Patent attributes
A method comprising applying sonication to a grain-based liquid medium processing stream of a starch-to-alcohol production process with one or more transducers is provided. In one embodiment, the one or more transducers apply sonication to the grain-based liquid medium processing stream in one or more locations. In one embodiment, the starch-to-alcohol production process is a starch-to-ethanol production process. In one embodiment, the starch-to-ethanol production process is a dry grind process, modified dry grind process or wet mill process. The methods of the present invention utilize sonication at the frequencies and intensities required on an industrial scale to reduce the production cost of alcohol, such as ethanol, by improving alcohol yield per bushel, reducing processing times for higher throughput, reducing operating costs, and increasing the marketability of co-products, among other benefits.
