Co-products of the Biofuel Industry as Livestock Feed: Opportunities and Challenges

Dr. Shubham Nagre1, Dr. Akash Patil2* and Pravin Rakh3

AbstractThe global drive to expand renewable energy has made biofuels, chiefly bioethanol and biodiesel, an integral part of the energy sector, with conversion of biomass currently the most cost-effective route for producing renewable liquid fuel and contributing about 78 percent of total renewable energy generated worldwide (US EIA, 2010). Since these fuels are largely derived from grains, sugar crops and oilseeds, their processing generates a large volume of coproducts that hold considerable value as livestock feed ingredients. Bioethanol manufacture yields corn gluten feed, corn gluten meal, distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), vinasse and bagasse, while biodiesel manufacture yields glycerol, fatty acid distillate and oilseed cakes and meals, including those obtained from non-conventional and toxic oilseed plants such as Jatropha and Camelina. These co-products differ widely in their protein, energy, fibre and antinutritional factor content, and consequently in their safe inclusion levels across ruminant, swine, poultry and fish diets. Judicious use of biofuel co-products lowers feed cost, reduces reliance on conventional protein and energy sources such as soyabean meal and maize, and supports a more resource-efficient and environmentally sustainable livestock production system. However, mycotoxin contamination, antinutritional compounds and batch-to-batch variability in nutrient composition need to be carefully managed. This article reviews the major co-products generated by the bioethanol and biodiesel industries, their nutritional composition and their potential and limitations as livestock feed.