Method for the simultaneous production of ethanol and a fermented, solid product

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for the simultaneous production of a fermented, solid product and ethanol comprising the following steps: 1) providing a mixture of milled or flaked or otherwise disintegrated biomass, comprising oligosaccharides and/or polysaccharides and live yeast in a dry matter ratio of from 2:1 to 100:1, and water; 2) fermenting the mixture resulting from step (1) under conditions where the water content in the initial mixture does not exceed 65% by weight, for 1-36 hours at a temperature of about 25-60° C. under anaerobic conditions; 3) incubating the fermented mixture resulting from step (2) for 0.5-240 minutes at a temperature of about 70-150° C.; and 4) separating wet fermented, solid product from the fermented mixture resulting from step (3); further comprising either a) that the fermentation in step (2) is performed in one or more interconnected paddle worm or continuous worm conveyers with inlet means for the fermentation mixture and additives and outlet means for the ferment as well as control means for rotation speed, temperature and pH, or b) that one or more processing aids are added in any of steps (1), (2) and (3) and further comprising a step of 5) separating crude ethanol from the fermented mixture in step (2) by vacuum and/or in step (3) by vacuum or by injection of steam and condensing the surplus stripping steam. The invention further relates to the products of this method as well as uses thereof.