LECTURE 7

SPECIFC PROJECT
ETHANOL DISTILLERY
Uses of ethanol
 Fuel
 Social drink
 Industrial solvent (printing ink)
 Medicinal uses (antibacterial)
 PROCESS
 Micro-organisms (yeasts) convert monosaccharides C6H12 O6 to ethanol
 Sugar-rich solution inoculated with yeast
 Fermentation – produces ethanol
 Ethanol separated from solution (beer)
 Purification – distillation
 Disposal of waste stream

water CO2 heat

Mash preparation Fermentation Distillation alcohol

Molasses Nutrients yeast effluent

Process details

 SG (20°C) = 0.789 BP = 78.4 °C

 Infinite solubility in water Flammable
 C6H12 O6 → 2 C2H5OH + 2 CO2
 ΔH = -130 kJ (exo or endo-thermic ?)
 Calculate max theoretical yield
 Practical yield: 42 – 46 % fermentable sugars
 Inversion of sucrose to glucose & fructose
 C12H22 O11 + H2 O → 2 C6H12 O6
Molasses composition
(variable)

% (mass) component
14-18 water
50-55 fermentable sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose, others)
16-20 ash (K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Na, SO4, Cl, PO4, Si, etc)
12-16 other organic constituents
Mashing operation
Dilute molasses with water
Add small amounts nutrients [(NH4)2 SO4, H2SO4 (pH adjustment),
H3PO4]
Mash characteristics: Concentration: 18-22 ° Brix (dissolved
solids)
pH: 5.5 – 5.8, total sugars 10 – 12 g / 100 ml mash
nitrogen : 2.25 g / 100 ml mash, H3PO4 : 0.6 g / 100 ml
mash
Approx. 5 kg dry yeast per 1000 L of mash
 Fermentation
 Batch process
 Liquor after fermentation called “BEER”
 Fermentation time: 40 – 72 h
 Alcohol concentration (by volume) after complete
fermentation: 7 – 11%

[OH]

9%

Fermentation
complete
T* = fermentation time

T* Time (h)
Factors affecting
fermentation efficiency
 Conc. Of sugars in molasses and mash
 Sufficient nutrients (KNP)
 Temp of fermentation (35 – 38 ° C)
 Conc of yeast cells in beer tanks
 Conc of alcohol in beer
 pH
 Inhibitory components (Cu, Cd, other heavy metals)
 Fermentation time
Energy requirements
 Steam heating for distillation
 Power for pumping (mash, beer, final product – storage),
cooling water during exothermic fermentation
 Steam requirements: 200 – 300 kg steam / 100 L product

 Called slops, vinasse or stillage

 7 – 10 % solids
 Has fertilizer value : 1.5 % K2O, 0.2 % P2O5, 1 % N

 CO2 - dry ice

 Fertiliser (liquid or solid)
CALCULATIONS
1. To produce 140 kL per day (i.e. 24 h) of potable
alcohol (96.4%) calculate the fermenter capacity
required assuming the following:
Fermentation time = 52 hours, beer alcohol
concentration = 9.1 % (by volume), only 80% of the
fermenter volume is utilized for actual
fermentation. Recovery of alcohol from the beer is
95%. (4228 m3)
2. Calculate the volume of dilution water and mass
of molasses (in ton) required to prepare 600 m3 of
mash with a fermentable sugar content of 11g/ 100
ml of mash using molasses for which the total
fermentable sugar content is 53.1 %. Assume the SG
of molasses is 1.88. (533.9 m3)
CALCULATIONS (contd)
3. 9.3 tons of molasses are used for the preparation of mash for
a fermenter. The sugars content (by mass) was analysed to be
48.6%, 12.4% being monosaccharide (C6H12 O6) and the
remainder (36.2 %) being sucrose (C12H22 O11 ). Before being
available for fermentation to ethanol (C2H5OH ) , the sucrose
must be inverted to monosaccharide by hydrolysis [C12H22 O11 +
H2 O → 2 C6H12 O6]. If the volume of 94% ethanol recovered
from this batch was 2810 L (SG of 94% ethanol = 0.802),
calculate the overall efficiency of conversion of sugars to
ethanol [overall efficiency = (actual yield)/(theoretical yield) *
100] . Molar masses: C =12, H =1, O = 16.
4. Calculate the volume of CO2 released to the atmosphere from
260 ton of mash containing 15% (m/m) fermentable sugars (C6H12
O6) if the air temperature is 26°C and the fermentation
efficiency (utilization of sugars in the conversion to ethanol) is
86%. [1kmol CO2 at STP has volume of 22.4 m3. Atmospheric
pressure = 1.013 bar.].