A2B—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, December 13,1980
Penn Agrihol
(Continued from Page A 27)
ship its 65 percent-stillage to
co-op members without
further drying down by
convection heat in order to
save on expenses.
mendations by our team of
experts.”
Kessler explained the co
op is looking at the ad
vantages and disadvantages
of the conventional
technology of cooking gram
to produce alcohol, or the
more advanced method,
“state of the art
technology”, called ex
truding.
One other method, and the
one that the co-op is leaning
towards, admitted Kessler,
is the reactor He noted this
method is the most efficient
way to produce alcohol.
In all three methods, the
grain is milled and prepared
for the liquifaction process
This step m the production of
alcohol makes starch from
the grain available for yeast
to work on in the cooker and
extruder methods, or for
enzyme action in the
reactor.
Sacnfication is the next
step in the process, where
starch is turned into sugar.
Fermentation follows, with
six or seven batches of
“beer” being made at a
time.
Kessler explained beer
consists of ten percent
solids These solids, called
stillage, are separated from
the brew by centrifuge.
These “wastes” are then
pressed down to about 65
percent moisture and
become a high-protein feed
called distiller’s dried
grains
“The profitability of an
alcohol plant depends on how
the DDG are handled,”
noted Kessler. He pointed
out Penn Agnhol hopes to
PENNSYLVANIA
WE’RE GROWING REITER
DDG is an important by
product because for every
2.5 gallons of alcohol
produced there are 18
pounds of DDG to deal with,
said Kessler
“In our area, we aren’t
com deficient when it comes
to feeding livestock we’re
protein deficient. Feeding
distiller’s dried grains can
add a 30 percent protein
source to a ration,” he said.
The co-op vice-president
added he expects to see a net
return of 62 cents per gallon
from the sale of DDG This
money, he said, will go back
to the co-op, with members
receiving a return on their
dollar investment once the
co-op turns profitable
One problem with han
dling DDG at 65 percent
moisture is spoilage it has
to be used within five days
“We’re looking into drying
it down to the right percent
moisture to store it as
silage,” said Kessler, “but
we have to look at it from an
economic stand point.”
After the stillage is
separated from the beer in
the alcohol production
process, Kessler said the
next step is distillation The
co-op is looking at an ex
perimental distillation
column that, according to
Kessler, would reduce the
cost of production to a
fraction of current costs
using previous methods
“This chemical separator
will give 200 proof alcohol
without a dehydration
column which uses benzene
or unleaded gas to take the
water off,” he explained
Kessler anticipates the
cost for the eqmpmen|
needed to get the operation
running to be about $1 per
gallon of alcohol produced in
a year He optimistically
projectec the co-op,
however, would recover its
costs within a year
Giving Penn Agrihol some
help in getting off the ground
is a liquid fertilizer business,
Kelmanada. The co-op will
be using the company’s
facilities for an office, and
will be relying on its tankers,
silos, and trucks for a while,
said Kessler
One of the co-op’s first
purchases was a million
BTU boiler gotten out of a
dormitory at Penn State
This boiler will be used to
run the plant or a smaller
faction of the alcohol
process, noted Kessler He
added alcohol production
uses a lot of steam
Concerning co-op
membership, Kessler said
he expects farmers in this
area to be more interested in
paying the one-time fee so
they can secure the
distiller’s dried grams
more than getting the
alcohol itself
But, he noted, there may
come a tune when the
gasoline lines are long
enough and the price of
petroleum fuel is high
enough that alcohol will be
the only economical choice.
Co-op members will have
first in line in the event of a
fuel shortage, he said.
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<■
James Kessler, vice-president of the newly incorporated cooperative and
catalyst of the alcohol-production idea, climbs abroad a 4600 gallon tanker
which will be used to transport Penn Agrihol’s finished product alcohol for
fuel.
“Right now the U.S. uses
about 350-400 million gallons
of alcohol each year. Out of
this, only 250 million gallons
are derived from grams
“Industry projections for
the turn of the century,
however, is for alcohol
consumption to be up to 7 53
billion gallons per year.”
Kessler compared the
change from petroleum
powered engines to alcohol
with the switch farmers
made after World War I
from horse power to trac
tors
He pointed out the
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technology for alcohol
production is being refined
so quickly that it’s a “matter
of keeping up’ ’ with it all
He noted with an edge of
excitement in his voice that
he expects withm two years
the technology will be
perfected for using cellulose
wood chips, garbage, com
stover in alcohol
production. This enzyme
process will change the face
of alcohol production, he
said
“Right now, the
technology is based on com,
but we can use all of the
mechanical governor
cereal grains without any
difference in alcohol quality
The only difference is the
greater alcohol yielding
potential in corn because of
the greater amount of starch
in the kernal
“What’s good about
alcohol production is we can
use any corn even the stuff
that’s unfit for animals to
eat Moldy, distressed, and
No 3 corn is fine,” Kessler
said.
“Penn Agnhol is looking
at what it can do today but
we have our eyes on the
future,” Kessler concluded
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