ETHANOL PRODUCTION

Dandy Furqani
Faculty of Mathematics and Science Education
International Program on Science Education

A. Definition/Basic Idea
Ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, is a fuel that can be made from commonly available materials (mostly
feedstocks) with very efficient process compared to other petrols.

B. Materials
1. Sugar: sugarcane, beets, etc.
2. Starch: corn, wheat, cassava, sorghum, barley, etc.
3. Oil plants: Pittosporum resiniferum (petroleum nuts), Euphorbia abbysinica, palm trees (Oil
is simply pressed out of the plant. No fermentation/distillation).

C. Procedure
Ethanol production from sugar begins by grinding up the feedstock so it is more quickly and
easily processed. Once ground up, the sugar is either dissolved out of the material, or the starch
is converted into sugar. The sugar is then fed to yeast in a closed, anaerobic chamber.
Sugar yeast hydrogen + CO 2 + ethanol
Ethanol production from starch requires few more steps, since the starches are catalyzed into
simple sugars.
1. Dry mill fermentation:
1) Milling; starchy grains are ground into flour called meal.
2) Mashing; or making “mash”: slurry the meal with water, add enzymes to convert starch
to dextrose (simple sugar), and then add ammonia for pH control & nutrients.
3) Cooking; put the mash into high-temperature cooker to reduce bacteria.
4) Fermentation; the mash is cooled and put into fermenters. Add yeast, wait 40-50 hours.
5) Distillation; by separating the ethanol from remaining stillage by using distiller.
6) Storage.
7) Distribution.
2. Wet mill fermentation:
1) Steeping; grains are soaked in water and dilute sulfuric acid for 24-48 hours
2) Crushing; extracting the oil, fiber, gluten and starch.
3) (Same process with dry mill fermentation from no. 3 to 7)

D. Advantages
1. Clean fuel; almost no impurities after being distilled.
 2. Affordable source of octane in the market.
3. Less greenhouse gas emissions than gasoline (about 40-50% less)
4. Useful by-products (distiller’s grains as food for livestock and poultry, steep solution as ice
ban to remove ice from the road).
5. Materials are commonly available (we can even obtain sugar from fruit garbage)

E. Disadvantages
1. Requires very large area to grow crops as source.
2. May affect food prices especially staple foods since many farmers prefer to sell their crops
for fuel source.
3. Even though using ethanol releases small amount of CO 2, the process of producing ethanol
in factory using machines releases huge amount CO2
4. Hard to vaporize; in cold weather, it makes starting a car harder.