Minimize enzyme and antibiotic use, maximize ethanol yield with accurate HPLC testing

Ethanol-based biofuels, like those produced by fermenting corn mash, have the potential to revolutionize our fuel industry. Significant improvements in production can be made to show that this will be a more feasible and profitable fuel source. One of the current challenges is how to accurately assess the conversion of biomass to ethanol in a timely manner. This calculation is important because it determines the additional levels of enzymes (gluco-amylase and alpha amylase) and antibiotics, which can make or break yield and budget. A well-controlled rate of digestion of the starches from corn to sugar by the amylase enzymes is key to good ethanol fermentation. Too much free sugar encourages bacterial growth in the fermentation tank and will increase the amount of antibiotics needed. Much of the guesswork can be taken out of enzyme and antibiotic additions by the eXtreme Filter Vials from Thomson Instruments. Specially designed for the biofuels industry, the eXtreme Filter Vials are a labor- and cost-saving tool that provides a more accurate high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) ethanol measurement than the current methods.