ABSTRACT

Corn grain is the staple feedstock for fuel ethanol production in the United States, accounting for more than 95% of fuel ethanol production (Saunders and Rosentrater, 2009). First-generation ethanol biofuel production from corn breaks down the starch portion of the grain into glucose, which is then fermented to ethanol. While improved ef„ciencies in the U.S. fuel ethanol industry have increased yields of ethanol near the theoretical maximum for corn starch, converting residual biomass possesses the opportunity for further increasing ethanol yields from a bushel of corn by as much as an additional 10%–14% (Kim et al., 2008a).