On-farm Production Method Produces Both Biofuel and Animal Feed

Production of biofuel and animal feed from one crop is now possible and can be done on-farm. The study, published in Biotechnology for Biofuels, shows the potential of an alternative to fossil fuels that does not compete with food resources.

The process, called 'solid-state fermentation', involves packing harvested whole rice plants with yeast and enzymes into a round bale wrapped in impermeable film. During incubation, sugars and starch in the rice plant are converted to ethanol, which is then drained and distilled for fuel, leaving high quality animal feed in the form of silage, which is comparable to normal silage.

First author Mitsuo Horita of the National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences in Japan said, "What we've now demonstrated is a complete and scaled-up system which shows its potential in a practical on-farm situation. Instead of a complicated process requiring special facilities, our system simply builds upon traditional processes already used by farmers for producing silage for animal feed. It results in a high yield of ethanol while producing good quality feed, with zero waste."