%0 Journal Article
%T Production of cost-competitive bioethanol and value-added co-products from distillers' grains: Techno-economic evaluation and environmental impact analysis.
%A Zheng Y
%A Ngo HH
%A Luo H
%A Wang R
%A Li C
%A Zhang C
%A Wang X
%J Bioresour Technol
%V 397
%N 0
%D 2024 Apr 21
%M 38395236
%F 11.889
%R 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.130470
%X Here, Baijiu distillers' grains (BDGs) were employed in biorefinery development to generate value-added co-products and bioethanol. Through ethyl acetate extraction at a 1:6 solid-liquid ratio for 10 h, significant results were achieved, including 100 % lactic acid and 92 % phenolics recovery. The remaining BDGs also achieved 99 % glucan recovery and 81 % glucan-to-glucose conversion. Simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of remaining BDGs at 30 % loading resulted in 78.5 g bioethanol/L with a yield of 94 %. The minimum selling price of bioethanol varies from $0.149-$0.836/kg, contingent on the co-product market prices. The biorefinery processing of one ton of BDGs caused a 60 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions compared to that of the traditional production of 88 kg corn-lactic acid, 70 kg antioxidant phenolics, 234 kg soybean protein, and 225 kg corn-bioethanol, along with emissions from BDG landfilling. The biorefinery demonstrated a synergistic model of cost-effective bioethanol production and low-carbon emission BDGs treatment.