Thin Stillage

By fermenting the sugars from biomass feedstock such as corn, wheat, barley, rye, sugar cane, or sugar beets, ethanol is produced. It may be a key ingredient to the final product such as for beer and wine, but in other instances, it is recovered by distillation for whiskey and other distilled spirits. Fermentation requires good manufacturing practices to mitigate the risk of microbial contamination throughout the process to the final packaging. The use of filters for venting or feeding air, sterile filtration of water, and other key additives are essential. Where distillation is used, the remaining biomass, known as stillage, is usually converted into animal feed due to the high protein content and collected through centrifugation. Thin Stillage, the dissolved solids after centrifugation, are commonly concentrated utilizing evaporation. Alternate technology such as crossflow membranes can economically concentrate these remaining solids and other miscellaneous materials to yield a clear permeate requiring significantly less energy and improved recovery.