Use of maize and broken rice in ethanol production expected to increase rapidly

24-Jul-2024 05:27 PM

New Delhi. On one hand, the Central Government has set an ambitious target of increasing the level of ethanol blending in petrol to 20 percent by the 2025-26 season, while on the other hand it has limited the amount of ethanol produced from sugarcane molasses and sugarcane juice.

As a result, all the additional production of ethanol will require increased use of food grains and especially maize and broken rice.

The use of maize in ethanol production is expected to increase rapidly, while its availability in the domestic sector has not increased relatively and if sufficient imports are allowed from abroad, then ethanol manufacturers may face great difficulty in obtaining raw material to meet their increasing needs.

It is worth noting that till now 60 percent of the maize produced in the country has been used in the poultry feed / animal feed manufacturing industry. Apart from this, maize is also used extensively for starch production and direct food purposes and is also exported from the country. 

Maize DDGS is being used on a large scale for ethanol production, while its consumption in the feed industry is low because of its high mycotoxin content, high sulphur content and irregular quality. Maize DDGS is sometimes not digestible for animals / birds and hence its use in the poultry industry has started declining. 

The increased supply and availability of maize DDGS has led to softening of prices. Some suppliers deliberately mix it with soy DOC, which not only causes economic losses but also affects animal performance.

The increased mycotoxin and sulphur content also makes soymeal dangerous for animals. It is worth noting that the amino acid profile of maize DDGS is very different from that of soybean meal, which can affect animal performance.