Ethanol Production how its Made Feedstock Distillation
Few of us would encounter a problem with the process of ethanol production if we had proper equipment to assure ethanol purity. The process is relatively simple and one that can be done by home brewers. However, safety, storage and cost is a constraint for efficient production, and for that reason, most prefer to buy ethanol mix at the gas pump. The bare bone basics of ethanol production are feedstock, fermentation, and distillation.
Ethanol plants produce about 7 and billion gallons of ethanol each year. The most common mix is 10 percent ethanol per one gallon of gasoline and used in most vehicles. A more concentrated mixture of 15 percent is produced for biofuel cars. The latter is E-85 and only specially designed cars use this mixture. Potential home brewers are advised to use only a 4 to 6 percent mix.
When considering feedstock, it's important to have it nearby, grow it, or purchase materials that are readily available. Switch grass packs more punch than corn and sugar produces more energy than corn, but corn is readily available in the Midwest. Other areas of the U.S., such as logging states, use wood chips, sawdust and other available materials.
Celulosic feedstock refers to recycled waste products as renewable energy, such as the afore mentioned sawdust and switch grass. Corn stover, commercial hog feed, and silage can also be used. Keeping material costs down is an important part of efficient and cost effective ethanol production.
Once the feedstock is available, the next step is fermentation. The feedstock, we'll use corn as the material since it is the most common at this time, is mixed with hot water and allowed to soak in a still. Yeast is added to the mix to break down the starches to sugars. The byproducts of this process are alcohol and carbon dioxide. The next step is to separate them.
Distillation occurs when the mixture is heated sufficiently to allow the evaporation of the alcohol. This is the process of separating alcohol from the water. Since alcohol boils at a lower temperature, pressure forces the alcohol steam to rise and is collected is tubes, or pipes where it travels through cold water container and the ethanol condenses into a liquid form. Water from the mix runs off into a different receptacle.
Several distillation stills are available for home brewers of ethanol. Solar and Reflux stills are the most commonly used. Solar is, as you would expect, dependent on the amount of sun and is therefore inconsistent. Reflux uses external heat such as electric or gas to heat the mixture and gives a more potent product.
Ethanol plants apply exact controls during the production of ethanol and generally produce low pollution. However, with the current process, ethanol cannot be piped to other locations because of possible contamination. Gasoline vehicle transportation as well as combines that harvest corn are an inherent part of the overall ethanol production process and fat government subsidies in the U.S. currently support ethanol production.
It doesn't take a mastermind to produceethanol, but ethanol plants are designed with safety and efficiency in mind. Aspiring home brewers must apply for and receive a permit from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Adequate production and storage space are required to produce ethanol for personal use, and certainly safe ethanol production is crucial to any ethanol production.
