Patent ID: 8633003

Claim:
A process of producing ethanol from whole stillage, the process comprising: obtaining a supply of whole stillage from an ethanol production facility after ethanol has been extracted therefrom; pre-treating the whole stillage to convert hemicellulose portions of the whole stillage into sugars, the pre-treating including: adding acid to the whole stillage to decrease its pH level, heating and pressurizing the whole stillage, holding the whole stillage under pressure and heat for a dwell time of 1-20 minutes, removing pressure from the whole stillage to cause flashing, and cooling the whole stillage; adding enzymes to the whole stillage to convert cellulose portions of the whole stillage to sugars; fermenting the whole stillage utilizing yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to create a beer mixture; and distilling the beer mixture to separate ethanol therefrom.