SYSTEM FOR AND A METHOD OF PRODUCING ENRICHED AND DIGESTED PROBIOTIC SUPER FEED USING WET MILL AND DRY MILL PROCESSES

Abstract

A method of and a system for digesting grain based protein and fiber materials using enzymes. The grain based protein and fiber materials can be found in whole stillage in an alcohol production. The method and system produces more digestible proteins, more soluble proteins, soluble protein fractions, peptides and amino acids for ruminant and monogastric species compared to the convention methods and systems. In some embodiments, digested fibers are used as absorber and protectant for probiotic culture absorbed in the enriched syrup. The digested fibers and the probiotic culture form a stable pellet. In some embodiments, the digested fibers and the probiotic culture is added to all types of animal feed forming an enriched lactic acid feed and live probiotic culture feed supplement for the feed markets. The feed markets includes aquaculture, poultry, swine, cattle, companion animals, and livestock animals.

Claims

1. A method of producing a probiotic animal feed in a wet milling or dry milling process comprising: a) digesting protein and fiber in a cake by using one or more enzymes; b) forming digested protein and fiber containing fractions of the protein and fiber; and c) forming the probiotic animal feed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the enzymes are added exogenously.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the enzymes comprises xylanase, cellulase, amylase, protease, phytase, or a combination thereof.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the enzyme is produced in the wet milling or dry milling process by propagating or growing one or more selected microorganisms.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising breaking up bonds between the protein and the fiber using a grinding mill at the digesting.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the grinding mill comprises a friction mill, a pin mill, a roller mill, or a cavitation mill.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising adding a probiotic to the digested protein and fiber.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising forming an enriched syrup by adding one or more enzymes or one or more microorganisms to the digested protein and fiber.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising mixing a dry DDG or an absorber with the enriched syrup.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the absorber comprises a popcorn, a poprice, or a pop-up grain.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the absorber comprises a dried feedstuff material.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the absorber comprises dried grain screenings.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the dried feedstuff material comprises stover, straw, hulls, husks, wheat middlings, corn fiber, or cobs.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the dried feedstuff material comprises a dry grain processing residue.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising extending a shelf life of the probiotic animal feed by excluding air in the probiotic animal feed of a solid form.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising forming the probiotic animal feed into a pellet by drying under a low temperature at a dryer.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising drying an outside surface of a pellet forming a protective layer of the pellet while keeping inside moist so that an amount of probiotic culture stays alive inside of the pellet.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the dryer comprises a fluidizing bed dryer.

19. A method of producing probiotic supplement in a dry milling process comprising: a) forming a cake from a process of liquid and solid separation after fermentation; b) enriching syrup and increasing the concentration of lactic acid by adding microorganisms or enzymes to the cake; c) forming enriched syrup; d) passing the enriched syrup through an environment having a temperature avoiding a high thermal condition killing more than 30% of probiotics in the enriched syrup; and e) forming the probiotic supplement.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the enriched syrup contains 16%-25% of dry matter, lactic acid, and probiotics between 10.sup.8 to 10.sup.10 CFU/g.

21. The method of claim 19, further comprising: a) mixing a DWG cake with the enriched syrup forming a mixture; b) passing the mixture through a DDGS dryer; and c) passing the mixture through a DDGS cooling device avoiding death of the probiotics caused by a high temperature condition of the DDGS dryer.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the mixture after passing the DDGS cooling device has a moisture level higher than 10%.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising avoiding a high temperature environment by bypassing a drying step and directly mixing the enriched syrup with a DWG cake.

24. The method of claim 19, further comprising preserving and extending the shelf life of the probiotic supplement by excluding air from the probiotic supplement.

25. The method of claim 19, further comprising forming a protective layer by adding a preservative material on the surface of a pellet of the probiotic supplement.

26. The method of claim 19, further comprising adding a preservative material and mixing the preservative material with the probiotic supplement homogeneously.

27. A method of producing lactic acid and probiotic culture comprising: a) performing a first fermentation; and b) growing probiotics in a second fermentation by adding enzymes, adding microorganisms, providing an environmental suitable for a growth of the probiotics, or a combination thereof to a material from the first fermentation, such that a second fermented material is formed; and c) forming a lactic acid and probiotic culture enhanced material.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the material comprises whole stillage or a partial concentrated whole stillage.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising performing culture separation on the second fermented material.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising performing drying using a dryer.

31. The method of claim 27, wherein the material comprises thin stillage.

32. The method of claim 31, further comprising performing centrifuging the thin stillage.

33. The method of claim 32, further comprising adding absorber to the second fermented material.

34. The method of claim 33, further comprising pelleting the lactic acid and probiotic culture enhanced material.

35. The method of claim 27, wherein the material comprises syrup, syrup with mash, added sugar, or added sugar with added carbohydrates.

36. A method of forming probiotic material in a dry milling or wet milling process comprising: a) performing a first fermentation at a first fermenting tank; b) forming an enriched syrup; c) adding an absorber to an enriched syrup; and d) forming the probiotic material in form of a flowable solid.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising forming an air isolating layer by adding a preservative on a surface of the flowable solid.

38. The method of claim 36, further comprising adding and evenly mixing a preservative with the flowable solid.

39. The method of claim 36, further comprising forming a vacuum pack.

40. The method of claim 36, further comprising passing the flowable solid through a dryer.

41. The method of claim 36, further comprising pelleting the flowable solid.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWING

[0056] Typical Processes

[0057] FIG. 1 is a typical wet mill process.

[0058] FIG. 2 is a typical dry grind alcohol process.

[0059] FIG. 3 is a typical dry grinding process with protein recovery.

[0060] FIG. 4 is a typical dry grinding process with a secondary alcohol production.

[0061] FIG. 5 is a typical dry grinding process with enriched syrup production step.

Selected Embodiments

[0062] FIG. 1A illustrates a wet milling process with the protein/fiber digesting process in accordance with some embodiments.

[0063] FIG. 2A illustrates a dry grinding alcohol process with a protein/fiber digesting process and an enriched syrup in accordance with some embodiments.

[0064] FIG. 2B illustrates another dry grinding alcohol process with a protein/fiber digesting process and an enriched syrup in accordance with some embodiments.

[0065] FIG. 3A illustrates a dry grinding process with a protein recovery process, protein/fiber digesting process, and using an enriched syrup in accordance with some embodiments.

[0066] FIG. 3B illustrates a dry grinding process with a protein recovery process, a protein/fiber digesting process, and using an enriched syrup in accordance with some embodiments.

[0067] FIG. 4A illustrates a dry grinding process with secondary alcohol production in conjunction with a protein/fiber digesting process and using an enriched syrup in accordance with some embodiments.

[0068] FIG. 4B illustrates a dry grinding process with a secondary alcohol production in conjunction with a protein/fiber digesting process and using an enriched syrup in accordance with some embodiments.

[0069] FIG. 5A illustrates processes of producing probiotic supplement in accordance with some embodiments.

[0070] FIG. 5B illustrates processes of using various feed stock source for the production of probiotic supplement in accordance with some embodiments.

[0071] FIG. 5C illustrates processes of producing probiotic supplement in accordance with some embodiments.

[0072] FIG. 6 illustrates various sources of absorber to absorb enriched syrup and produce solid probiotic supplement in accordance with some embodiments.

[0073] FIG. 7 illustrates a digestion system for digesting the protein/fiber in accordance with some embodiments.

[0074] FIG. 8 illustrates processes for producing the super feed using a protein/fiber digesting process in accordance with some embodiments.

[0075] FIG. 9 illustrates a semi-solid digestion in accordance with some embodiments.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THIS INVENTION

[0076] In some embodiments, microorganisms are conditioned to quickly propagate spent stillage in an alcohol production plants. Examples of these materials include steeping liquid, whole stillage, thin stillage and syrup. In some embodiments, the microorganisms have been selected, including from the Lactobacillus family, which produce desired metabolites in the secondary fermentation. Minor adjustment to the stillage conditions is sufficient to allow rapid growth of these microorganisms because of the rich nutrition content found in stillage streams from both wet mill and dry grind alcohol facilities.

[0077] In some embodiments, whole stillage, thin stillage and syrup are used as a cheap medium source, which is able to be used for the production of probiotics and enrichment of animal feed ingredients with high organic acid(s) content.

[0078] FIG. 5A illustrates a dry milling process 50A for alcohol production with enriched syrup process in accordance with some embodiments. In the FIG. 5A, the syrup in the process of syrup enrichment at a Step 5A29 can be used as feed stock to propagate probiotic microorganisms (e.g., Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus amylovorus, Lactobacillus mucosae, and Lactobacillus fermentum). This fermentation converts a signification fraction of the organic material to lactic acid and probiotic at 1108 to 11010 CFU/gram. This enriched syrup can be used to feed the animal, which improves animals' digestion system and the performance of the immune system. In some embodiments, the enriched syrup is used as part of an enriched lactic acid and probiotic feed supplement for all types of animal diets. This enriched syrup can also be used as soil conditioning/enrichment.

[0079] A large number of raw materials can be used as the feed stock for the syrup enrichment process at the Step 5A29, which can be incorporated into typical alcohol production facilities.

[0080] FIG. 5B illustrates a process 50B using a secondary fermentation for producing lactic acid and probiotic culture in accordance with some embodiments. The descriptions and drawing of process 50B can be read together with the descriptions and drawings of process 50A of FIG. 5A. FIG. 5B illustrates that various materials in the alcohol production process is used a feedstock for producing lactic acid and probiotic culture. For example, whole stillage 5B01, partially concentrated whole stillage 5B07, thin stillage 5B11, partially concentrated thin stillage 5B33, syrup 5B23, syrup with addition mash 5B25, stillage with outside carbohydrate addition 5B29, and addition of other sugar source from outside 5B27 are all suitable and are used for the creation of enriched feed products in accordance with some embodiments. Thus, any materials that can be used in the secondary fermentation 5B31 (e.g., after a first fermentation at a Step 5A23 in the FIG. 5A) is within the scope of the present disclosure. The materials disclosed in the process 50B are able to be used with the process 50A (e.g., at the Step 5A29 of syrup enrichment) in accordance with some embodiments.

[0081] In an embodiment, the enriched syrup with 20% to 40% dry solids basis at the Step 5A29 has approximately up to around 20% solids lactic acid on a dry solids basis and around 108 to 1010 CFU/g unit on an as-is basis. In some embodiments, the probiotic activity in the enriched syrup has up to one year of shelf life. This can be directly added to animal feed immediately before feeding with an in-line mixing process. It can also be added to wet feed such as WDG, wet grain feed system.

[0082] FIG. 6 illustrates a method 60 of producing probiotic feed by using absorber to absorb the enriched syrup (e.g., the syrup enrichment at the Step 5A29 of FIG. 5A) in accordance with some embodiments. The enriched syrup can be mixed with wet mill derived protein/fiber cake (gluten feed cake (e.g., gluten feed cake from the Step 1A104 of FIG. 1A) and gluten meal cake (e.g., the gluten meal cake from the Step 1A103 of FIG. 1A)). The enriched syrup can also be mixed with products from dry grind alcohol production, such as DWG, DDG, DDGS, and protein cake that can be from the Step 2A28 of FIG. 2A. The enriched syrup can also be applied to other feed ingredients as solid absorbents 6002 of almost any kind including high fiber roughages such as corn stover, soybean protein, and soybean hulls. The resulting material (enriched syrup) can be preserved in a variety of ways including: chemical preservative, vacuum packing, low temperature dryer, pelleting, and pelleting with surface drying. Any other proper preservation methods and materials are within the scope of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the drying is conducted at a temperature low enough to avoid killing probiotic organisms as well as inactivating growth factors and active enzymes. In some embodiments, suitable dryers include fluid bed dryers and flash vacuum dryers.

[0083] In some embodiments, the enriched syrup has moisture of 60% to 80% and the finished fermentation broth can be kept with high probiotic culture survival for several months at room temperature. Lowering the temperature to near 4 degrees Celsius significantly extends the shelf life of the probiotic culture. Dry feed ingredients, such as grain, for animal feed need less than 16% moisture for long term-storage. Application of enriched syrup can be made to a variety of dry feeds (FIG. 6) including: 1) animal feed from wet milling, such as feed from gluten feed process 6004, feed from gluten meal process 6006, or feed from corn fiber process 6012, and 2) animal feed from dry grind, such as DDGS at process 6008, and high protein meal at process 6010, and 3) other common dry animal feeds such as cotton seed meal, corn flour, deoiled soybean at process 6016, soybean hull, wheat grain, popped grains at process 6014 (such as popcorn and popped rice), plant waste (such as corn cob, rice hull, and wheat bran at process 6012).

[0084] In some embodiments, the solid animal feed is used as a stabilizing absorber. In some embodiments, the absorber acts as a carrier for the enriched syrup allowing the outside of the absorber to be dry to the touch while keeping the inside at a higher moisture content. The higher moisture content better preserves the probiotic culture while also reducing oxygen contact with the probiotic lowering spoilage.

[0085] Excellent results of probiotic stability have been shown with a 1 to 1 syrup to absorber ration, though other ratios have excellent benefit as well. In some embodiments, the absorber and enriched syrup are mixed with a 1 to 1 by weight ratio, which gives a flowable solid with moisture content of 30 to 40% while preserving a 1108 CFU/g probiotic value. In some embodiments, the material can be added to dry feed applications with in-line mixing at an inclusion rate of commonly between 1 to 10 kg per metric ton of feed. In some embodiments, the inclusion rate is adjusted based on the nutritionist desire in the field for final formulation.

[0086] In some embodiments for making long-distance or long-time storage, the mixture is packed in vacuum and/or refrigerated. This greatly extends the shelf-life of the product. High heat and humidity would shorten the shelf life. In some embodiments for increasing the shelf-life without refrigeration, pelleting is performed to minimize air contact and decrease the rate of spoilage. In some embodiments, low temperature drying is performed to produce a dry outside surface of pellet and keep inside pellet moisture above 30%. If the moisture content drops below 30%, survival of the probiotic organism is compromised. In some embodiments, the moisture content is kept above 30% in the preservation process.

[0087] The enriched syrup process (as shown in FIG. 5) is disclosed in the provisional patent application No. 62/184,768 on Jun. 25, 2015 with a title of A System to Produce a High Value Animal Feed Additive from Stillage on Alcohol Production Process, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes. In some embodiments, enriched syrup produced in the various industrial processes (e.g., the alcohol production processes and plants) is applied to the feed industry for the flexible formulation of feed ingredients with extended shelf-life, particularly party dried feeds.

Digestibility of the Protein

[0088] In another aspect, the concentration of crude protein has been used as an important nutritive indicator for animal feed ingredients. However, crude protein does not reflect the digestibility of the protein. Protein needs to be digested to amino acids by the animal in order for absorption and useful utilization by the animal. Amino acids are the constituent elements of protein and are essential for muscle growth. Modern poultry operations require more and more rapid growth for commercial competitiveness. The protein content in most alcohol co-products poor protein digestibility with only about 50% of protein from these sources being digested throughout the poultry gastrointestinal tract. Undigested protein is excreted as animal waste resulting in excess manure handling costs.

[0089] In order to increase poultry digestibility feeders mix protein digestive enzymesparticularly proteasesinto the feed before being fed to animals. In some embodiments, the protein digestibility is processed, conditioned, and improved by 3.5% to 10% and facilitate reduction of protein content in feed diets by 1% to 2% depending on feed and enzyme efficiency Improving protein digestibility reduces manure nitrogen excretion, which can cause environmental pollution and endangers aquaculture. It is estimated that 52% to 95% of nitrogen source added to the marine fish culture system as food will ultimately become pollution in the environment, which is an issue that can be solved by the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0090] Phytic acid is a saturated 6 carbon ringed cyclic acid with an inositol in the middle and six phosphates surrounding it and having a chemical formula of C.sub.6H.sub.18O.sub.24P.sub.6. It is the main storage form of phosphorus in many plant tissues and is especially abundant in bran and seeds. It has strong chelating properties for divalent and trivalent cations. This chelating ability can tie-up/bind necessary minerals, such as zinc and iron during digestion, which results in the need for adding additional minerals to the animal diet. Phytic acid can also be found in cereals and grains. Despite its richness in phosphorus, phytic acid is generally not bioavailable to non-ruminant animals. Phosphorous, inositol and chelated minerals from phytic acid is effectively made bioavailable by the action of the enzyme phytase. Monogastric animals do not have the ability to produce significant phytase. Because of this, modern feed diets are incorporating phytase into the feed before giving this to the animal to convert more of the phytase to phosphorous thus increasing the absorption of the phosphorous in the feed stuff while reducing the amount of phosphorous in the manure.

[0091] In most commercial agriculture, non-ruminant livestock, such as swine, poultry and fish, are fed mainly with grains, such as corn, legumes and soybeans. Because phytic acid is unavailable for digestion and absorption, the majority of phytic acid will pass through the gastrointestinal tract and be excreted in the manure, which increases the amount of phosphorus in animal wastes and poses a serious environmental pollution problem, particularly where livestock runoff can enter water ways. Phosphorus is important for animal metabolism and plays an essential role in livestock growth and reproduction. Because of the unavailability of phytic acid, inorganic phosphates must be added into feed to meet phosphorus requirements, which results in tremendous costs. Many enzyme companies market phytase products or a cocktail of enzymes containing phytase to be used as animal feed supplement in order to enhance the phosphorus availability of feed to animals and increase nutrient uptake.

[0092] Phosphatase is a category of enzymes that removes phosphate group from its substrate. Phytase, a type of phosphatase, can catalyze the hydrolysis of phytic acid and release inorganic phosphorus in the form of phosphate making the natural phosphorous found in feedstuffs with phytic acid readily bioavailable and easy for the animal to absorb. Hydrolysis of phytic acid and subsequent absorbance of inorganic phosphorus by the animal means less expenses on adding inorganic phosphorus, less excretion of phosphorus in the manure and less environmental hazards and pollution. Adding phytase into animal feed as a feed supplement not only can reduce environmental impact but also can increase the amount of available phosphorus, which enhances the nutritive value of plant material by freeing of inorganic phosphate from phytic acid. Thus, Phytase is added to the animal feed as a supplement in accordance with some embodiments.

[0093] In some embodiments, various enzymes are added to facilitate the conversion of large moleculares into biologically accessible simple compounds to improve industrial efficiency and enhance feed efficiency in accordance with some embodiments. Commonly used enzymes in agriculture industries are within the scope of the present disclosure. The enzymes include cellulase (e.g., hydrolyze cellulose into glucose), Xylanase (e.g., hydrolyze xylem (a form of hemicellulose that bound cellulose together) into digestible five-carbon sugars), Xylem or hemicellulose (e.g., a highly abundant fiber type in grains), and amylase (e.g., the most commonly used enzyme in grain processing and hydrolyzes starch into glucose). One or more of these enzymes hydrolyze macro molecules and convert them into biologically accessible simple compounds to improve industrial efficiency and enhance feed efficiency.

[0094] As described, current practices in animal feeding practices mix feed ingredients with commercially available concentrated or purified enzymes in order to increase the digestibility for the animal. However, sterile production, purification, concentration, stabilization, storage and shipment of enzymes require tremendous investment, high operating costs and sophisticated operation. These factors result in high cost for enzyme products and, therefore, raise the cost of feed for farmers resulting in lower profits and higher costs for all involved.

[0095] One inherent problem with adding enzymes into the feed just before delivery to the animal is the low efficiency of the process. Enzymes require certain water activity, pH and time for effective hydrolytic activity. These conditions are not found in the general storage conditions for animal feed diets. As such, the common practice is adding enzymes in feed just prior to be feed to or ingested by the animals. However, the enzyme activity time inside the animal digestion system is very short, and the conditions are generally not in optimum conditions for enzyme with the pH particularly outside of optimal range. This short retention time and poor pH range result in the need for loading significantly higher enzyme amount to effective hydrolyze the macromolecules for food purposes.

[0096] A better process is to perform the enzyme hydrolysis outside the body of the animals while capable of controlling the pH, temperature, and water activity values that are favored by the enzyme(s). In some embodiments, selection of the proper enzymes and incubation of the feed ingredients with the useful macromolecules at the industrial production facility are performed, which produces higher value/nutrient animal feed for the animal feed market. Performing this hydrolysis on the protein/fiber stream inside the wet milling and dry grinding process and controlling process conditions to give optimal enzyme digestion capability to produce optimized digested protein/fiber for various age and type of animal are performed in accordance with some embodiments.

[0097] FIG. 1A illustrates a wet milling process 10A for alcohol production with a protein digestion process 1A02 in accordance with some embodiments. The substance from the process 10A of protein digestion at a Step 1A105 is used to digest the gluten meal wet cake, which comes from a vacuum drum filter at a gluten dewatering at a Step 1A102. The fiber digesting of a Step 1A106 is performed to digest the fiber press cake, which comes from a process of fiber separating of a Step 1A15, which uses a press. The process of fiber separating of the Step 1A15 can use a typical wet milling process described in the FIG. 1. The addition of these enzyme activities at these stages results in effective use of enzyme for the lowest cost and highest net effectiveness, which significantly increases the value of these products in animal diets, particularly in monogastric diets.

[0098] FIG. 2A illustrates a dry milling process 20A for alcohol production with an enriched syrup and digestion process 2A02 in accordance with some embodiments. The protein/fiber digesting at a Step 2A30 is used to digest the protein and fiber in wet distiller grain cake, which comes from a process of liquid/solid separating at a Step 2A25. At a Step 2A29, a process of syrup enriching is used to produce lactic acid and probiotic culture from syrup, which comes from a process of de-oiling/backend oil recovering at a Step 2A26. The combination of both digested protein/fiber meal and the enriched syrup to form the enriched and digested DDGS high value feed on typical dry grind process.

[0099] FIG. 2B illustrates another dry milling process 20B with an enriched syrup and digestion process 2B02 in accordance with some embodiments. As show in the FIG. 2B, a process of protein/fiber digesting at a Step 2B30 is used to digest the protein and fiber in whole stillage, which comes from a process of distilling at a Step 2B24. The process described in the FIG. 2B generates a higher digestion protein yield. The process described in FIG. 2B is suitable for a process with higher costs of operation.

[0100] FIG. 3A illustrates another dry milling process 30A with a protein recovery, an enriched syrup and a digestion process 3A02 in accordance with some embodiments. As show in the FIG. 3A, a process of protein digesting at a Step 3A34 is used to digest the protein cake obtained from a process of protein dewatering at a Step 3A32. In some embodiments, the conditions are maintained, such that enzyme hydrolyzes the protein and produces a high value digested protein meal. In some embodiments, the process of syrup enriching at a Step 3A29 is used to produce lactic acid and probiotic from syrup either with or without the process of de-oiling, which is able to be an oil recovering at a Step 3A26. The enriched syrup is mixed with DDG to form an enriched DDGS on a dry grinding process.

[0101] FIG. 3B illustrates another dry milling process 30B with a protein recovery, an enriched syrup and a digestion process 3B02 in accordance with some embodiments. As show in the FIG. 3B, a process of protein digesting at a Step 3B34 is used to digest the protein before a process of dewatering at a Step 3B32. The process described herein allows for higher moisture concentrations during the enzyme digestion for better mass transfer and enzyme activity. This higher moisture content also allows the application of optional microbiological culture growth. The introduction of microbial fermentation allows the microbes to grow and produce enzymes. These enzymes can then act on the protein mixture lowering the demand for exogenous enzyme purchase. The combination of the higher water content, better enzyme mass transfer, and optional microbiological culture allows for hydrolysis that produces a high value digested protein meal.

[0102] In some embodiments, the syrup enriching at a Step 3B29 is used to produce lactic acid and probiotics from syrup either with or without the process of de-oiling, which is at an oil recovering at a Step 3B26. This enriched syrup is then mixed with DDG to form an enriched DDGS on a dry grinding process.

[0103] FIG. 4A illustrates another dry milling process 40A with a secondary alcohol production having a protein recovery and an enriching syrup process 4A02 in accordance with some embodiments. As show in the FIG. 4A, a process of protein digesting at a Step 4A34 is used to digest the protein cake from a process of protein dewatering at a Step 4A32, which produces a high value digested protein meal. In some embodiments, the syrup enriching at a Step 4A29 is used to produce lactic acid and probiotic from syrup either with or without the process of de-oiling at an oil recovering at a Step 4A26. This enriched syrup is then mixed together to form a high value enriched protein meal.

[0104] FIG. 4B illustrates another dry milling process 40B with a secondary alcohol production with a process of generating super food byproduct 4B02 in accordance with some embodiments. As show in the FIG. 4B, a process of protein digesting at a Step 4B34 is used to digest the protein cake from a process of protein dewatering at a Step 4B32. The digested stream is send to a process of liquid/solid separating at a Step 4B43, such that the amino acids, peptides and soluble proteins in a liquid phase are separated from insoluble digested fiber and insoluble digested protein in the solid phase. The amino acid, peptides and soluble proteins can be further concentrated in the evaporator at an evaporating Step 4B44. The resulting concentrate can be dried in a suitable dryer, such as a spray dryer at a Step 4B33 to produce high value amino acid, peptides and soluble protein feed ingredient for baby animal and fish. In some embodiments, the process of syrup enriching at a Step 4B29 is used to produce lactic acid and probiotics from syrup either with or without the optional process of de-oiling at an oil recovering Step 4B26. The solid phase from the liquid/solid separating at a Step 4B43 can be dried and used as absorbent for the enriched syrup to produce high value enriched digested probiotic feed.

[0105] FIG. 7 illustrates a digesting system 70 in accordance with some embodiments. The wet protein, fiber cake, and/or enzymes are selected to be added to a mixing tank at a process of mixing at a Step 7071. After mixing the material, the process is followed by a shearing or grinding device at a grinding Step 7072 (e.g., Superton or disk mill to break up the interaction bonds between protein and fiber and to break up the material into smaller particles to increase the contact surface area, such that the process of digesting can be sped up. The material exiting the grinding system can be partially recycled back into the mixing tank to keep the incoming feed free flowing. The remaining fraction of the ground material is transferred to the holding tank at a holding Step 7073. The material is incubated in the holding tank for between 5 minutes to 100 hours, more preferably between 2 hours and 50 hours, to complete the digestion. When the digestion is deemed sufficient, the stream is sent to a process of liquid/solid separating at a Step 7074 to separate the liquid (rich in amino acids, peptides, and soluble proteins) from the solid material (partial digested fiber and insoluble proteins). The liquid phase is processed in a process of evaporating at a Step 7079, which is followed by a process of drying at the dryer at a Step 7070 to produce an amino acid rich powder. The powder can be used as an effective baby animal and fish diet supplement.

[0106] In some embodiments, the solid phase is sent to a dryer at the drying Step 7075 to become an absorber for enriched syrup. The dry, partially digested fiber is an ideal absorber for the enriched syrup. This absorber is mixed with enriched syrup in absorbing the probiotic and lactic acid rich syrup at a mixing Step 7076. After the process of absorption, the material can be pelleted at a Step 7077. In some embodiments, a low temperature surface dryer is used at a drying Step 7078 to produce enriched, digested, probiotic rich feed supplement.

[0107] There are many sources of protein and fiber from alcohol production systems (dry grinding and wet milling alcohol plants). There are various processes are used to handle the stream after digestion.

[0108] FIG. 8 illustrates a method 80 of using various protein and/or fiber sources to be processed at the digesting step, which can be used to produce various feed products, in accordance with some embodiments. These different processes are able to be applied at different times for market valuation or to create different products to meet various animal and age nutritional needs. In some embodiments, the processes described in the FIG. 8 uses a wet cake for the digestion process.

[0109] FIG. 9 illustrates a digestion process 90 using dry protein and/or fiber rich materials with the enriched syrup in a semi-solid digestion system in accordance with some embodiments. The dry protein and/or fiber rich solid is mixed with the enriched syrup with various enzymes at a mixing Step 9091. After digestion and absorption, the material can be processed through a pelleting system to form a pellet at a Step 9092. As the moisture content inside the pellet is above 30%, the process of digesting from enzyme and microorganism can continue to take place inside the pellet. The pellet can be further dried in a low temperature of a dryer at a Step 9093 to form a dry protective layer around pellet. This protective layer allows for long-term storage as well as lowers the difficulty of long-distance transportation, even to overseas destinations.

[0110] The technology is also able to be used to produce enzyme in-house for digestion as well as alcohol production. The method disclosed herein uses low value liquids from the alcohol industry to cultivate microorganisms. These microorganisms can be fungi and/or bacteria and/or yeast. By selecting the proper organisms, different predetermined enzyme products can be produced within the production facility. This approach provides a low cost alternative culture medium enzyme production. More importantly, this approach provides a method for the alcohol industry to incorporate enzyme production in their current production line to directly produce feed ingredients like DDGS, DWGS and high protein meal with enhanced nutritional values. In some embodiments, each of the processes/steps disclosed herein is able to be individually or in any selected combinations used in a typical alcohol production plant or added to a typical alcohol production plant.

[0111] Each and every steps/processes disclosed herein are optional and can be selected to be used as a positive claim limitations and also be omitted as a positive claim limitations for a not-using step.

[0112] The cost of amylase enzyme used to produce alcohol in the dry grind process is around 4 cent per gal. For alcohol production facilities, this represents about 3% of total cost of alcohol production. For the 15 billion gallon alcohol production in the USA, the enzyme cost is $600 million per year. This does not take into account the additional enzymes taught in the document for the application of xylanase, protease, phytase, and carbohydrase used for feed additive improvement on site. The animal feeding industry has had a sharp increase the application of these enzyme classes for the five years. The demand for these enzymes in animal feed application represents another opportunity for sales growth in the alcohol production facilities.

[0113] In one aspect, low value liquid materials from ethanol production, such as whole stillage, thin stillage and syrup can be collected. These liquids are adjusted in pH and temperature to appropriate conditions. Appropriate microorganism(s) (e.g., wild type bacteria and/or fungi, specially selected bacteria and/or fungi, and/or engineered bacteria and/or fungi) produces a predetermined enzyme or a spectrum of predetermined enzymes are inoculated into the adjusted whole stillage, thin stillage or syrup to grow and produce enzymes.

[0114] In some embodiments after the completion of the secondary fermentation, the remaining microorganisms can be killed by changing the temperature of fermentation, adding cell-lysing agents, and/or adding naturally occurring bactericide or fungicide. The resulting liquid product with active enzymes can be use directly in the current production lines of DDGS, DWGS and high protein meal to produce enzyme enhanced feed ingredients.

[0115] In other aspect, the backset/backend stream (e.g., streams from a step after fermentation) from ethanol production is used as feed stock for the growth of appropriate microorganism(s). These microorganisms may be wild type bacteria and/or fungi, specially selected bacteria and/or fungi, and/or engineered bacteria and/or fungi, which produces a predetermined enzyme (e.g., alpha-amylase, pullulanase, glucoamylase, phytase, and/or protease) for in-house use as part of the alcohol production process.

[0116] In another aspect, a secondary fermentation tank is used to collect whole stillage, thin stillage or syrup. The pH of the material is adjusted to the preferred range for the growth of the microorganism(s). The pH adjusting agent can be a naturally occurring acid or base like lime or lactic acids, and/or chemically synthesized chemicals like sodium hydroxide or hydrogen chloride or sulfuric acid. In some embodiments, the optimal growing temperature is adjusted based on the types/amounts of the microorganisms. For example, the temperature is adjusted to be 25 C. for Aspergillus sp., 30 C. for Lactobacillus sp., 37 C. for Escherichia sp., or 45 C. for heat resistant strains of Bacillus sp. or Kluyveromyces sp.

[0117] In some embodiments, the time for growing the microorganisms is adjusted based on the predetermined criteria, because the growth rates of microorganisms differ from one to another. For example, for a 100 fold increase of a predetermined bacteria culture, a fermentation time of 4 hours to 24 hours is provided.

[0118] In some embodiments, the reaction condition for growing the microorganisms is adjusted based on the predetermined criteria. The production condition of enzymes from microorganisms are relate to the concentration of vital nutrients, such as the presence of adequate substrates (inducer) and inhibitor (metabolites), and/or the population of microorganisms are able to be adjusted for an optimal growth. When using properly engineered microorganisms, the fermentation conditions are first set to optimal growing conditions for microorganisms to grow quickly to saturation. After reaching saturation, an inducer can be added into the culture to initiate gene expression and activate enzyme production.

[0119] In some embodiments, the method further comprises adding naturally occurring bactericide and/or fungicide like nisin to the culture after the production phase of enzyme to inhibit microorganisms' continued growth.

[0120] In some embodiments, the method further comprises using naturally occurring enzymes like lypase to the culture after the production phase of enzyme to destroy cell wall and cell membrane to eliminate living microorganisms.

[0121] In some embodiments, elimination of living microorganisms is achieved through short lived heat shock without destroying enzyme activities.

[0122] In some embodiments, a living culture that is proven to be beneficial to animals can be kept alive as probiotic microorganisms along with its natural enzyme products and proceed to the digestion phase of the manufacturing process.

[0123] In some embodiments, the resulting liquid with enzyme activities from the previous enzyme production phase is used as normal syrup and mixed with distiller's grains to produce advanced DDGS and/or DWGS animal feed ingredients with enzyme activities that can improve feed and cost efficiency.

[0124] In some embodiments, the resulting liquid with enzyme activities is added to protein cake, one intermediate product in the process of producing high protein meal, and digest large protein molecules into smaller molecules like amino acids and/or short peptide chains, allowing easier and more energy efficient drying process to achieve higher concentration rate in the following manufacturing process.

[0125] In some embodiments, the resulting liquid with enzyme activities is added directly to animal feed as a liquid feed supplement to improve feed efficiency and reduce feed cost.

[0126] In another aspect, enzyme production companies can use liquid waste like whole stillage, thin stillage or syrup as a low cost source of raw cultivation medium, using their existing procedure or modified procedure to produce, concentrate and/or purify produced enzymes.

[0127] In utilization, the methods and systems are used to make a probiotic animal feed. In operation, protein among other nutrients are digested and mixed with the enriched syrup in making a probiotic super feed for animals.