Traditionally, corn DDGS has contained 10 to 11% crude fat and has a metabolizable energy
(ME) content similar to corn for swine (Stein and Shurson, 2009). However, over the past 2
years, an increasing number of ethanol plants have invested in centrifugation technology to
extract some of the oil from the thin stillage before removing water to make condensed distillers
solubles and blending with the coarse grains fraction and drying to make DDGS. Currently,
approximately 50% of the U.S. ethanol industry is removing a portion of the oil from thin stillage
prior to producing DDGS. Industry experts are predicting that 80% of the ethanol industry will
be extracting oil by the end of the year 2012.
The rapid adoption of oil extraction technology is driven by high economic returns. For
example, a 100 million gallon ethanol plant can invest $3 million in capital (i.e. building, two
centrifuges, tubing) and operating expenses (electricity) to extract 9.07 million kg of oil/year.
Current market price for crude corn oil is $0.88/kg resulting in $8 million in gross revenue/year.
Therefore, the initial capital investment for implementing this technology can be recovered in
less than 5 months of operation. Approximately 90% of this crude oil is marketed to the
biodiesel industry whereas the remaining 10% is sold for use in poultry feed.
Therefore, the implementation of oil extraction technology has led to a wider range of crude fat
content in DDGS (5 to 12%) than in previous years. Since oil contains 2.25 times more energy
than carbohydrate (i.e. starch), corn oil removal reduces the ME content in DDGS. This
reduction in energy content will affect the economic value and usage rates of DDGS in all
animal feeds to varying degrees. The question is, how much? Knowing this, DDGS end-users
are demandingTraditionally, corn DDGS has contained 10 to 11% crude fat and has a metabolizable energy
(ME) content similar to corn for swine (Stein and Shurson, 2009). However, over the past 2
years, an increasing number of ethanol plants have invested in centrifugation technology to
extract some of the oil from the thin stillage before removing water to make condensed distillers
solubles and blending with the coarse grains fraction and drying to make DDGS. Currently,
approximately 50% of the U.S. ethanol industry is removing a portion of the oil from thin stillage
prior to producing DDGS. Industry experts are predicting that 80% of the ethanol industry will
be extracting oil by the end of the year 2012.
The rapid adoption of oil extraction technology is driven by high economic returns. For
example, a 100 million gallon ethanol plant can invest $3 million in capital (i.e. building, two
centrifuges, tubing) and operating expenses (electricity) to extract 9.07 million kg of oil/year.
Current market price for crude corn oil is $0.88/kg resulting in $8 million in gross revenue/year.
Therefore, the initial capital investment for implementing this technology can be recovered in
less than 5 months of operation. Approximately 90% of this crude oil is marketed to the
biodiesel industry whereas the remaining 10% is sold for use in poultry feed.
Therefore, the implementation of oil extraction technology has led to a wider range of crude fat
content in DDGS (5 to 12%) than in previous years. Since oil contains 2.25 times more energy
than carbohydrate (i.e. starch), corn oil removal reduces the ME content in DDGS. This
reduction in energy content will affect the economic value and usage rates of DDGS in all
animal feeds to varying degrees. The question is, how much? Knowing this, DDGS end-users
are demanding price discounts on reduced-oil DDGS (RO-DDGS) because of expected
reductions in energy value. This reduces the market price for DDGS and ethanol plant revenue
from DDGS sales, but this reduction is more than offset by the increase in revenue from the sale
of crude corn oil. Nutritionists want to know the extent of reduction in energy content due to
partial removal of corn oil in order to make appropriate adjustments in diet formulations (e.g. diet
inclusion rates, adding other sources of energy) to meet desired dietary energy levels. price discounts on reduced-oil DDGS (RO-DDGS) because of expected
reductions in energy value. This reduces the market price for DDGS and ethanol plant revenue
from DDGS sales, but this reduction is more than offset by the increase in revenue from the sale
of crude corn oil. Nutritionists want to know the extent of reduction in energy content due to
partial removal of corn oil in order to make appropriate adjustments in diet formulations (e.g. diet
inclusion rates, adding other sources of energy) to meet desired dietary energy levels.