinop, Mato Grosso region. Representative results from five of 61 trips recorded over two harvest seasons (2014, 2015) are presented to demonstrate the utility of the methodology. Climatic conditions for these periods were: dry bulb temperature, 19.7-35.1?C and relative humidity, 23.6-94.7%. Soybean harvest moisture content ranged from 10.8% to 25.7% (w.b.). Inside the trailer, grain temperatures remained relatively uniform throughout the trailer and were near to maximum daily ambient temperatures; relative humidity levels remained relatively uniform during transport. Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels resulting from grain respiration ranged from 2,000 to 200,000ppm and tended to accumulate at the bottom of the trailers over time. Low CO2 levels were also observed with drier beans, shorter trips and fewer damaged beans. Trip durations ranged from 1.1 to 15.8h, with variability induced by weather (rainfall events) and queues at the storage facility. The instrumented probes developed for this project proved robust, cost-effective and capable of acquiring significant new information to generate baseline information related to postharvest loss during transport.

Effect of harvest date on yield, composition, and nutritive value of corn stover and DDGS

Efficient utilization of the non-grain portion of corn plant and distillers grains for ruminants and the grain for ethanol will allow optimization of both food and fuel production. Corn stover can be effectively used as animal feed if it is collected before in-field dry-down. This study determined the yield and nutritive value of corn stover, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), and feed value enhanced stover (FVES) (a mixture of corn stover and DDGS) on different corn harvest dates, and determined the harvest time that maximizes whole-plant utilization. Corn and corn stover were harvested at different dates from 21 August to 23 November in 2009, and DDGS samples were produced from the corn samples collected at different harvest dates by dry grind fermentation. From 21 August to 23 November, dry matter yield of the stalk and leaf fraction and the cob decreased by 37.4% and 9.8%, respectively. During the same time period, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, and lignin concentrations in the stalk and leaf fraction increased by 16.8, 12.7, and 1.0 percentage points, respectively, while crude protein concentrations decreased by 4.1 percentage points. For FVES, both the highest dry matter yield and the highest total digestible nutrient concentration were reached when corn just reached physiological maturity. Corn and corn stover can be harvested at the corn physiological maturity stage for maximum dry matter yield and optimum nutrient quality of FVES for ruminants, leaving more corn for ethanol production.

Comparison of hermetic storage of wheat with traditional storage methods in India

India is among the countries experiencing high postharvest losses. Four hermetic bags, two metallic bins, and two gunny bag (also known as jute or burlap bag) piles each containing 1 tonne of wheat were instrumented with temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide sensors. Representative samples from each structure were collected each month and tests for moisture, germination, insect-damaged grain, and milling yield were performed. After nine months, wheat stored in hermetic bags had higher germination (87%) and lower insect-damaged grain percentages (0% to 0.33% with a mean value of 0.2%). Hermetic bags with deliberately introduced Rhyzopertha dominica successfully eliminated the pests. Gunny bag piles had infestations; metallic bins also were infested. Wheat moisture content in all structures varied depending upon ambient conditions; moisture variation was largest in gunny bag piles. Milling yields were lowest for gunny bag piles. Hermetic bags can be an effective and environmentally friendly solution for reducing storage losses of wheat in India.

Characteristics of Particle Separation in Suspension using an Ultrasonic Standing Wave

Purpose: Particle separation in solution is one of important process in a unit operation as well as in an extract preparation for biosensors. Contrary to centrifuge-type of mesh-type filter, using an ultrasonic standing wave make the filtering process continuous and free from maintenance. It is needed to investigate the characteristics of particle movement in the ultrasonic standing wave field. Methods: Through the computer simulation the effects of major design and driving parameters on the alignment characteristics of particles were investigated, and a cylindrical chamber with up-stream flow type was devised using two circular-shape PZTs on both sides of the chamber, one for transmitting ultrasonic wave and the other for just reflecting it. Then, the system performance was experimentally investigated as well. Results: The speed of a particle to reach pressure-node plane increased as the acoustic pressure and size of particle increased. The maximum allowable up-stream flow rate could be calculated as well. As expected, exact numbers of pressure-node planes were well formed at specific locations according to the wavelength of ultrasonic wave. As the driving frequency of PZT got close to its resonance frequency, the bands of particles were observed clearer, which meant the particles were trapped into narrower space. Higher excitation voltages to the PZT produced a greater acoustic force with which to trap particles in the pressure-node planes, so that the particles gathered could move upwards without disturbing their alignments even at a higher inlet flow rate. Conclusions: This research showed the feasibility of particle separation in solution in the continuous way by an ultrasonic standing wave. Further study is needed to develop a device to collect or harvest those separated particles.

Aeration of Baled and Chopped Miscanthus in a Covered Test Facility

This presentation reports on the development of a biomass storage research facility on the Energy Farm at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The facility is designed to test out the practicality and economics of biomass drying, aeration and storage using round and square bales or chopped biomass. Eight platforms were built under a covered facility to be used to provide for the aeration of bales or chopped material. The 2.44 m square platforms provide a plenum for the fans capable of generating airflow up to 2.147 m3 s-1 (4550 cfm). Air flow can be regulated by variable speed drive control and/or reducing the fan inlet area using adjustable aluminum air restrictors. Operational details of the facility are reported. Preliminary tests with round bales, square bales and chopped biomass are reported showing moisture profiles and temperature profiles of the material. The designed facility will be used to evaluate the full scale storage properties for Miscanthus, switchgrass, energy cane, sweet sorghum and other energy biomass materials.