Dr. John E. Murtagh

John's Resume

John's Publications

The Alcohol Textbook

The Alcohol Glossary

The Worldwide Distilleries Guide

Distilleries and Fuel-Ethanol Plants Online Network

A reference for the beverage, fuel and industrial alcohol industries.

This book has been written to fill a void in the scientific literature available for distillers. For twenty eight years a short course has been held each year, for alcohol distillery managers and chemists. This course has been directed towards the fermentation and distillation of ethyl alcohol (ethanol) for all sectors concerned with this product, including fuel, beverage and industrial alcohol producers.

Over the years, the course has established a core group of lecturers with international reputations. This has led students from all over the world to congregate annually (originally in Kentucky) for this course, and there has been an ever-increasing demand for a textbook for the course, covering all aspects of the production of alcohol by fermentation and distillation.

With this aim in mind, the lecturers at the Alcohol School and other world-renowned experts, have produced a textbook that can be used for course participants and members of the alcohol-distilling community in general. The textbook has been updated periodically since the first edition was published in 1995.

The book has been integrated with a common overall theme and is intended to meet the needs of all levels in the industry, thus making useful and vital information generally accessible, and to make the technical language understandable.

The Alcohol Alphabet - Due to space constraints in the 5th Edition, John Murtagh's "Alcohol Alphabet" has been omitted. This is a glossary of the technical terms used in the industry. The glossary was included in all previous editions.

Fifth edition published in January 2009 by Nottingham University Press. 541 pages and fully-searchable CD Rom (.PDF format).

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The alcohol industry: How has it changed and matured?
   W.M. Ingledew (Ethanol Technology Institute, Wisconsin, USA), G.D. Austin, D.R. Kelsall (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA) and C. Kluhspies (New Jersey, USA)
   
   
2. Status of the worldwide fuel alcohol industry.
   C. Pilgrim (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA)
   
   
3. The worldwide beverage distilling industry.
   H. Collicutt (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA)
   
   Common elements of alcohol production
   
   Feedstocks
   
   
4. Corn: Genetics, composition and quality.
   D.M. Haefele (Pioneer Hi-Bred, A DuPont Business, Iowa, USA), and A.J. Ross (Bioneer Hi-Bred, A DuPont Business, Illinois, USA)
   
   

5. Sugar cane juice and molasses, beet molasses and sweet sorghum: Composition and usage.
   H.V. Amorim (Fermentec Ltda, Brazil), L.C. Basso (Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Brazil), and M. L. Lopes (Fermentec Ltda, Brazil).
   
   

6. Alternative feedstocks for fuel ethanol production.
   D.A. Monceaux (AdvanceBio LLC, Ohio, USA)
   
   
7. A primer for lignocellulose biochemical conversion to fuel ethanol.
   B.S. Dien (US Department of Agriculture, Illinois, USA), and R.J. Bothast (National Corn-To-Ethanol Research Center, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Illinois, USA)
   
   Yeasts
   
   
8. Yeast biology, monitoring and identification.
   S. Van Zandycke (Lallemand Inc., Nevada, USA)
   
   
9. Yeasts: Physiology, nutrition and ethanol production.
   W.M. Ingledew (Ethanol Technology Institute, Wisconsin, USA)
   
   
10. Yeast stress in the fermentation process.
    W.M. Ingledew (Ethanol Technology Institute, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    
11. Commercial yeast production for the fuel ethanol and distilled beverage industries.
    W.M. Ingledew (Ethanol Technology Institute, Wisconsin, USA), G.D. Austin (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA), and J.K. Kraus (Lallemand Inc., Montréal, Canada)
    
    
12. Yeast propagation.
    E. Bellissimi (Amyris, California USA) and C. Richards (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    Milling and mash preparation
    
    
13. Grain milling and cooking for alcohol production: Designing for the options in dry milling.
    D.R. Kelsall and R. Piggot (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    
14. Wet milling and mash preparation.
    S. Kohl (ICM Inc., Kansas, USA)
    
    
15. Fractionation technologies for dry-grind corn processing.
    V. Singh (Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA), and D.B. Johnston (US Department of Agriculture, Pennsylvania, USA)
    
    Fermentation and coproducts
    
    
16. Cleaning and hygiene in a distillery.
    C. Richards (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    
17. Batch fermentation and fermentor design.
    Z. Zhang (Lallemand Inc., Montréal, Canada)
    
    
18. Continuous ethanol fermentation.
    J.D. Sheppard (North Carolina State University, North Carolina, USA)
    
    
19. Fermentation management.
    C. Earnest (Aventine Renewable Energy Inc. Illinois, USA), C. Snyder (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA), and S. Westra (SELC, Iowa, USA)
    
    
20. Ethanol distillation: The fundamentals.
    P.W. Madson (KATZEN International Inc., Ohio, USA)
    
    
21. Dryhouse technologies and DDGS production.
    D.A. Monceaux (AdvanceBio LLC, Ohio, USA) and D. Kuehner (Barr-Rosin, Berkshire, UK)
    
    
22. Utilisation of distillers' dried grains with solubles (DDGS) by cattle.
    M.E. Corrigan and R.A. Mass (Lallemand Animal Nutrition North America, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    Fuel Alcohol Production: Unique Aspects
    
    
23. Bacterial contamination and control.
    N.V. Narendranath (POET Research Inc., South Dakota, USA) and S. Brey (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Montréal, Canada)
    
    
24. Wild yeast contamination and control of the process.
    D.A. Abbott (Amyris, California, USA) and W.M. Ingledew (Ethanol Technology Institute, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    
25. A quality assurance philosophy for the fuel ethanol industry.
    J. Ebert ( United Wisconsin Grain Producers, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    
26. Molecular sieve dehydrators: Why they became the industry standard and how they work.
    R.l. Bibb Swain (Delta-T Corporation, Virginia, USA)
    
    
27. Fuel ethanol specifications and quality assurance in the US.
    K.S. Davis (Hawkeye Gold LLC, Iowa, USA)
    
    
28. Air and water: Environmental considerations and design.
    T. Delano, S. Kohn and B. Roddy (ICM Inc., Kansas, USA)
    
    Distilled Beverage Production: Unique Aspects
    
    
29. Whisky: Grain mashing and fermentation.
    H. Collicutt (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    
30. Beverage alcohol producton.
    R. Piggot (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    
31. Whiskies around the world.
    J. Miles (Anchor Bio-Technologies, Cape Town, South Africa)
    
    
32. Vodka, gin and liqueurs.
    R. Piggot (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    
33. Rum: Fermentation and distillation.
    R. Piggot (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA)
    
    
34. Cachaça production.
    C.A. Rosa (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil), A.M. Soares (Fazena Soledade S/N, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), and J.B. Faria (Food and Nutrition Department, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University, São Paulo, Brazil)
    
    
35. Distillation of AOC French spirits: Cognac, armagnac, calvados and Martinique agricultural rum.
    M. Decloux (AgroParisTech, Massy cedex, France) and X. Joulia (LGC-ENSIACET-INPT, Toulouse cedex, France)
    
    The Future
    
    
36. Perspectives on the future of alcohol production.
    C. Pilgrim (Lallemand Ethanol Technology, Wisconsin, USA) and S. Wright (Spiritech, Techumeseh, Ontario, Canada)

Appendix 1: Units of measure equivalents
Appendix 2: Units of measure conversion tables
Index

To order The Alcohol Textbook, click here.

Comments, questions and information may be forwarded to:

Murtagh & Associates
3409 Briarcrest Drive, Eau Claire, WI 54701, USA
Telephone/Fax: (1) 715-831-8151
E-mail: murtagh@murtagh.com

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