Brazilian “Flex Mills”: Ethanol from Sugarcane Molasses and Corn Mash

Abstract

This manuscript shows an ethanol production from two simultaneously processed raw materials: corn grains and molasses residue from sugarcane production. This process is new in countries such as Brazil, which has industrialized these raw materials in the same plant (Flex Mills), and the effects promoted on ethanol production (fermentation process) have not been studied. This paper shows that the uses of yeast CAT-1 (isolated for ethanol production using sugarcane) are not adequate to fermentation of broth obtained from 100% corn. However, the mixture of 50% corn broth and 50% molasses broth results in increase of cell viability, budding and bud viability of yeast, and the ethanol yield process. Another point to highlight is the high level of phenolic compounds showed by molasses, which could decrease cell viability and yeast budding rate during the recycling of this microorganism. The mixture with corn broth standardizes the phenolic compounds in the molasses broth.