Home ›› About biofuels and biorefining ›› About animal feeds
When bioethanol is produced from starch in cereal grains such as wheat and maize, the grain protein is preserved along with other non-starch parts as a high protein animal feed - also known as ‘Distillers Dried Grains & Solubles’ (DDGS) - with a final protein concentration of over 30%.
This high level of protein, coupled with an amino acid profile that is well suited to the nutritional needs of a variety of animals, means this co-product can be used as an alternative to soy meal in feed rations. This also helps reduce Europe’s growing and unsustainable dependence on imported oil meals for its animal feed protein.
Today, the EU is the world’s largest importer of oil meals such as soy meal. However the rapid growth in meat consumption in Asia will put this global trade under increasing pressure in future, and represents a significant source of food insecurity in Europe.
The potential market for high protein animal feed produced in the EU could be as large as 20 million tonnes at today’s recommended maximum incorporation levels, with further potential growth as product improvements and market development allow higher rates of incorporation.
