ethanol

Equipment for the production of alcohol. Ethanol.
Ethanol is a universally applicable substance, widely used in the chemical industry and in food production. In addition, ethanol is one of the most promising energy sources.

The production of ethanol as a fuel for internal combustion engines began in Brazil during the oil crisis in the 1970s. In the future, its release began in many countries.

The use of alcohol as an alternative fuel for automobiles has been a topic of discussion since their invention. Currently, it has acquired a new significance due to the depletion of fossil fuel reserves and the serious environmental consequences of burning it. Studies are being conducted in many countries to evaluate the benefits of ethanol as a fuel additive. Methyl tert-butyl ether, currently used as a fuel additive, is a toxic derivative of methanol and causes significant air and groundwater pollution. Therefore, oil producers are increasingly replacing it with ethyl tert-butyl ether, which is synthesized from ethanol and is completely safe for the environment.

The production of alcohol for beverages is no less important than the production of ethanol for fuel. The key difference between these two areas is the choice of raw materials to obtain the final product. Drinking alcohol requires special purity and the presence of extractives. The raw materials for any alcoholic fermentation are usually products containing free mono- and oligosaccharides, starch or cellulose, such as corn, sorghum, wheat, barley, rye, sugar beets, cane sugar, molasses and a number of fruits, such as grapes. If the glucose contained in sugar plants is fermented directly, then the starch of cereal products, and even more so cellulose, must first be hydrolyzed. For this, either chemical (eg acid hydrolysis at high temperature) or enzymatic methods (eg grain malting) are used.

Regardless of the final destination of alcohol, its production includes the following technological steps.

The feedstock is ground and hydrolyzed.
The resulting mixture of sugars is fermented by yeast.
Braga enters the distillation column, where crude alcohol is distilled off.
Raw alcohol is then used to obtain pure ethanol by distillation.
The non-fermentable dry residue is a by-product and can be used as fertilizer. The vinasse remaining after distillation (yeast sediment) is dried and used as animal feed.

Equipment for the production of alcohol. Alcohol equipment.