3Lignol Innovations Corp., Vancouver, BC

Co-products from existing corn milling operations have a significant impact on process economics. Capturing their value requires early consideration for each application to insure the co-product meets customer needs. Corn Gluten Feed and Distillers Grains with Solubles are two products where some suppliers have designed their process to deliver a consistent quality animal feed to meet customer needs early in the process design and product development. Examples are given of how these processors are capturing more of the feed value than other millers that did not consider animal feed market needs until after the fact.

Lignocellulosic feedstocks offer similar opportunities--including pentose sugar, fiber and lignin derived products. A market overview for these products is presented. Several examples for lignin’s potential as a value added component in fiberboard and in asphalt roadways are described. The obstacles in developing these markets are discussed, along with recommendations to insure their real value is captured, applying lessons learned from the corn millers.