Ene Eketa 1462 Bio Ethanol Production Plant Keble Et Al May 2006 Pp226 Ox Ac Uk Final Report

Design Proposal:
Project Report
May 2006
Team Members:
Michael Braisher
Sanampreet Gill
William Treharne
Michael Wallace
James Winterburn
Supervised by:
Prof Cui
Dr. Das
Dr. Snowdon
Keble
Balliol
Balliol
Keble
Pembroke
Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant
Design Proposal :
Bio-ethanol production plant
Honour School of Engineering Science Part I
3rd Year Project Report
May 2006
Contributors:
Michael Braisher
Sanampreet Gill
William Treharne
Michael Wallace
James Winterburn
ii
Acknowledgements
Thank you to the project supervisors; Professor Zhanfeng Cui, Dr Colin Snowdon
and Dr Diganta Bhusan Das for their invaluable guidance and advice.
Thank you to Dr Rene Baares-Alcntara for his teaching on the ASPEN software and
for assistance with using this software.
Thank you to all of the group members for working well together and helping one
another throughout the project.
Thank you to M Wallace for compiling this document.
iii
Executive Summary
Complete combustion of one litre of petrol results in 2.276kg of carbon dioxide. In
comparison, the complete combustion of one litre of ethanol results in only
1.511kg of carbon dioxide1. The UK currently consumes 32.5billion litres per year,
so blending ethanol with petrol will aid national efforts to meet current emissions
targets. Currently these targets are to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20% by
2010.
Global warming is a multi-national concern so there is a great drive to search for
alternatives to oil especially as oil is in finite supply. Since the 1970s??? Brazil has
produced Bio-ethanol on a large scale and now runs many of its cars on pure bioethanol, thus proving the viability of ethanol as a fuel. It also provides proof that
the technology can work on an industrial scale. This report details a proposal for a
bio-ethanol production plant, to be located in the UK.
Bio-ethanol is produced from an energy crop such as sugar cane or wheat from
which sugar is extracted and then fermented to produce the fuel. It can then be
used to fuel cars either by mixing with petrol or neat. By sourcing the crops from
the UK this plant would stimulate the agricultural economy and provide rural
employment. With North Sea oil passing peak production the issue of security of
supply has taken on a greater importance, producing fuel from a home sourced
feedstock reduces a reliance on imports.
Due to the abundant supply and its ability to be grown on set-aside land, wheat is
an appropriate feedstock for production in the UK. The production stages are as
follows; wheat grain is cleaned and milled prior to the starch being washed out,
the starch is then hydrolysed and fermented to produce weak ethanol. Distillation
and dehydration processes are then used to concentrate the alcohol to fuel grade
(99.8% by mass).
A suitable location for a production plant would be Killinghome, Lincolnshire due to
its proximity to two large oil refineries. This is beneficial as it minimises the
environmental impact of transporting ethanol to the refineries for blending with
petrol. There are also social and economic benefits from locating in Lincolnshire as
it has a high unemployment rate and personnel training will boost the skill diversity
of the local area.
A full stakeholder analysis would highlight all those affected by the project.
Starting consultation at an early stage would allow concerns to be aired as well as
gaining the support of key allies (such as the fuel retailers) and more importantly
the local residents.
Production and sale of a bio-ethanol / petrol mix would have great environmental
benefits as its use will result in an estimated 70% reduction in carbon dioxide
emissions over the petrol it will replace. Other benefits include the reduction of
1
The calorific value of petrol is 1.5 times greater than that of ethanol and so 1.5 times the amount of
CO2 will be liberated to produce the same amount of energy.
iv

harmful effects on air quality, caused by vehicle particulate emissions, which
contribute to smog formation.
This report details a proposal for the production of bio-ethanol to supply 10% of the
current UK petrol market with a 5% ethanol petrol mix. To achieve this it is
necessary to convert 63 tonnes of wheat into 17 tonnes of bio-ethanol per hour,
based upon a 50 week production period per year.
An economic analysis has shown this product to be viable under a number of
market conditions; high and low government tax, oil prices and feedstock costs.
The product will yield large profits with the current government subsidy on bioethanol fuel tax, and a cash-flow analysis shows that the pay back period would be
5 years from project initiation under these conditions.
This proposal is an environmentally and economically viable means for producing
bio-ethanol for sale to the UK market. Further development would require more
accurate costing, using up-to-date quotes, as well as detailed stakeholder analysis.
Maximum resource efficiency could be achieved by conducting a detailed analysis
of resource use and by constructing a fully integrated flowsheet using a commercial
software package.
Contents
Acknowledgements ........................................................................... iii
Executive Summary ........................................................................... iv
Contents......................................................................................... vi
Tables & Figures ............................................................................... ix
Chapter 1 : Introduction (Whole Group)...................................................1
1.1 - Bio-ethanol as a fuel ........................................................................... 1
1.2 - The production of Bio-ethanol................................................................ 1
1.3 - Possible Feedstock and their yields.......................................................... 1
1.4 - Scale of Production ............................................................................. 2
1.5 - Production route ................................................................................ 2
1.6 - Location of Plant................................................................................ 2
1.7 - Flowsheet ........................................................................................ 2
Chapter 2 : Pre-treatment of wheat (Michael Wallace) ................................4

2.1 - The need to mill wheat ........................................................................ 4
2.2 - Flour milling pre-treatment .................................................................. 5
2.3 - Milling processes ................................................................................ 8
2.4 - Use of waste bran............................................................................... 9
2.5 - Starch extraction processes ................................................................... 9
2.6 - Centrifugation..................................................................................11
2.7 - Full pre-treatment summary (including commercially available solutions) .........14
2.8 - Complete Process (including quantities & services required) ..........................15
2.9 - Summary of services required ...............................................................18
2.10 - Economics of construction ..................................................................18
Chapter 3 : Hydrolysis (William Treharne).............................................. 19

3.1 - Wheat Starch Hydrolysis ......................................................................19
3.2 - Gelatinisation of Starch ......................................................................24
3.3 - Liquefaction of Starch Slurry ................................................................26
3.4 - Cooling and Heat Exchanger Design.........................................................31
3.5 - Saccharification ................................................................................35
3.6 - Intermediate Storage .........................................................................38
3.7 - Economics .......................................................................................38
Chapter 4 : Fermentation (Michael Braisher) .......................................... 39

4.1 - Fermentation overview .......................................................................39
4.2 - Ethanol production by S. Cerevisiae ........................................................40
4.3 - Batch reactor ...................................................................................41
4.4 - Product poisoning ..............................................................................43
4.5 - Batch reaction with product poisoning.....................................................44
4.6 - Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) with product poisoning .....................45
4.7 - Sterilisation.....................................................................................49
4.8 - Isothermal reactor.............................................................................50
4.9 - Growth nutrients ..............................................................................51
4.10 - Other products................................................................................52
4.11 - Glucose concentration .......................................................................52
4.12 - Fermenter Design.............................................................................53
4.13 - Control .........................................................................................57
4.14 - Summary .......................................................................................58
vi

Chapter 5 : Distillation (James Winterburn)............................................ 59
5.1 - Background and Design Specification .......................................................59
5.2 - Design Procedure...............................................................................59
5.3 - Preliminary Calculations......................................................................60
5.4 - Preliminary Heat and Mass Balance.........................................................62
5.5 - Computational Modelling using Aspen .....................................................63
5.6 - McCabe-Thiele Construction..................................................................67
5.7 - Column Internals ...............................................................................69
5.8 - Final Column Specification ...................................................................73
5.9 - Economics .......................................................................................74
Chapter 6 : Dehydration (Sanampreet Gill) ............................................. 76

6.1 - Dehydration Methods..........................................................................76
6.2 - Method Selection ..............................................................................80
6.3 - Pervaporation Design..........................................................................83
6.4 - Heat Exchanger design ........................................................................96
6.5 - Condenser Design ..............................................................................98
6.6 - Costing......................................................................................... 101
Chapter 7 : Steam Raising (Michael Wallace & James Winterburn)...............102

7.1 - The Steam Cycle (MW) ...................................................................... 102
7.2 - Boiler Feedwater Treatment (JW) ........................................................ 103
7.3 - Steam Requirement (MW) .................................................................. 107
7.4 - Turbine Requirements for Electricity Generation (MW) .............................. 107
7.5 - Raising Steam (MW) ......................................................................... 108
7.6 - Water Recycle (MW) ......................................................................... 110
7.7 - Economics of construction (MW) .......................................................... 111
Chapter 8 : Plant Location (Sanampreet Gill) .........................................112

8.1 - British Refineries ............................................................................ 112
8.2 - Stakeholder Analysis ........................................................................ 120
8.3 - Site Layout .................................................................................... 121
Chapter 9 : Economics (Michael Wallace) ..............................................122

9.1 - Assumptions................................................................................... 122
9.2 - Plant Cost Estimation ....................................................................... 122
9.3 - Profit & Loss Analysis ....................................................................... 124
9.4 - Cash Flow Movement Analysis ............................................................. 127
9.5 - Conclusions.................................................................................... 128
Chapter 10 : Sustainability (Michael Braisher & William Treharne) ..............129

10.1 - Social issues (MB)........................................................................... 130
10.2 - Economic issues (MB) ...................................................................... 131
10.3 - Resource Efficiency (WT).................................................................. 133
10.4 - Environmental Protection (WT) .......................................................... 133
Chapter 11 : Health & Safety (James Winterburn) ...................................137

11.1 - Background Information on Safety ...................................................... 137
11.2 - Operational safety ......................................................................... 137
11.3 - HAZOP ........................................................................................ 137
Chapter 12 : Conclusion (Whole Group) ................................................139

Bibliography ..................................................................................140
vii

Appendix 1 : Physical Properties (James Winterburn) ..................................I
Appendix 2 : Hopper / Tempering bin design (Michael Wallace) ..................... II
Appendix 3 : Hydrolysis Calculations (William Treharne)............................ XV
Appendix 4 : U-Tube Heat Exchanger Design (William Treharne)................ XXV
Appendix 5 : Monod Kinetics for batch growth (Michael Braisher) .......... XXXVIII
Appendix 6 : Heat exchanger design (Michael Braisher) ............................. XL
Appendix 7 : Heat exchanger schematic (Michael Braisher) ......................XLIV
Appendix 8 : Fermenter schematic & Design (Michael Braisher)..................XLV
Appendix 9 : Stress analysis (Michael Braisher)..................................... XLVII
Appendix 10 : Heat and Mass Balance (James Winterburn) ..................... XLVIII
Appendix 11 : Flow Parameter (James Winterburn)................................... LI
Appendix 12 : Surface Tension Calculation (James Winterburn) .................. LII
Appendix 13 : McCabe-Thiele Construction (James Winterburn) ................. LIV
Appendix 14 : Feed Preheat Heat Exchanger (James Winterburn) ............... LVI
Appendix 15 : Profit & Loss Analysis Spreadsheet (Michael Wallace) ............LVII
Appendix 16 : Cash-flow Analysis Spreadsheet (Michael Wallace) ............... LVIII
Appendix 17 : Carbon Dioxide Use (William Treharne) ............................. LIX
Appendix 18 : Production scale Figure of Merit Table (MB & MW)..............LXII
Appendix 19 : Mini-Project Report (Whole Group)..................................LXIV
viii
Tables & Figures

Fig 1.1 Comparison of feedstock for bio-ethanol production
Fig 1.2 Proposed production route
p1
p2
Fig 2.1 Wheat prices 2004- 2005

Fig 2.2 Structure of a grain of wheat
Fig 2.3 Magnetic separator
Fig 2.4 Mechanical separator
Fig 2.5 Aspirator
Fig 2.6 De-stoner
Fig 2.7 Scourer
Fig 2.8 Mixing worm and tempering bins
Fig 2.9 Tempering bins
Fig 2.10 First break
Fig 2.11 Reducing rolls
Fig 2.12 Corrugated plate
Fig 2.13 Simplified process alkali diagram
Fig 2.14 Simplified diagram of the Batter process
Fig 2.15 Simplified hydrocyclone separator
Fig 2.16 Tubular bowl centrifuge
Fig 2.17 Imperforate basket centrifuge
Fig 2.18 Decanter centrifuge
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Fig 3.1 Chemical Structure of Starch

Fig 3.2 Complete enzymatic hydrolysis pathway with optimum operating
conditions
Fig 3.3 The affect of glucoamylase enzyme activity on glucose yield
Fig 3.4 The % glucose formed from 30% (w/w) 12 DE maltodextrin, at 60C
and pH 4.3, using various enzyme solutions
Fig 3.5 Jet Cooker - p23
Fig 3.6 - Starch slurry gelatinisation heater
Table 3.1 Thermal conductivities for a range of insulation materials
Fig 3.7 Vessel heat loss for increasing polyurethane foam lagging thickness
Fig 3.8 Liquefaction vessel dimensions
Fig 3.9 U-tube, single shell pass, baffled shell and tube heat exchanger
final design
Fig 3.10 Saccharification vessel dimensions
Fig 4.1 S Cerevisiae
Fig 4.2 Batch reactor growth phases
Fig 4.3 Ethanol concentration v time for batch reactor without poisoning
Fig 4.4 Model for product poisoning
Fig 4.5 Microbe concentration v time for batch reactor with poisoning
Fig 4.6 Substrate concentration v time for batch reactor with poisoning
Fig 4.7 Ethanol concentration v time for batch reactor with poisoning
Fig 4.8 Productivity, microbe concentration and substrate concentration v D
Fig 4.9 Tank size v ethanol concentration
Fig 4.10 Required substrate concentration v ethanol concentration
Fig 4.11 % substrate remaining v ethanol concentration
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ix

Fig 4.12 Heat exchanger specification
Fig 4.13 Fermenter cooling coil specification
Fig 4.14 Centrifuges
Fig 4.15 Heat loss v fermenter radius
Fig 4.16 Overall height v fermenter radius
Fig 4.17 Propeller power correlation
Fig 4.18 Turbine power correlation
Fig 4.19 Fermenter design specification
Fig 4.20 A typical control loop
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Fig 5.1 Column Design Specification

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Fig 5.2 Annual Costs vs. Reflux Ratio
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Fig 5.3 Equation used to Calculate Rmin
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Fig 5.4 Construction to find Minimum Reflux
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Fig 5.5 Construction to Find Minimum Number of Plates
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Fig 5.6 Heat and Mass Balance
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Fig 5.7 Variation of component mass fraction (vapour phase) with equilibrium
stage, feed introduced at stage 8
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stage, feed introduced at stage 15
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Fig 5.9 Mass Fraction of Ethanol in Distillate vs. Feed Location
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Fig 5.10 Mass Fraction of Ethanol in Distillate vs. Reflux Ratio
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stage, at design conditions
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Fig 5.12 McCabe-Thiele Construction 1
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Fig 5.15 Kv values for differing plate spacings
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Fig 5.16 Maximum allowable Vapour Velocities
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Fig 5.17 Column Diameter
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Fig 5.18 Murphree Vapour Efficiencies for the Ethanol-Water Separation
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Fig 5.19 Final Heat and Mass Balance
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Fig 6.1 Continuous rectifier apparatus
Fig 6.2 Continuous direct rectifier apparatus
Fig 6.3 Apparatus for batch rectifier
Fig 6.4 Flow sheet for batch pervaporation
Fig 6.5 Flow sheet for continuous pervaporation
Fig 6.6 Simplified pervaporation process
Fig 6.7 Cross section of a composite membrane
Fig 6.8 PVA molecular structure
Fig 6.9 Continuous flow pervaporation
Fig 6.10 mass balance for pervaporation module
Fig 6.11 mass balance of pervaporation unit between the fermentor section
and distillation section
Fig 6.12 Selectivity and permeability of the polyvinylalcohol based G.F.T.
membrane when it is used, at 90C, to dehydrate, by pervaporation,
water-alcohol mixtures.
Fig 6.13 Calculating the flux of water when it has a 10% concentration
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x

Fig 6.14 Design suggestion for the dehydration process. There are three
pervaporation modules with two heat exchangers in between.
Fig 6.15 Mass balance of first pervaporation module
Fig 6.16 Square pitch design
Fig 6.17 Schematic drawing of pervaporation module 1
Fig 6.18 Mass balance of the second pervaporation module in the dehydration
section
Fig 6.20 Mass balance for third pervaporation module
Fig 6.23 Schematic drawing of heat exchanger before pervaporation begins
Fig 6.25 condenser design with measurements (square pitch)
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Fig 7.1 Simplified Rankine cycle diagram

Fig 7.2 Water treatment block diagram
Fig 7.3 Base-exchange diagram
Fig 7.4 Water treatment chemistry
Fig 7.5 Steam requirements
Fig 7.6 Enthalpy temperature diagram
Fig 7.7 Steam system
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Fig 8.1 Location of Coryton Refinery

Fig 8.2 Output of BP Coryton Refinery
Fig 8.3 Location of BP Grangemouth Refinery
Fig 8.4 Output of BP Grangemouth
Fig 8.5 Location of ConocoPhillips Humber Refinery
Fig 8.6 Output of ConocoPhillips Humber Refinery
Fig 8.7 Location of Esso Refinery
Fig 8.8 Location of Lindsey Oil Refinery
Fig 8.9 Output of Lindsey Oil Refinery
Fig 8.10 Location of Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex
Fig 8.11 Output of Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex
Fig 8.12 Location of Texaco Ltd
Fig 8.13 Location of Total Milford Haven Refinery
Fig 8.14 Output of Total Milford Haven Refinery
Fig 8.15 Decision Table for Location of plant
Fig 8.16 Graph showing the results of the Decision table for plant location
Fig 8.17 Possible Site Layout
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Fig A2.1 Hopper flow analysis

Fig A2.2 Outlet designs and corresponding flow types
Fig A2.3 Common problems
Fig A2.4 Force balance on cylindrical hopper
Fig A2.5 Vertical normal stress profile
Fig A2.6 Hopper stress field
Fig A2.7 MMF for assorted material types
Fig A2.8 Design chart for conical outlet hoppers
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xi
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Fig A2.9 Determination of CAS
Fig A2.10 Minimum outlet size
Fig A2.11 Experimental shear stress data on arbitrary powder
Fig A2.12 Design chart
Fig A2.13 CAS value determination
Fig A2.14 Cylinder height v radius curve
Fig A2.15 Tempering bin design
Fig
Fig
Fig
Fig
Fig
Fig
Fig
Fig
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A4.1 Shell and tube heat exchanger with two tube side passes
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A4.2 Square pitch tube arrangement
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A4.3 Segmental baffle with 25% window cut
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A4.4 The effect of cooling stream outlet temperature on exchanger design p175
A4.5 The effect of tube diameter on exchanger design
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A4.6 The effect of tube pitch on exchanger design
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A4.7 The effect of shell diameter on exchanger design
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A4.8 The effect of baffle spacing on exchanger design
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xii
Introduction - Whole Group
Chapter 1 : Introduction (Whole Group)

1.1 - Bio-ethanol as a fuel
Bio-ethanol is produced using an energy crop such as sugar cane or wheat from
which sugar is extracted and fermented to produce the fuel. It can then be used to
fuel cars either by mixing with petrol or used neat.
Weather events over the past few years have highlighted the issue of global
warming and the need to search for alternatives to oil especially as oil is in finite
supply. Bio-ethanol is a tried and tested fuel with Brazil running many of its cars on
pure bio-ethanol. This report details a proposal for a bio-ethanol production plant.
1.2 - The production of Bio-ethanol
To produce ethanol from biomass there are three main production stages:
extraction or production of sugars from the feedstock, fermentation where the
sugars are converted to ethanol, and recovery where the ethanol is separated from
other by-products.
1.3 - Possible Feedstock and their yields
There are a wide variety of feedstock that can be converted to bio-ethanol. The
feedstock used dictates the exact nature of the process; for example corn has to
be either dry or wet milled before hydrolysis whereas sugar beet requires no
hydrolysis as the sugars can simply be washed out.
In the UK it is most viable to produce bio-ethanol from wheat or sugar beet due to
the availability of the crops. Fig 1.1 compares the cost and yield of each crop.
Land use is an important consideration because the land used for bio-ethanol crops
could alternatively have been used for foodstuffs, but if the crops were grown on
set-aside land this problem can be avoided.
Crop
Wheat
Sugar Beet
Yield of
Crop
Yield of
Bio-ethanol
t/ha
l/ha
7.74
53.2
2600
5746
Conversion
Efficiency
GJ Bioethanol/GJ
Feedstock
0.55
0.136
Feedstock
Cost
Feedstock
Cost
/GJ
Feedstock
/GJ Bioethanol
5.88
5.88
10.69
43.24
Feedstock
Cost
/tonne of
Bioethanol
429
1735
Feedstock
Cost
p/litre of
Bioethanol
33.8
136.9
Fig1.1- Comparison of feedstock for bio-ethanol production (see Appendix 18)

Based on the grounds of economics and availability, wheat was chosen as the
feedstock. It has been found that the cost of the feedstock per litre of bio-ethanol
is significantly less for wheat than for sugar beet.
1
Introduction - Whole Group
1.4 - Scale of Production

The annual petrol consumption in the UK is 32.5 billion litres. The upper limit for
the use of ethanol blended with petrol is 10% for most modern cars without
requiring modification. Based upon this information and the capacities of similar
operational plants, a production scale analysis was carried out (see appendix 18). It
was concluded that the plant should produce 162.5 million litres of fuel grade
ethanol (99.8% by mass) per year (17 tonnes per hour). This production scale
corresponds to 10% of the UK petrol market assuming a 5% ethanol blend. The plant
will require 63 tonnes of wheat per hour allowing for 2 weeks of plant downtime a
year.
1.5 - Production route
Fig1.2- Proposed production route

1.6 - Location of Plant
To minimise pollution and transportation costs, the plant will be located in the UK
near to its intended market, next to an existing fuel refinery.
1.7 - Flowsheet
The following page shows the complete flowsheet for this production plant.
Flowsheet
FULL SIZE A3 PULL OUT FLOW SHEET TO GO IN HERE
Chapter 02 M. Wallace
Chapter 2 : Pre-treatment of wheat (Michael Wallace)

2.1 - The need to mill wheat
Wheat is a common cereal which is used throughout the world, it is an excellent
source of energy and contains many vitamins and minerals, making it a valuable
foodstuff. Due to a large demands for wheat, high yield varieties have been
developed, which can grow even in the poorest of soils. These have been
developed for agricultural use but they also allow vast quantities to be grown for
industrial use.
There are two types of wheat available in the UK, winter wheat and spring wheat.
Winter varieties are sown in September and harvested the following August, this
long growth time produces a hardy plant which will produce good yields of wheat.
On the other hand spring varieties have a much shorter growth time from February
until September; this produces lower yields and is commonly used in bread-making
applications.
For bio-ethanol production it is possible to use feed wheat, this is beneficial as it
is a cheaper grade and is often the result of a failed milling wheat crop. fig2.1
shows the wheat prices over the past two years. The price difference is clear, the
average feed wheat price is 65/tonne compared to 80/tonne for milling wheat.
120
110
/ tonne
100
2005 (Feed)
90
2004 (Feed)
2005 (Milling)
80
2004 (Milling)
70
60
50
1
9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45 47 49
Week
fig2.1 Wheat Prices 2004-2005 (+2006)2

Wheat grain is the seed of the wheat plant, it is protected by a hard outer casing
(see fig2.2) known as the bran which protects the endosperm and germ inside.
2
Graph plotted using data from Farmers Weekly Interactive (www.fwi.co.uk)
Fig2.2 Structure of a grain of wheat

To produce bio-ethanol from wheat, the bran must first be removed (this accounts
for approx. 18% of the grain) and then the remainder of the grain needs to be
milled (crushed) to produce a rough grade flour which can then be processed to
remove and separate the starch and protein.
For our process we want the starch but the protein, if carefully extracted, can be
sold on as a foodstuff additive or supplement.
2.2 - Flour milling pre-treatment
Prior to any milling of the wheat there are two important processes which must be
carried out. The first of these is extensive cleaning to remove any foreign bodies or
very fine particles which may be mixed in with the grain. This is achieved by a five
stage process3:
MAGNETIC SEPARATION : Strong magnets collect any stray metallic objects as the
grain passes through, this is necessary to avoid damage at any later stage.
fig2.3 Magnetic Separator

Typically these magnets will be easily accessible and removable so that they can be
cleaned, and generally take the form of a bullet shaped magnet which is
suspended within the outlet of a hopper. They are passive devices as they are
gravity fed.
MECHANICAL SEPARATION : A series of reciprocating screens are used to remove any
sticks, stones or coarse material which may be mixed in with the grain.
fig2.4 Mechanical Separator

3
How Wheat becomes Flour (www.wheatmania.com) Accessed 17-02-06
Some lighter materials will also be extracted at this stage.

ASPIRATION : Strong counter-current air flow is passed through the grain to
remove light impurities.
fig2.5 Aspirator
As the grain falls down over perforated plates, air is blown up through it and out
through a filter which extracts any fine material.
DE-STONING : To prevent any damage to machinery, any stones are carefully
removed at this stage.
fig2.6 De-stoner
SCOURING : Air driven beaters are used to scour off any impurities (e.g. hull
casings) and to polish the grain.
fig2.7 Scourer
On completion of these five stages the wheat is clean and can be prepared for
milling. During the milling process large rollers will crush the grain to break off the
bran, which is then removed by sieving the crushed mixture. To ensure that the
bran breaks off cleanly is necessary to toughen the outer casing of the wheat,
preventing it from powdering during milling. This can be achieved by tempering
(or conditioning), and is the second important process which is required prior to
milling.
The conditioning process involves spraying cold water (up to 46 C) onto the wheat
while it is turned in a mixing worm. This wheat is then left to stand in bins for
several hours, up to 36 hours for some varieties of hard wheat or as little as 4 hours
for soft varieties.4
Food Science, B Srilakshmi, New Age International Publishers, 2003, ISBN 81-224-1481-8
fig2.8 Mixing worm and tempering bins

For standard British wheat varieties a tempering time of 12 hours would provide
sufficient toughening of the bran. To achieve this for our process, thirteen
100tonne tempering bins are required, so that they can be used on a rotation (i.e.
filling one while emptying another.
The design of these bins is discussed in Appendix 2 and the final design shown in
fig2.9.
fig2.9 Tempering bin design

7
2.3 - Milling processes

There exist various milling systems to produce plain white flour from wheat grain,
but they all operate upon a common basis. A variety of roller mills and sieves are
used in series to reduce and filter the wheat to produce flour. There are two stages
of roller milling:
BREAKING The grain is opened up and the contents released so that separation
by sieves is possible. To achieve this a series of spirally fluted rollers will be set at
decreasing thicknesses (commonly ~1mm for the first and ~0.5mm for the last),
with sieving after each crush to achieve the necessary refinement. They are
fluted to prevent complete crushing of the grain and they will be run at different
speeds to increase friction, therefore improving extraction.
fig2.10 First break

Unfortunately this creates a lot of heat which would damage the wheat so it is
important that the rollers are cooled.
REDUCTION To achieve size reduction, non-fluted rollers are used and are run at
near to equal speeds. Unfortunately this does causes some flattening of the
endosperm but the bran is also flattened and disintegrates
fig2.11 Reducing rolls

Very high yield can be achieved if the correct configuration of milling and sieving
processes are used, and careful design can allow the ash content of the flour to be
controlled.
An alternative system, which produces very high yields, replaces the reducing rolls
with high speed rotating discs which have corrugated plates attached (see fig2.12)
which grab and crush the wheat as it moves radially through.
fig2.12 Corrugated Plate5

5
http://www.ums.dk/Index.html Accessed 17-02-06
2.4 - Use of waste bran

The milling process produces a considerable amount of waste bran, which could
either be sold as an animal feed or could be burned to produce heat. Since the
plant will require a considerable amount of steam (see chapter 7) this would be a
cost effective method of pre-heating the feed-water to the boiler.
As a rough guide it is possible to look at the calorific value of feed wheat bran
and use this to estimate the possible heat output from combustion.
Calorific value6 = 17.461MJ/kg
5.8 tonnes of flour required per tonne of bio-ethanol produced
0.15 tonnes of bran per tonne of wheat
Mass of bran (per tonne of bio-ethanol) = 870 kg
Therefore the theoretical heat from combustion = 15.191 GJ /tonne of bio-ethanol.
2.5 - Starch extraction processes
Once the grain has been milled to produce flour it is necessary to extract the
starch, which can then be hydrolysed to produce sugars for fermentation (See
chapter 3). There are four processes which can be used to achieve this7:
THE ALKALI PROCESS
Originating from an early method for the extraction of starch from rice, an alkali is
used to extract the starch (as shown in Fig2.13):
fig2.13 Simplified Alkali process diagram

(see section 2.6 for more details on centrifugation)
6
7
Calorific Value of feed wheat Bran (available online at www.cal2k.com)

Wheat Chemistry and Utilisation, Cornell & Hovelling, Technomic publishing, 1998,
ISBN 1-56676-348-7
Unfortunately, the protein when recovered will have been denatured by the alkali
so is unsuitable for addition to baked goods, but it could be sold for use as a
protein supplement.
It is impossible to completely separate all of the protein from the starch so there
will be trace amounts (0.3 0.6%) present in the starch produced.
THE MARTIN PROCESS
This process has been in use since the 1920s and is still in use today. It is based on
the principle of forming a dough (made by mixing flour with ~85% of its weight in
water) and then washing the starch out of the dough. This is better than the alkali
process as it prevents the protein from being damaged, allowing it to be recovered
and sold as a by-product. Another advantage is that it is a much cheaper process to
run, since it uses water instead of an alkali.
Washing creates a milk which is processed in centrifuges to extract the starch,
further washing purifies the product and produces a starch cake recoverable at
the output. In general 60% of the weight of flour will be recovered as high-grade
starch and a further 15% can be recovered as second-grade starch (by hydrocylone
concentration). High grade starch is defined by higher percentage of large granule
starch, lower liquid content, lower protein content and a lower content of
impurities, compared to the lower grade starch.
The protein (gluten) can be dried and sold for use as an additive to foodstuffs.
Throughout the process it is necessary to make pH adjustments at important
stages. There is no advantage in addition of acid or base during doughing but
once the gluten has been removed it is useful to add alkali to the starch milk to
solubilise the associated proteins which are present. To produce average-quality
starch the pH should be raised to ~9. During processing the pH will naturally drop
due to bacterial action so little adjustment will be needed to neutralise the end
product.
In relation to bacterial action small amounts of formalin (40% formaldehyde
solution) should be added to the starch milk at the earliest possible stage to
prevent bacterial contamination. (e.g. 1mL per litre of milk)
The starch is separated into class A and B at an early stage. These are then
concentrated using centrifuges before being dewatered.
THE BATTER PROCESS
Developed in the 1940s specifically for production of starch for conversion into
syrups and alcohol from wheat, this process uses a batter instead of a dough. A
batter is made by mixing flour mixed with 1.25 times its weight of water (at 30C)
and has a lower consistency than dough.
10
The process is very similar to the Martin process, water is added and the gluten
removed as curds, then the starch milk can then be processed in a centrifuge. A
simplified process diagram can be seen in Fig2.14.
fig2.14 Simplified diagram of the Batter process

Throughout the process there are two causes of starch loss : (1) very fine particles
are lost during centrifugation, (2) some starch will be retained within the gluten
THE ALFA-LAVAL / RAISIO SYSTEM
This is a modified process for starch and gluten manufacture and is based upon a
system which was developed by Raisio and Bhler. The flour is mixed with water
before being screened and then separated in a splitter decanter. Alpha-Laval
decanters are then used for further refining and dewatering of both grade-A and
grade-B starches. An advantage of this is that if well designed it will require less
fresh water than a batter process.
2.6 - Centrifugation
Centrifugation8 can be used to separate or concentrate any material which is
suspended in a liquid medium, such as starch suspended in a milk. This is
achieved by applying an accelerated gravitational force to the concentrated
suspension and either allowing sedimentation to take place, or by using this as the
driving force in a filtration. In the case of sedimentation, the driving force results
from the difference in density of the solid particles and the liquid.
There are various types of centrifuge available :
HYDROCYCLONE the centrifugal force is provided by the slurry itself, so no

moving parts are required. When purifying starch, one advantage is that the
concentration of any soluble proteins (or pentosans) will be reduced by the water
washing in the cyclone.
Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering; McGraw Hill; McCabe, Smith, Harriott; ISBN 0071181733
11
Fig2.15 Simplified hydrocyclone separator
TUBULAR BOWL CENTRIFUGE A motor driven perforated drum provides the

centrifugal force and causes the starch to be retained on the inside of the drum.
This has a disadvantage that the machine must be stopped for retrieval of the
product.
Fig2.16 Tubular bowl centrifuge

12
IMPERFORATE BASKET CENTRIFUGE Similarly a motor driven perforated drum provides

the centrifugal force and causes the starch to be retained on the inside of the
drum. An advantage over the tubular bowl type is that even though it must be
stopped to extract the solids it has a plough incorporated to reduce the difficulty
of this task.
Fig2.17 Imperforate Basket Centrifuge
DECANTER A high speed spinning mechanism drives heavy particles downwards

and collects them around the base of the centrifuge where they are intermittently
discharged whenever a large build up occurs. This type is beneficial as it is fully
continuous and can cope with large volumes.
Fig2.18 Decanter Centrifuge9

9
http://www.westfalia-separator.com/en/index.htm
13
2.7 - Full pre-treatment summary (including commercially available solutions)

Having investigated a variety of solutions for each stage of pre-treatment, it is
necessary to consolidate this into a complete process and also to suggest
commercially available solutions.
A Bullet Magnet ( Shields Company) can simply be connected in line before
the separator. This takes the form of a bullet shaped magnet, suspended within the
pipe work, which can be easily removed for regular cleaning.
It is then possible to combine separation, aspiration and de-stoning into one
mechanical separation machine. One such example is the Alvan Blanche PRA4/9
twin stage rotary cleaner, which has the capacity for up to 50tonnes per hour
throughput.
The S Howes Eureka Scourer is an appropriate air driven mechanical scourer,
to remove impurities prior to tempering, it can process up to 21tonnes per hour.
As part of the tempering process the wheat requires to be evenly sprayed with
warm water. The Satake Corporation produce a suitable mixer, model SHD10A
which can handle up to 20 tonnes per hour.
There are many flour milling solutions available but the UMS Discmill Short
Milling system is very efficient (yields of up to 82% flour) and the corrugated
plates are easily replaced thus easing maintenance work.
The final stage is to extract starch from the flour and this is best achieved using
the batter process. This is because hydrocyclones and decanters can be used to
extract the starch without the need for a complex washing out system. A good
choice is the Westfalia 3-phase separation system which produces three grades of
starch, and is commercially available.
14
2.8 - Complete Process (including quantities & services required)

Bullet Magnet MM300 Shields Company
Capacity : 100 tonnes/h
Number Required : 1
Product out : 100 tonnes/hour
Waste out : 0 tonnes/h
Services required : None (gravity fed unit)
PRA4/9 Rotary Cleaner Alvan Blanche

Number Required : 2
Product out : 87 tonnes/h
Services required : 6.2kW electrical power/unit
Total = 12.4kWh
Eureka Scourer S. Howes

Number Required : 5 units
Services required : 4,500m/h Plant air/unit
Total = 22,500 m/h
15
SHD10A Tempering Mixer Satake Corporation

Number Required : 6 units
Services required : 3.7kW electrical power/unit
Total = 22.2kWh
8 % grain mass of water
Total = 7.2 tonnes/h (=7200l/h)
Tempering Bins
Capacity : 100tonnes
Number Required : 13
Waste out : n / a
Services required : n / a
16
UMS Short Mill system

Capacity : variable (we need 82 tonnes/h)
Number Required : system requires special design
Services required : 33kW electrical power/tonne
Total = 2.7MWh
Westfalia Three-phase separator

Capacity : variable (need 67 tonnes/h)
Number Required : system requires special design
Services required : 760kWh electricity
100,000l water/h
17
References for commercially available solutions:
http://www.shieldscompany.com/products/bullet.asp - Accessed 17-02-06

PRA4 Spec. sheet available at http://www.alvanblanch.co.uk/Rotary%20Cleaner.pdf
Eureka Brochure available at http://www.showes.com/product_pdfs/S. Howes Eureka
Scourer Brochure.pdf
Hydrator brochure available at http://www.satake.co.uk/pdf/Hydrator.pdf
Simplify Production with the patented UMS Discmill System [pdf] Available at
http://www.ums.dk
GEA Starch from Wheat brochure Available at http://www.westfaliaseparator.com/downloads/brochures/wsi-staerke.pdf
2.9 - Summary of services required

Electricity
Water
Plant Air
Rotary Cleaner
12.4 kW
Eureka Scourer
22,500 m/h
Tempering Mixer
22.2 kW
7,200 l/h
Short-Milling System
2.7 MW
3-Phase Separator
760 kW
100,000 l/h
3.5 MW
107,200 l/h
22,500 m/h
2.10 - Economics of construction

Based upon the suggested solution an approximate costing is as follows:
Bullet Magnet MM300 Shields Company

PRA4/9 Rotary Cleaner Alvan Blanche
Eureka Scourer S. Howes
SHD10A Tempering Mixer Satake
Corporation
Tempering Bins
UMS Short Mill system
Westfalia Three-phase separator
Capital cost
2,000
72,000
180,000
108,000
240,000
486,000
500,000
1,588,000
18
Chapter 3 : Hydrolysis (William Treharne)

3.1 - Wheat Starch Hydrolysis
3.1.1 - Introduction
To produce ethanol from wheat, fermentable sugars must be produced from the
starch present in the feedstock. This is achieved by hydrolysis of starch and this
chapter will look at the possible methods which could be used and how to
implement them.
Wheat starch is composed of two components, amylose and amylopectin, both of
which are polymer chains of D-glucose. The proportions of these components are
approximately 23.4-27.6% amylose and 72.4-76.6% amylopectin10, the exact
proportions depending on the variety of wheat being used.
Fig3.1 Chemical structure of starch11
10
11
Handbook of Cereal Science and Technology Karen Kulp Marcel Dekker, 2000 p388
http://employees.csbsju.edu/hjakubowski/classes/ch112/carbohydrates/starchglyco.gif
19
Chapter 03 W. Treharne
Starch is converted to simple sugars by breaking the glycosidic bonds that hold the
glucose links of starch chains together. There are two different types of bond as
shown in figure 3.1 (1,4-- and 1,6--D-glycosidic links).
3.1.2 - Possible Hydrolysis Methods
Acid Hydrolysis
Acidic hydrolysis uses strong acids, such as hydrochloric acid, which hydrolyse
amylose and amylopectin in starch gels into dextrins and finally mixtures of
oligosaccharides and other simple sugars. Acid hydrolysis requires the use of
corrosion resistant materials in the effected parts of the plant which will raise the
plant construction and maintenance costs. The use of acids may also result in
unwanted by-products which will have to be removed at a later stage12. This will
result in a lower glucose yield than is potentially possible and the solution
produced will have to be neutralised so as not to affect the fermentation process.
Enzymatic Hydrolysis
An alternative to chemical methods is to use enzymes to hydrolyse the glycosidic
links in the starch chains. These processes generally operate nearer to neutral pH
levels than acid hydrolysis and at lower temperatures so they require less heating.
The plant costs are also lower as there is a smaller requirement for corrosion
resistant materials. The use of enzymes will be considered in the remainder of this
chapter, as very high glucose yields are possible which will improve the overall
starch to ethanol conversion. There are also many commercially available enzyme
preparations produced specifically for use in the production of fuel ethanol from
starch.
Dextrose Equivalent
The effectiveness of a hydrolysis process in producing sugars can be quantified by
the products dextrose equivalent which is defined as:
DE =
Number of glycosidic bonds cleaved

100
Initial number of glycosidic bonds present
(eq3.1)13
The dextrose equivalent therefore gives the percentage completion of hydrolysis as

starch has a DE of 0 and pure glucose has a DE of 100.
3.1.3 - Enzymes Suited to Starch Hydrolysis
Amylases
-amylases can cleave the 1,4--D-glycosidic bonds present in amylose and
amylopectin, and will bypass but cannot hydrolyse the 1,6--D-glycosidic branch
points. Commercially available -amylases are produced from the bio-organisms
Bacillus amyloliquefaciens and B. licheniformis. The enzymes from B. licheniformis
remain active in the presence of starch at temperatures up to 110C14.
12
13
14
http://www.novozymes.com/cgi-bin/bvisapi.dll/biotimes/one_article.jsp?id=34551&lang=en
http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/biology/enztech/starch.html
20
The maximum dextrose equivalent that can be obtained from bacterial -amylases
is around 4015. These enzymes are therefore not suitable for the complete
saccharification of starch but will be used in initial processing which is needed to
reduce the viscosity of the gelatinised starch in order to ease subsequent
processing. Hydrolysing the starch to a DE of 8-12 will reduce its viscosity
sufficiently.
Glucoamylase is an enzyme which can hydrolyse both 1,4-- and 1,6--D-glycosidic
bonds however the breakdown of 1,6-- bonds is much slower (approximately 50
times slower16). Glucoamylase produced from Aspergillus niger has an optimum pH
of 4.0-4.5 and optimum temperature of 60C17. It is a suitable enzyme for the main
starch saccharification process but the overall process could be sped up by using
this enzyme with a suitable de-branching enzyme, which will also improve the
overall glucose yield.
De-branching Enzymes
The glucose yield from hydrolysis can be improved by using a de-branching enzyme
which can break down the starch 1,6--D-glycosidic branch points. Without such an
enzyme there would be significant amounts of branched oligosaccharides remaining
at the end of the process. Pullulanase from Bacillus acidopullulyticus is a debranching enzyme which can be used under the same conditions as glucoamylase
from Aspergillus niger (60C and pH 4.0-4.5) making it particularly well suited for
use in a saccharification process. An advantage of using pullulanase is that less
glucoamylase is needed in the process and higher substrate concentrations may be
treated18.
Enzyme Activity Unit
The activity of enzymes is quantified using the activity unit (U). This is defined as
the amount of enzyme that will catalyse the transformation of one micromole of
substrate per minute under standard conditions. Standard conditions are the
optimum reaction temperature, pH, and concentrations for a given enzyme.
However, these conditions vary from one supplier to the next.
15
17
http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/biology/enztech/glucose.html
18
16
21
3.1.4 - Enzymatic Hydrolysis Processes

Process Overview
Starch Granules
35% starch in cold water
pH 6.5
40ppm Ca2+
Gelatinisation
Liquefaction
Starch Slurry
-amylase, 1500 U kg-1
Jet Cooking
105C
5 Minutes
Gelatinised Starch (<1 DE)
95C
2 Hours
Liquefied Starch (11 DE)
0.3% D-glucose
2.0% Maltose (G2)
97.7% Oligosaccharides (G3-5)
pH 4.5
Glucoamylase, 150 U kg-1
Saccharification
Pullulanase, 100 U kg-1
60C
72 Hours
Glucose Syrup (99 DE)
97.0% D-glucose
1.5% Maltose
0.5% Isomaltose
1.0% Other Oligosaccharides
Fig3.2. Complete enzymatic hydrolysis pathway with optimum operating
conditions19
Gelatinisation
The starch must first be made into a solution of suitable concentration for the
enzymes to act upon. The starch is slurried with cold water at 35% (w/w) and pH
6.5. Calcium is added at 40ppm Ca2+ which is used to stabilise the enzyme and
increase its activity. The bacterial -amylase is added via a metering pump at high
activities (1500U/kg) giving a required enzyme dose of 0.5kg per tonne of starch20.
The mixture is pumped through a jet cooker heating it to 105C where
gelatinisation begins to take place. Hydrolysis also begins as a result of the
significant shear forces and high enzymatic activity21. After the short jet cooking
19
21
20
22
period, the partially gelatinised starch is heated for a further 5 minutes at 100105C until the gelatinisation has completed.
Liquefaction
The gelatinised starch is highly viscous and so it is necessary to hydrolyse it
sufficiently to ease subsequent processing. It is transferred to holding tanks where
it is kept at 90-100C for 1 to 2 hours until it reaches a dextrose equivalent of 8-12.
The temperature and pH of the substrate must then be adjusted to the optimum
conditions for the enzymes used in the saccharification process.
Saccharification
After the starch has been liquefied, it is transferred to a vessel where the final
hydrolysis takes place. Glucoamylase and pullulanase are added to the liquefied
mixture and it is maintained at 60C for 72 hours.
100
90
Glucose Yield (%)
80
70
60
50 U/kg
150 U/kg
300 U/kg
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
24
48
72
96
120
Reaction Time (hrs)
Fig3.3 The effect of glucoamylase enzyme activity on glucose yield

Increasing enzyme activity (by adding more enzyme to the substrate) increases the
amount of glucose produced in a given time but also increases the production cost.
Increasing the reaction time also gives a greater yield but plant costs would
increase, as more reaction vessels would be needed. In both cases the relative
improvement in yield is not great enough to justify the increase in cost and so a
glucoamylase activity of 150U/kg will be used with a reaction time of 72 hours.
Typical enzyme doses are 0.65-0.80 litres of enzyme preparation per tonne of
starch22. The yield of glucose will be further improved by using both pullulanase
22
23
and glucoamylase enzymes. The whole dose of both enzymes will be added to
vessel at the commencement of filling to give the most economical enzyme use23.
The resulting glucose syrup has a DE of 99 and contains approximately 97% glucose
with small amounts of other simple sugars. Once the required DE has been reached,
the saccharification process must be stopped by heating the vessel contents to
85C for 5 minutes otherwise the yield of glucose will begin to decrease24. This is
due to the formation of isomaltose on further incubation as the accumulated
glucose re-polymerises (see figure 3.4).
200 U kg-1 Aspergillus niger
glucoamylase
-- 400 U kg-1 A. niger glucoamylase
200 U kg-1 A. niger glucoamylase plus
200 U kg-1 Bacillus acidopullulyticus
pullulanase.
Fig3.4 The % glucose formed from 30% (w/w) 12 DE maltodextrin, at 60C and pH
4.3, using various enzyme solutions25
3.2 - Gelatinisation of Starch
3.2.1 - Starch Requirement
Before the plant required for the hydrolysis processes can be designed, the
required mass flow rate of starch must be found. The complete hydrolysis of starch
to glucose is given by:
(C6H10O5)n
Starch
nH2O
Water
nC6H12O6
Glucose
(eq3.2)
Using the enzymatic hydrolysis process described in figure 3.2 it will be assumed
that 97% of the glucose units that make up the starch are converted to glucose.
The relative molecular mass of C6H12O6 is 180 and for C6H10O5 is 162. Therefore, the
amount of glucose produced per tonne of starch is:
0.97 180 / 162 = 1.078 kg glucose / kg starch
23
24
25
(eq3.3)
24
For the plant to produce the required ethanol output, the fermentation process
requires approximately 53000 kg/hr of glucose. The starch requirement of the
hydrolysis process is therefore 49165 kg/hr.
3.2.2 - Jet Cooking
The starch is mixed with cold water at a flow rate of 76800 kg/hr to produce a
starch slurry. This is then pumped into a jet cooker where the slurry is heated by
direct contact with saturated steam at a pressure of 1.20 bar. A steam flow rate of
4.03 kg/s is needed to heat the slurry to 105C and the addition of the steam
results in a final mixture concentration of 35% (w/w) starch with a flow rate of 109
m/hr.
Linear Actuator
Steam Supply
Cold Slurry Supply
Valve Stem
Needle Pin
Heated Slurry Output
Valve Head
Multiple Orifice Nozzle Plate
Fig3.5 Jet Cooker

For the jet cooker shown in figure 3.5, the steam is forced through an array of
nozzles to produce several small equal pressure jets which mix with the starch
slurry26. The size of the jets and the steam flow rate is controlled by adjusting the
valve head position using a linear actuator.
3.2.3 - Gelatinisation
After temperature of the starch has been raised, it must be sustained for 5 minutes
until the slurry has gelatinised. This is achieved by passing the mixture though a
long tube maintained at 105C using saturated steam at 1.2 bar passed over the
outer surface. A pipe with an inner diameter of 0.50m will be used which requires
a total length of 52.4m to give a 5 minute residence time at the necessary flow
rate.
26
http://www.process-heating.com/CDA/Archives/be226053d9268010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____
25

Steam Inlet
0.50m
Heating Tube
Slurry Inlet
3.00m
Slurry Outlet
Condensate Outlet
5.00m
Fig3.6 Starch slurry gelatinisation heater
3.3 - Liquefaction of Starch Slurry
3.3.1 - Vessel Size
The liquefaction process takes 2 hours to complete at 95C and so a continuous
flow arrangement is not suitable and a batch reaction vessel will be used instead.
Two vessels will be used so that one can fill from the gelatinisation stage while the
other is undergoing reaction. This is necessary, as the size of vessel needed would
take far too long to fill at the rate of output from the gelatinisation stage. It would
also have to be stopped when the single vessel had been completely filled.
Each vessel must have a capacity of 283.9 m. This calculated volume allows for
the time it will take to pump out the contents of the tank at the end of the process
at a rate of 1000 m/hr. The overall time from the completion of filling the tank to
the beginning of the next filling is 2.3 hours.
For a cylindrical vessel with its height equal to its diameter, the required volume
gives a diameter of 7.15 m.
3.3.2 - Heat Transfer in Agitated Vessels
In order to determine the heating requirement of the vessel the heat transfer
coefficients for heat transfer from the heating coils to the liquid and from the
liquid to the vessel walls must be known. The coefficients will depend on the type
of impeller used to stir the vessel contents.
26
Comparing different impeller types (see appendix 3), a propeller gives the greatest
heat transfer coefficients but is only suitable for small vessels due to its weight. Of
the other types, the flat blade turbine will give the greatest heat transfer from
heating coils and so this design will be used. The impeller will be driven by a small
electric motor of a few kW power, mounted on the top of the vessel.
Starch has a density of 1530 kg/m and a specific heat capacity of approximately
1.25 kJ/kg27. It will be assumed that the properties of the starch slurry throughout
the various processes are weighted averages of the initial mixture component
properties. This gives a slurry density of 1138 kg/m and a specific heat capacity of
3.037 kJ/kg. The dynamic viscosity of the glucose solution produced at the end of
the hydrolysis process is known to be 4.404 Pa s and so this value will be assumed
throughout the process28. The thermal conductivity of the solution is unknown and
so will be assumed the same as for water which makes up the majority of the
slurry.
For an impeller rotational speed of 0.1 revs/s using a flat blade turbine with six
blades, the heat transfer coefficients are 497.9 W/m/K for the substrate to the
vessel wall and 21.0 W/m/K for the heating coils to the substrate.
3.3.3 - Heat Loss through Vessel Walls
The reaction temperature of the vessel is above ambient temperature and so there
will be heat lost through the walls of the vessel. This will have to be balanced by a
heating system. To reduce the heating requirement, the vessels will be lagged with
an insulating material.
Material
Air
Polyurethane foam
Cork board
Expanded polystyrene foam
Fibre-glass wool
Thermal Conductivity (W/m/K)

0.0241
0.0245
0.0389
0.0403
0.0418
Table 3.1 Thermal conductivities for a range of insulation materials29

Table 3.1 shows that air would make a very good vessel insulator. However, this
would require the vessel to have an outer skin separated from the inner skin by a
small distance to trap the air. A more suitable insulator, commonly used in
industrial applications with a very similar thermal conductivity is polyurethane
foam. This material is lightweight, resistant to water penetration, has a high
strength the weight ratio, and can be applied to the outer surface of the vessel30.
27
Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 70th Edition CRC Press, 1989

Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 70th Edition CRC Press, 1989 p D-233
29
http://www.glacierbay.com/Heatprop.asp
30
http://www.basf.com/urethanechemicals/spray/applications-html/application-hot-warmtank.htm
28
27
For a vessel made of stainless steel with a wall thickness of 20 mm, a surrounding
temperature of 0C and a cross wind speed of 3 m/s, the vessel heat loss is over
170kW with no lagging.
180
160
140
Heat Loss (W)
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Lagging Thickness (mm)
Fig3.7 Vessel heat loss for increasing polyurethane foam lagging thickness
Figure 3.7 shows that the rate of heat loss through the walls of the vessel
decreases considerably with even small amounts of lagging. The greater the
thickness, the lower the heat loss but the higher the vessel construction costs.
Beyond a lagging thickness of 50 mm, the rate of heat loss does not decrease as
significantly as it did initially with increasing thickness, and by this point the heat
loss has fallen to 10.6 kW so a thickness of 50 mm will be used.
3.3.4 - Vessel Heating Coil
In order to keep the vessel at constant temperature for the duration of the
reaction, heat lost through the walls of the vessel needs to be balanced by heat
supplied by a heating coil. This coil will make use of the steam produced by the
plant for other processes. It is saturated at 4 bar, has a temperature of 143.63C
and a specific enthalpy of vaporisation of 2132.9 kJ/kg.
Assuming the steam enters the heating coil as saturated vapour and leaves as
saturated liquid at a saturation pressure of 4 bar, a heat input of 10.6 kW requires
a steam mass flow rate of only 4.97 g/s.
The pipe inner surface heat transfer resistance will be neglected as the heat
transfer coefficient for condensing steam is large and therefore will have little
28
effect on the overall heat transfer (Typical values are 6000-17000 W/m/K)31. The
temperature difference across the pipe wall is assumed constant along its length. A
fouling factor of 0.5 will be used to account for the reduction in heat transfer from
deposits on the pipe surfaces. The pipe diameter must be chosen to give a suitable
length for the required area so the pipe can be coiled around the impeller to
distribute heat evenly.
For a vessel reaction temperature of 95C with a heating requirement of 10.6 kW,
the required pipe inner surface area for an inner diameter of 150 mm is 21.0 m.
This gives a required pipe length of 44.6 m. The impeller diameter is 2.40 m and so
a heating coil diameter of 3 m will allow sufficient clearance with 4 complete coil
turns around the impeller.
By varying the flow rate of steam, the vessel can be maintained at the required
temperature, compensating for heat given out or consumed by the reaction. The
coil could also be used for cooling if cold water were passed through it instead of
steam.
31
Chemical Engineering Volume 1 - J.M. Coulson, J.F. Richardson Butterworth Heinemann, 1996
p444
29

7.15
3.00m
2.40m
60
150m
20mm
Impeller
Heating Coil
50mm
Lagging
1.00m
50mm
Impeller
7.15m
Heating Coil
Lagging
150mm
480mm
2.40m
2.40m
3.00m
Fig3.8 Liquefaction vessel dimensions

30
3.4 - Cooling and Heat Exchanger Design

Between the starch liquefaction and saccharification stages, the substrate must be
cooled from 95C to 60C in order for the enzymes in the saccharification stage to
operate most effectively. The cooling must be rapid to prevent insoluble
aggregates of amylose forming32. This will be achieved by passing the substrate
through a heat exchanger as it is pumped out of the liquefaction vessel and into an
intermediate storage tank. The most commonly used type of heat exchanger in
process industries is the shell and tube type which will be considered in this
section.
3.4.1 - Required Heat Transfer and Flow Arrangement
Cooling the liquefied starch slurry from 95C to 60C at a volume flow rate of
1000m/hr results in a required heat transfer rate of 33.6 MW.
The cooling water inlet temperature will be assumed as 20C with a designed
outlet temperature of 40C. This will give a good balance between the required
tube length which will be reduced by a lower outlet temperature, and the required
water mass flow rate which will be reduced by a higher outlet temperature. These
two temperatures stipulate a cooling water mass flow rate of 402kg/s
The cooling water will be passed through the tube side of the heat exchanger as
the liquefied starch has a higher viscosity. Therefore, the heat transfer from the
starch will be improved by the changes in direction and velocity on the shell side.
This encourages turbulent flows which, to some extent, overcome the effects of
the viscous sub-layer on reducing heat transfer resulting in a more compact
design33. A drawback of this arrangement is that the shell side is not in clean
operation and is harder to clean than the tube side for a single tube side pass.
There will also be a larger pressure drop across the shell than for water. A U-tube
design will be used to give two tube side passes and one shell side pass. This
arrangement results in a shorter design for a given number and diameter of tubes
than for a single tube side pass. The tubes are only fixed at one end of the shell
which allows for the differential thermal expansion between the tubes and the
shell. Most significantly, the shell can also be completely removed from the tube
bundle allowing the tubes to be mechanically cleaned. This improves heat transfer
after a build up of deposits on the tube outer surfaces and overcomes the problem
of the shell side being in non-clean operation.
A fouling factor of 10% has been included to account for reduced heat transfer due
to the build up of grime on the surfaces of the tubes and a square pitch tube
arrangement has been chosen, as this will aid the shell side cleaning.
32
33
Process Heat Transfer G.F. Hewitt, G.L. Shires, T.R. Bott CRC Press, 1994 p267
31
3.4.2 - Design Constraints

It has been shown that it is desirable to minimise the baffle spacing and the tube
pitch to tube diameter ratio (see appendix 4). However, the Tubular Exchanger
Manufacturers Association suggests certain minimum dimensions along with other
recommended parameter limits. These recommendations have been used to give
the following constraints:
1. The baffle spacing will be fixed at 0.2 times the shell diameter
2. The tube pitch will be fixed at 1.25 times the tube diameter
3. The tube outer diameter should not be less than 20 mm
4. The tube flow velocity should not be less than 1 or 2 m/s for water
3.4.3 - Design Selection
By comparing the data for different designs with fixed numbers of tubes (100, 200,
300 and 400, see appendix 4), it is possible to select the most appropriate design
which meets all of the design requirements and will minimise construction costs. In
each case, the shell diameter was varied keeping the number of tubes constant and
maximising the tube diameters. For large shell diameters, the tube flow velocity
became less than the required 2 m/s. For small shell diameters, the tube diameters
became smaller than the required 20 mm.
Using 100 tubes, varying the shell diameter resulted in either very long and thin
designs or low tube velocity flow rates making 100 tubes an unsuitable number. A
significant part of the overall construction cost will be the labour required to drill
holes in the baffles to support the tubes. Designs using 400 tubes gave the smallest
tube length requirement but a large number of holes to be drilled in the baffles
making them unsuitable. Designs using 200 tubes gave a small number of holes to
be drilled but large tube lengths. 300 tubes gives a good balance between these
two factors and the design meeting all the constraints and requiring the smallest
number of holes to be drilled was chosen.
32
3.4.4 - Design Specification

Hot Stream Inlet Temperature (C)
Hot Stream Outlet Temperature (C)
Hot Stream Mass Flow Rate (kg/s)
Required Heat Transfer (MW)
95
60
316.10
33.6
Cold Stream Inlet Temperature (C)

Cold Stream Outlet Temperature (C)
Cold Stream Mass Flow Rate (kg/s)
20
40
401.86
Effective Temperature Difference (K)
44.50
Shell Diameter (m)

Tube Inner Diameter (m)
Tube Outer Diameter (m)
Tube Pitch (m)
Tube Clearance (m)
Number Of Tubes
Baffle Spacing (m)
1.100
0.030
0.032
0.040
0.008
300
0.220
Fouling Factor
Average Tube Length Required (m)
Number of Baffles
Number of Holes To Be Drilled
1.1
10.170
23
11102
33
34
3.5 - Saccharification
The design of the saccharification vessels is very similar to that for the liquefaction
vessels which is discussed in section 3.3. The same design equations have been
used for both cases.
3.5.1 - Vessel Size
The saccharification process takes 72 hours to complete at 60C and so a
continuous flow arrangement is not suitable and a batch reaction vessel will be
used instead.
Allowing 2 hours for the filling and emptying of the vessels between batches, a
total saccharification vessel capacity of 9135 m is required to give the desired
final ethanol output rate. This volume is too large for a single vessel and would
require equally large intermediate storage tanks to store the final product to feed
the continuous fermentation process and to store the liquefied starch to supply the
saccharification process. The number of vessels to be used must be chosen so as to
minimise the size of these storage tanks without requiring an uneconomical number
of saccharification vessels.
10 vessels will be used, each with a volume of 913.5 m. For a cylindrical vessel
with its height equal to its diameter, the required volume gives a diameter of 10.55
m. To fill the vessel in one hour, the liquefied starch must be pumped into the tank
at a minimum rate of 923 m/hr. The interval between vessels emptying into the
intermediate storage tank will be 7.4 hours.
3.5.2 - Heat Transfer in Agitated Vessels
Using the same process as in section 3.3.2, for a flat blade turbine with a rotational
speed of 0.1 revs/s, the heat transfer coefficients are 567 W/m/K for the vessel
wall and 24.8 W/m/K for the heating coils.
3.5.3 - Heat Loss through Vessel Walls
For a vessel made of stainless steel with a wall thickness of 20 mm, a surrounding
temperature of 0C and a cross wind speed of 3 m/s, the vessel heat loss is over
219 kW with no lagging. As with the liquefaction vessel, 50 mm of polyurethane
foam insulation will be used which reduces the heat loss to 14.8 kW.
3.5.4 - Vessel Heating
Heating Coil
Assuming the steam enters the heating coil as saturated vapour and leaves as
saturated liquid at a saturation pressure of 4 bar, a heat input of 14.8 kW requires
a steam mass flow rate of only 6.92 g/s.
35
For a vessel reaction temperature of 60C with a heating requirement of 14.8 kW,
the required pipe inner surface area for an inner diameter of 100 mm is 14.8 m.
This gives a required pipe length of 47.1 m. The impeller diameter is 3.5 m and so
a heating coil diameter of 4 m will allow sufficient clearance with 3 complete coil
turns around the impeller.
Process Termination
At the end of the saccharification process, the enzymes need to be denatured to
stop the glucoamylase repolymerising the glucose into isomaltose. This will be
achieved by adding saturated steam in direct contact with the substrate as it is
pumped out of the vessel. To heat the glucose solution to 85C from 60C while
removing it from the vessel at a rate of 923m/hr, using saturated steam at 4 bar
will require a steam mass flow rate of 12.52 kg/s.
36

10.55m
4.00m
3.50m
60
100mm
20mm
Impelle
Heating Coil
50mm
Lagging
1.50m
50mm
Impeller
10.55m
Heating Coil
Lagging
175m
700mm
3.50m
3.50m
4.00m
Fig3.10 Saccharification vessel dimensions

37
3.6 - Intermediate Storage

The liquefaction and saccharification processes are both batch processes and take
different amounts of time to complete. As a result of this, a storage tank is needed
after the liquefaction vessels to store the liquefied starch used in the
saccharification process. The liquefaction vessels empty every 2.3 hours and a
saccharification vessel will be ready for filling every 7.4 hours so the intermediate
storage tank must hold 4 batches from the liquefaction vessels. The volume
required is 1147m giving a cylindrical vessel diameter and height of 11.4m.
A second storage tank is needed to store the glucose syrup produced that will feed
the continuous fermentation process. This is only required to hold a single batch
from the saccharification process but will be made the same size as the first
storage vessel to provide a buffer for the fermenter in case of problems.
Both tanks will be lagged with polyurethane foam to reduce their heat loss.
3.7 - Economics
The following table gives estimated costs for the main plant items needed for the
hydrolysis process.
Item
Jet Cooker
Gelatiniser
Unit Cost
Quantity
108992.00
21525.17
Subtotal
1
1
108,992.00
21,525.17
74085.31
7801.45
5808.38
2
2
2
148,170.63
15,602.90
11,616.76
Saccharification Vessel
Impeller
Tank Heater
158420.71
7801.45
5011.15
10
10
10
1,584,207.12
78,014.51
50,111.51
Intermediate Storage tanks
183647.30
367,294.61
Heat Exchanger
108992.54
108,992.54
2,494,527.75
Liquefaction Vessel
Impeller
Tank Heater
Total
The cost estimates are based on
http://www.matche.com/EquipCost/.
item
sizes
and
information
from
38
Chapter 4 : Fermentation (Michael Braisher)

4.1 - Fermentation overview
Fermentation has been exploited for millennia to produce wine and is one of the
oldest technologies known to man. By definition, fermentation is the anaerobic
metabolic breakdown of a nutrient molecule without net oxidisation34. In the
context of ethanol production, the nutrient molecule is glucose and the breakdown
is achieved using a micro organism. Almost all ethanol production is still based on
using so-called Bakers Yeast or more technically Saccharomyces Cerevisiae,
which has developed a reputation as the industrial workhorse. This type of yeast
requires simple (monomeric) C6 sugars. However, as there is a spectrum of sugars
within the feedstock, it is important that the feedstock undergoes hydrolysis,
enabling us to ferment as much of the sugar content as possible. Having explained
the use of Bakers yeast, it is worth noting that some bacteria can ferment complex
sugars directly, thus omitting the need for hydrolysis.
This is known as
Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation or SSF for short. However it is
advantageous to keep these two processes separate, allowing more control over
the amount of sugars in the fermenter. Microbes that perform SSF also have a low
ethanol tolerance35.
Fermentation of a simple sugar to ethanol using
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae can be represented by the following equation:
C6H12O6 + 0.188NH3 0.59CH1.737N0.2O0.451 + 0.432C3H8O3 + 1.54CO2 + 1.3C2H5OH +
0.36 H2O
G0 = -167.9MJ/Kmol
36
where CH1.737N0.2O0.451 is the chemical compound for yeast (this is empirical).

Although the accuracy should be viewed with some caution, it does provide a useful
insight when considering the stoichiometry of fermentation. This stoichiometry has
been observed through experiments. It has been reported that around 23% of the
glucose is used to produce biomass and as a source of energy whilst the remaining
77% is utilised for ethanol production37.
34
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermentation
Handbook on Bio-ethanol: Production and Utilization (Applied Energy Technology S.) 1996
36
P338 Coulson and Richardson's Chemical Engineering: Chemical and Biochemical Reactors and Process Control v. 3 1994
37
P338 Coulson and Richardson's Chemical Engineering: Chemical and Biochemical Reactors and Process Control v. 3 1994
35
39
Chapter 04 M. Braisher
Fig4.1 S Cerevisiae (large bulbs)38

There are several different types of reactors but only two of the more popular
classes (Batch and Continuous Stir Tank Reactor) are discussed below.
Although the reaction stoichiometry has been obtained, it is impossible to deduce
anything about how long fermentation lasts or the growth of the yeast. In order to
introduce time dependence, it is important to understand the theory of growth
kinetics which enables modelling of the yeast growth. This is still not quite the
complete picture as knowledge of how the ethanol forms with relation to the yeast
growth is also required. This last piece of information is discussed in the following
section (4.2) whilst the growth kinetics shall be largely discussed in the later
sections on batch and Continuous reactors.
4.2 - Ethanol production by S. Cerevisiae
Depending on the coupling of product formation (i.e. ethanol) with microbial
growth, the product can be classified into three distinct groups:
I. Growth associated: the creation of products occurs simultaneously to
microbial growth and is therefore directly proportional to the mass of cells.
The constant of proportionality being a yield coefficient.
II. Partially growth associated: the creation of products takes place during slow
growth and stationary phase.
III. Non-growth associated: the product production takes place during the
stationary phase and the rate of production is constant.
Ethanol production is growth associated.
It therefore becomes apparent that it is necessary to understand how the yeast
grows. There exists a whole host of kinetics modelling growth of microbes:
38
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_cerevisiae
40
however the most commonly used kinetics are those derived by Monod, a French
biologist. These kinetics shall therefore be the basis of analysis in the subsequent
text.
The two main reactor types as mentioned above shall now be discussed along with
the relevant analysis based on the aforementioned Monod growth kinetics.
4.3 - Batch reactor
A batch reactor is a closed system. The tank is initially filled with substrate,
innoculated with microbes and then left until after a certain time the required
concentration of product has been obtained. It is important to understand yeast
growth within a batch reactor and there are four distinct phases of growth as
shown in figure 4.2 below.
Fig4.2 batch reactor growth phases39
The lag region. As the cells in the container use up their food (the sugars),
they stop multiplying and their enzyme activity decreases and the cells
change character. When introduced to a new environment, a lag time is
observed as the cells remanufacture chemicals needed for growth and
reproduction.
Growth and stationary phases. In a uniform environment cells grow
exponentially, but in a batch system the composition of the substrate
changes so the growth rate changes. The eventual drop in cell growth is
governed either by depletion of food (substrate limiting) or the build up of
toxic materials (product poisoning).
It is possible to model the growth and stationary phases using the aforementioned
Monod kinetics.
39
Based on a similar diagram in a lecture given by Dr Das on 15/11/05
41
Yield coefficients
Before beginning the analysis of growth kinetics, it is important to introduce the
concept of yield coefficients. A yield coefficient simply states the amount of mass
of one substance given the mass of another substance. It is therefore a ratio of
masses. For example, say to make 500 grams of bread requires 300 grams of flour;
the yield coefficient of bread to flour is 500/300 = 1.67. It is given the symbol
Ybread/flour and the subscript denotes the substances bread and flour.
Analysis and nomenclature
Although it is customary to place nomenclature at the end, it provides a neat way
of explaining all of the following terms so is of more benefit to the reader before
the following analysis. The table below summarises all the terms:
Term
X
S
So
Y
m
Ks
P
F
V
D
Explanation
Concentration of yeast cells
Substrate (sugar) concentration
Initial substrate (sugar) concentration
Yield coefficient
Specific growth rate
Monod constant
Product (ethanol) concentration
Feed flow rate
Volume
Dilution rate
The substrate-limiting version of Monod Kinetics is given by:

(dx/dt) = mSx/(Ks + S)40
Performing a mass balance on the substrate yields:
S = S0 (x x0)/Yx/s
Rearranging and performing the relevant integrals yields41:
{Yx/sKs/(Yx/sS0 + x0)}ln[x/(Yx/sS0 + x0 x)] {Yx/sKs/(Yx/sS0 + x0)}ln[x0/(Yx/sS0)] +
ln[x/x0] = mt
S0 and x0 are the initial substrate and cell concentrations respectively.
As ethanol production is growth associated, ethanol concentration is given by
P = Yp/xx
40
41
Coulson and Richardson's Chemical Engineering: Chemical and Biochemical Reactors and Process Control v. 3 1994
See appendix 5 for detailed analysis
42
The relevant kinetic parameters for the strain of yeast S. Cerevisiae are found to
be42:
m = 0.357 h-1
Ks = 0.0714gl-1
Using Microsofts Excel to solve for this, it is possible to obtain:
Ethanol
140
120
ethanol concentration (g/l)
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
10
12
14
16
18
time (hours)
Fig4.3 ethanol concentration vs time for batch reactor without poisoning

4.4 - Product poisoning
This simple model so far does not allow for product poisoning. As far as the growth
kinetics are concerned, the yeast will continue to produce ethanol as long as there
is enough substrate for it to do so. This is not the case.
In reality, the yeast is poisoned by the ethanol and growth slows. It is therefore
important to try to model this phenomenon as it may well have a large effect on
fermentation time. One way of modelling this is to assume a linear relationship
between m and where is the actual specific growth rate of the yeast:
42
Bioautomation, 2004, vol. 1, pp. 1-15: Functional state modelling of Saccharomyces Cerevisiae cultivations;
www.clbme.bas.bg/bioautomation/1_1.1.pdf
43
Fig4.4 model for product poisoning

The required constant for this strain of yeast is given by43:
Cm = 78 Kg/m3
This figure corresponds to around 10% ethanol concentration by volume which is
around what is expected. After all, the ethanol concentration of wine is around
10% by volume typically.
4.5 - Batch reaction with product poisoning
Having introduced briefly the concept of product poisoning, batch reaction kinetics
can be revisited and remodelled to better predict fermentation time. Allowing
to vary according to the linear profile as highlighted above, it can be written:
= m(1 C/Cm)
With this function, the spreadsheet can be modified and the following curves
obtained:
Microbial growth
14
12
microbe concentration
10
0
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
time (hours)
Fig4.5 microbe concentration vs time for batch reactor with poisoning

43
Recovery of Ethanol from fermentation broth by pervaporation: Economical evaluation. Hand out by Dr. Das 07/02/2006
44

Substrate concentration
160
140
substrate concentration (g/l)
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
time (hours)
Fig4.6 substrate concentration vs time for batch reactor with poisoning

Ethanol
60
ethanol concentration (g/l)
50
40
30
20
10
0
0
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
time (hours)
Fig4.7 ethanol concentration vs time for batch reactor with poisoning

It can be clearly seen that introducing only a simple linear relationship has a strong
effect on fermentation time. There is a whole host of functions that could be used
to model poisoning such as parabolic or some more exotic curves, however the
linear relationship yields good results giving a good approximation for growth.
4.6 - Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) with product poisoning
In a microbial CSTR, often referred to as a chemostat, the culture can be
maintained in a steady state of growth indefinitely.
45
Analysis
A mass balance for cells yields:
Fx0 Fx + Vx = Vdx/dt
Where x0 is inlet cell concentration and F is feed flow rate. In this equation, the
loss of cells through death is being ignored because growth rate death rate.
So for a sterile feed, x0 = 0 and at steady state, dx/dt = 0 so the above equation
reduces to:
= F/V = D where D is known as dilution rate and is the reciprocal of residence
time. Residence time is an average time that the substrate spends residing in the
tank.
Monod kinetics can again be introduced to give
= D = mS/(Ks + S)
Giving:
S = KsD/(m D)
The steady state cell concentration to be written as:
x = Yx/s(S0 S) = Yx/s{S0 - KsD/(m D)}
There is however an upper limit for the feed flow rate for operation. The dilution
rate at which cells can no longer grow is known as the wash-out dilution rate Dwo.
The cell productivity of a CSTR is given by the product xD. The plot below shows x,
S, xD as a function of D.
Fig4.8 productivity, microbe concentration and substrate concentration vs D44
44
Taken from lecture notes entitled: introduction to bio-processing by professor Z F Cui.
46
There is clearly an optimum D giving the highest productivity which can be found to
be:
Doptimum = m{1 - [Ks/(S0 + Ks)]}
However, as discussed under the section on batch reactors, product poisoning can
be modelled using the linear profile:
= m(1- C/C0)
In the design above, instead of using m, given by the above relationship is used.
This is best highlighted using an example. So if say, an ethanol concentration of 5%
by volume is required (40g/litre) then m = 0.1739 h-1. This new figure can now be
used in the above analysis for a CSTR (the CSTR operates at steady state so this
figure of new m remains constant). It is possible to introduce a spreadsheet,
created from the above analysis, to calculate the initial substrate and reactor
volume requirements for differing ethanol concentrations. The following curves
can be obtained from the spreadsheet where ethanol concentration is in g/l.
tank size
8000
7000
6000
tank size m^3
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
ethanol concentration
Fig4.9 tank size vs ethanol concentration

The above graph shows how the required reactor size varies with ethanol
concentration (in grams/litre). On first glance this plot seems unexpected but
thinking about the two extremes confirms this result. At 70g/litre, m becomes
very small so in the limit as CCm it becomes zero. This would therefore require
Dopt = 0 and as D = F/V, an infinite volume. At the other end of the scale, as C0,
we would require an infinite flow rate of product stream to obtain 22000 litres per
hour ethanol. But as D = F/V is finite, V must also be infinite. There is clearly an
optimum with respect to tank volume at an ethanol concentration of 40g/litre.
47

initial substrate concentration
250
substrate concentration required
200
150
100
50
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Fig4.10 required substrate concentration vs ethanol concentration

Above is a graph showing the required substrate concentration to obtain various
concentrations of ethanol. This is a minimum value. For example, choosing an
ethanol concentration of 40g/litre, it can clearly be seen that a feed concentration
of 125g/litre is required. Any less and the desired ethanol concentration would not
be obtained whilst any more and either the ethanol concentration would be higher
than desired or the substrate would not be utilised for ethanol production.
As the tank is perfectly mixed, the composition of the product stream is identical
to the composition of the tank. So if there were zero substrate in the product
stream, (a desired state as this indicates that all the substrate has been used for
ethanol production) then there would be zero substrate in the tank. This cannot
be so as there would be zero growth and therefore zero ethanol production. The
substrate concentration in the tank can be calculated from the theory and the
graph below shows how the percentage substrate remaining in the product stream
varies with ethanol concentration. This is defined as the ratio of substrate
concentration in the tank S (and therefore the product stream) to the initial
substrate concentration S0.
48

% substrate remaining
5
4.5
4
% substrate remaining
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Fig4.11 - % substrate remaining vs ethanol concentration

4.7 - Sterilisation
To ensure that no unwanted microbes enter the fermenter which may result in
undesired spoiling of the feed or production of unwanted products, it is necessary
to sterilise the feed entering the fermenter. As discussed in the hydrolysis section,
in order to denature the enzymes used in hydrolysis, a temperature of 85oC is
required45. However some sources suggest that to fully sterilise, a temperature of
121oC or higher should be achieved. The higher the temperature, the lower the
holding time required. For example, it is recommended for medical equipment
that a temperature of 134oC is used for 3 minutes or alternatively, the lower
temperature of 126oC is used and held for 10 minutes46.
Post sterilisation cooling
It is important to cool the feed stream after sterilisation so that it enters the
fermenter at the optimum temperature (see section 4.8). Shell and tube heat
exchangers are the most commonly used in industry due to their relatively easy
construction and therefore a design has been based on this well documented
exchanger. For the design method, see appendix 6. Again a spreadsheet was
created and various parameters altered until a satisfactory design was achieved.
See appendix 7 for design layout. A summary of the specification required is given
in figure 4.12 below.
45
46
www.lsbu.ac.uk/enztech/glucose.html
www.mhra.gov.uk
49
This design was based on a sterilisation temperature of 85oC. If a higher

temperature is to be achieved, either a larger heat exchanger is required or a
second heat exchanger should be placed in series.
Heat exchanger summary table
Overall length (m)
10
Shell diameter (m)
0.72
No. of tubes
350
Length of tubes (m)
16
Tube diameter (inches)
1
Heat transfer surface area (m2)
223
No. of baffles
8
Estimated cost ()
40,000
Fig4.12 heat exchanger specification
4.8 - Isothermal reactor
As the reaction is exothermic, it is important to provide some form of heat removal
in order to keep the yeast at its optimum temperature of 30oC47 i.e. an isothermal
reactor. To cool the fermenter, cooling tubes run vertically up and down in
vertical baffle type coils. The following text outlines the design procedure whilst
attention should be drawn to figure 4.13 (below) as a summary.
In the fermentation overview along with the stoichiometry, the Gibbs free energy
of the reaction was quoted as:
G0 = -167.9MJ/Kmol48
As the change in entropy for the reaction is small49, it is quite acceptable to
approximate the Gibbs free energy to the enthalpy of creation for the reaction as
the thermodynamic relation gives:
dG = dH TdS (where S is entropy)50
It is now possible to calculate the heat given out by the reaction (it is exothermic).
The following calculations are based on an ethanol throughput of 22000 litres per
hour.
From stoichiometry: Yp/s = 0.332
So as 22000 litres = 17358Kg, 17358/0.332 = 52248Kg of sugar per hour is required.
As the Molecular weight for C6H1206 is 180 amu we need 290.3kmol/hour of C6H1206
So the required cooling becomes 48735.8MJ/hour or 13.54MW
47
48
http://dbb.urmc.rochester.edu/labs/Sherman_f/yeast/4.html
49
50
Perfect differential (at constant T) of the relationship given in HLT p72
50
Having found the cooling requirement, the design needs to be finalised. The
analysis is largely similar to that for the design of the heat exchanger. The heat
transfer coefficient for the flow within the cooling tubes is evaluated in exactly the
same way; however another correlation for the heat transfer between the outer
tube wall and the fluid within the fermenter must be used. The correlation for
vertical baffle type coils is given by51:
hd/k = 0.09Re0.65Pr0.33
The overall heat transfer coefficient can now be calculated as in appendix 6.
Creating another spreadsheet, it is possible to alter the parameters until a design is
met which satisfies the criteria.
No. of tubes
600
Diameter of tubes (inches)
1
Length of tubes (m)
160
Cooling requirement (MW)
13.54
Cost
Included in fermenter cost (section 4.12)
Fig4.13 fermenter cooling coil specification
4.9 - Growth nutrients
In order to grow, the yeast needs nutrients, the two most important being a carbon
and a nitrogen source. The carbon source exists in the form of the glucose whilst
from observing the stoichiometric equation as above, it can be seen that one
suitable nitrogen source is ammonia. It is possible to use the stoichiometric
equation to deduce the rate at which ammonia must be supplied to the fermenter:
Yammonia/ethanol = 0.188(14+3)/1.3(24+6+16) = 0.0534
This is the yield coefficient for ammonia based on each kilogram of ethanol
produced. For an ethanol flow rate of 22000 litres per hour (17358 Kg per hour),
the flow rate of ammonia can be calculated as follows:
Ammonia flow rate = 17358x0.0534 = 927Kg/hour
The ammonia is best stored as a liquid before being bubbled up through the
fermenter.
51
Uhl and Gray: Mixing: Theory and Practice: v. 1 1966
51
4.10 - Other products

Using ammonia as a nitrogen source, it can be seen from stoichiometry that
glycerol is also produced (C3H8O3). Performing a similar calculation to that for the
required ammonia flow rate, the rate of glycerol production can also be deduced:
Yglycerol/ethanol = 0.0432(36+8+48)/1.3(24+6+16) = 0.6646
Glycerol production rate = 17358x0.6646 = 11536Kg/hour
Amongst the ethanol, glycerol and yeast being produced, water and CO2 will also
be present. The water has little effect on the concentration however the CO2
produced requires venting. CO2 is produced at a rate given by:
Mass flow rate of CO2 = Yco2/s x mass flow rate of glucose
= 19668 kg/hour
The remaining substrate, yeast and glycerol can be separated from the ethanolwater mix using a centrifuge. The remaining substrate can be recycled. Some
different types are given below:
Fig4.14 centrifuges52
A tubular bowl centrifuge (a), a continuous scroll centrifuge (b) and a Continuous
multi-chamber disc-stack centrifuge (c) are pictured above. For more detail on
centrifuges, regard Chapter 2
An absorption column can recover any ethanol vapour leaving the fermenter with
the CO2.
4.11 - Glucose concentration
As mentioned previously, the required glucose concentration to produce 40g/l
ethanol is 125g/l. This is somewhat lower than the 580g/l glucose concentration
leaving the hydrolysis stage, so water will be needed to reduce the concentration
down to desirable levels. At a concentration of 125g/l, the required substrate flow
52
http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/biology/enztech/centrifugation.html
52
rate is 116 litres per second to produce ethanol at a rate of 22,000 litres per hour.
As the flow rate from hydrolysis is 25 litres per second and steam is added during
sterilisation at 9.5 litres per second, then pure water must be added at a rate of
81.5 litres per second upstream of sterilisation.
4.12 - Fermenter Design
A CSTR is preferable to a batch reactor for several reasons53:
Large throughput
Easier online analysis
Simplicity and cost
Batch reactor would require inoculation with new microbes following each
batch
However, the analysis for a batch reactor has not been omitted, as a CSTR has to
be run as a batch reactor during start up.
From figure 4.9, it can be seen that the tank size of a CSTR is a minimum when the
ethanol concentration is 40g/l corresponding to a fermenter size of 2600 m3.
Although the required volume is 2600 m3, some allowance is needed in order to
take account of the volume displaced by cooling tubes. It is also wise to apply a
safety factor in design so the final volume will stand at 2700 m3. Modelling the
fermenter as a cylinder and a hemisphere, a further spreadsheet can be created to
allow various parameters to be altered and the relevant overall dimensions can be
found. From these dimensions, it is then feasible to calculate the surface area of
the fermenter. The heat loss can be found by following the general principles
outlined in appendix 6. The heat transfer coefficient between the vessel fluid and
the wall can be found from the relation54:
Nu = 0.023Re0.8Pr0.4
Where Reynolds number (Re) is given by55:
D2N/
Here D is the impeller diameter whilst N is the motor speed in revs per second.
For the heat transfer coefficient between the vessel wall and the air, the relevant
correlation can be found to be56:
Nu = 0.13(GrPr)1/3
53
L. D. Schmidt: The engineering of chemical reactions 2005

HLT pp 75
55
www.rpi.edu/dept/chem-eng/Biotech-Environ/AERATION/dimnum.htm
56
HLT pp75
54
53

heat loss
110000
108000
106000
heat loss (watts)
104000
102000
100000
98000
96000
94000
92000
90000
0
10
radius (m)
Fig4.15 heat loss vs fermenter radius
Fig4.16 overall height vs fermenter radius

Above are a two of graphs produced from the data within the spreadsheet. It can
clearly be seen that with respect to heat loss there exists a minimum at a radius of
around 6 metres (this also corresponds to a minimum in surface area). From the
second graph, it can be seen that the overall height of the vessel should stand at
26 metres. The heat loss with these dimensions is around 92,000 Watts but it
should also be noted that this heat loss is several orders of magnitude less than the
heat produced by the fermentation itself. Therefore this heat loss can be
neglected. Selecting the radius giving minimal heat loss has not been in vain as
54
these dimensions also correspond to minimum surface area. As the material cost of
building the fermenter will be proportional to the surface area, then this design
should also correspond to minimal cost. As it will be important to protect the
vessel during down time, which may occur in winter, the fermenter shall be lagged
so again, this minimum in surface area corresponds to a minimum in lagging costs.
Motor Power
As the tank is a CSTR, a stirrer is required to keep the fermenter contents mixed.
There are many types of impeller, all of which fall into two broad categoriespropellers and turbines. To find the required motor power to drive the impeller,
plots of dimensionless power number versus Reynolds number are used. Knowing
the diameter, fluid density and rotational speed, the motor power can be
evaluated. Two such curves are shown below, one for propeller power correlation,
the other for turbine power correlation.
Fig4.17 propeller power correlation57
57
55
Fig4.18 turbine power correlation58

For high Reynolds number, it can be seen that in both cases the power number is
constant. The power requirements for both a propeller and a turbine have been
calculated for a speed of 7 rpm:
Turbine: 135kW
Propeller: 32kW
This speed may seem somewhat low, however as the residence time in the
fermenter is high, the agitator need only be run at low speeds.
Stress analysis and material selection
Due to its relatively low cost, good structural properties and high availability, steel
is the material of choice for construction. However, steel is prone to corrosion
(rusting) and although only trace amounts of oxygen should be present in the
fermenter (a prerequisite for rust), some form of galvanising will be required.
Stainless steel has not been considered due to its high cost.
Carrying out a simple stress analysis59 on the vessel, the hoop stress can be found
to be a maximum of 245kPa. Analysing the fermenter as a thin walled pressure
vessel, the thickness required to just prevent yield is 6.2mm. Applying a safety
factor of 2, the thickness of the fermenter needs to be 12.4mm.
Further design points are considered below:
58
59
CO2 will vent from the top of the fermenter via a pump. This gas stream will
then pass through a water trap so as no oxygen can enter into the

See appendix 9 for analysis
56
fermenter. The carbon dioxide will then enter the atmosphere through a
stack.
The cooling tubes will be fed from an overhead water main and will be
drained into another.
Ammonia will be bubbled up through the base of the fermenter.
All tubes will be connected to the vessel via expansion joints.
Specification
Overall height (m)
Overall Diameter (m)
Material
Wall Thickness (mm)
Surface area (m2)
Maximum stress in shell (Mpa)
Number of cooling tubes
Length of cooling tubes (m)
Diameter of cooling tubes (inches)
Motor type
Volume (m3)
Fermenter cost (inc. agitator) ()
Impeller type and speed
Lagging type
Lagging cost ()
26
12
Mild steel (coated)
12.4
1093
120
600
160
1
Electric motor with power rating 32kW
2700
500,00060
Propeller of diameter 11m @ 7rpm
Rockwool blanket insulation 50mm
thick
24,253.67 @ 22.19 per square metre
Fig4.19 fermenter design specification
For schematic of fermenter, see appendix 8.

4.13 - Control
In order to minimise running costs of the plant, automation should be used
wherever possible. In particular, control can be applied to the fermenter to ensure
that temperature and liquid levels automatically remain at specified levels despite
potential disturbances.
The block diagram below illustrates a possible control loop for this system.
60
Based on estimates obtained from www.matche.com/equipcost
57
Fig4.20 a typical control loop

When controlling temperature G(S) will represent the fermenters response to a
voltage input to the cooling water ring main servo valve. The demand will be fixed
at 30oC and the output will be the fermenter temperature. C(S) is a controller
which must contain an integrator if there is to be zero steady state error in the
output (i.e. output = demand) and possibly even be a PID controller so that it has
the correct dynamic response and the system is stable.
In steady state operation, the cooling must equal the 13.54MW produced by the
fermentation. If there is a disturbance on the fermenters feed line (for example,
a failure with the heat exchanger so that the feed comes in at a higher
temperature) then the system must be able to reject it to some extent. A
judicious choice of controller will perform this task by increasing the voltage to the
cooling water ring main servo valve, thereby increasing the flow rate and thus
removing the increase in heat.
A similar system could be used to control the liquid level in the tank where the
flow rates in and out will be controlled via servo valves on the feed and product
pipes.
4.14 - Summary
The strain of yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae has been selected due to its
relatively high ethanol tolerance.
Fermentation will occur in a continuous process using a CSTR of volume
2700m3.
The ethanol concentration leaving the fermenter will be 5% by volume.
The feed requires heating to 85oC using steam before being cooled in a shell
and tube heat exchanger to 30oC for the fermenter.
The fermenter requires cooling to remove heat produced during
fermentation.
58
Chapter 5 : Distillation (James Winterburn)

5.1 - Background and Design Specification
The purpose of the distillation section of the separation process is to effect the
bulk of the binary ethanol-water mixture separation and increase the concentration
of ethanol in the distillate stream (tops product) to 90% by mass. It is critical to
reach this alcohol concentration via distillation to ensure the final 99.8% ethanol by
mass concentration can be reached in the exit stream of the final pervaperation
module, ensuring a within specification product is obtained.
This separation cannot be achieved solely with standard distillation due to the
existence of a minimum boiling azeotrope, 95.5% ethanol by mass with a boiling
point of 78.15C61 in the vapour-liquid equilibrium characteristic of an ethanolwater mixture (Appendix 1 contains physical property and vapour liquid equilibrium
data). One option for the separation is to use a benzene entrainer to form a
ternary azeotrope allowing the ethanol-water mixture to be separated. However
added complications including potential benzene contamination of the ethanol
product and the questionable sustainability of the use of benzene that is
carcinogenic and highly flammable, presenting a risk to the environment, plant
operators and residents local to the facility. A suitable alternative is to distil the
ethanol-water mixture to a point close to the azeotrope and then use
pervaperation to complete the dehydration. This method allows for a simpler
column design and avoids the use of chemicals such as benzene.
Fig 5.1 shows the specifications that the column design will adhere to. Flow rates
were determined from the required ethanol concentration and the design operating
point of 17 te/hr of ethanol at 99.8% by mass. Section 5.4 and appendix 10 detail
the full mass (and heat) balance.
Percentage of
Ethanol by Mass
Stream Flow (te/hr)

Feed
113.1
15
Distillate
18.85
90
Bottoms
94.25
~0
Fig 5.1 Column Design Specifications
5.2 - Design Procedure

To begin the design process hand calculations were conducted to find the operating
limits of the column, minimum number of plates and minimum reflux. Once this
information had been obtained it was used to carry out a preliminary heat and
61
Data from Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill
59
Chapter 05 J. Winterburn
mass balance for the column at a sensible operating point. The initial exploratory
calculations are critical to the design of the column as they give bounds in which
the final column design must lie and can be used as a reality check during
subsequent stages of the design process. Finally all of this information can be used
create a computational model of the distillation using the flowsheeting programme
Aspen and as a source of sensible values to specify within the model.
5.3 - Preliminary Calculations
Choosing the correct amount of reflux for a column requires a balance between
two primary factors, the purity of the tops product and the operating costs of
running with a high reflux ratio. To obtain the desired purity in the tops product
adequate reflux is required to allow rectification to take place in the rectifying
section of the column (top portion above feed plate). Decreasing reflux increases
the number of plates required to achieve the same separation. The minimum reflux
ratio is obtained from the case of a column with an infinite number of plates.
The balance between reflux ratio and number of plates becomes an economic
concern, where a trade off has to be reached between the higher capital cost of
the manufacture and installation of a larger column (more plates, lower reflux
ratio), versus higher operating costs due to increased reboiler and condenser heat
loads, and therefore increased steam and cooling water requirements, for a smaller
column (fewer plates, increased reflux ratio). Figure 5.2 shows the variation of
capital investment (fixed costs) and operating costs (steam and cooling water
costs) with reflux ratio.
Fig 5.2- Annual Cost ($) vs. Reflux Ratio62

From figure 5.2 it is apparent that a reflux ratio too close to minimum reflux
results in a large capital outlay for a column with many plates. There is also an
62
From Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering, 6th edition, McGraw-Hill
60
optimum region over which capital costs remain approximately constant whilst
operating costs rise linearly with reflux ratio. A sensible design will lie within this
optimum zone.
Finding the minimum reflux ratio required for the separation allows for an actual
reflux value to be chosen on an economic basis and the extra costs incurred
compared to the datum set by minimum reflux. For an ethanol-water system the
minimum reflux is calculated from a graphical construction. The gradient of the
line that is tangential to the equilibrium curve between the mole fraction of
ethanol in the feed xf = 0.065 and the mole fraction of ethanol in the distillate
xd = 0.779 is proportional to the minimum reflux ratio Rmin, figure 5.3.
Rmin
= gradient
Rmin + 1
Fig 5.3-Equation used to calculate minimum reflux.

Fig 5.4 shows the graphical construction to find Rmin.
Fig 5.4
From the construction Rmin = 1.924
The minimum number of ideal plates (theoretical equilibrium stages) is found from
the case of a column operating with total reflux (infinite reflux ratio). A graphical
McCabe-Thiele construction is used to find the minimum number of plates Nmin, this
sets the limit of the shortest column that could theoretically be used for this
distillation (Theoretical as under total reflux no tops product is acquired). As with
Rmin, Nmin is a useful parameter for comparison later in the design process. Figure
5.5 shows the graphical construction used to find Nmin.
61
From the construction Nmin = 4
Fig 5.5
5.4 - Preliminary Heat and Mass Balance

For the initial heat and mass balance a reflux ratio of 2 R min 3.85 is arbitrarily
chosen on the basis that reflux ratios in the region 1.5-3 Rmin are commonly
encountered. Figure 5.6 shows the results of the heat and mass balance. See
appendix 10 (Heat balance assumes zero heat loss from column).
F (te/h)
xf
Feed flow rate
Mass fraction of
ethanol in feed
113.10
0.15
0.9
88
3.85
310
D (te/h)
B (te/h)
L (te/h)
V (te/h)
CpF
CpD
CpB
Distillate flow
rate
xd
xb
Mass fraction of Mass fraction of

ethanol in
ethanol in
distillate
bottoms
Bottoms flow
Reflux flow rate Vapour flow rate
rate
18.85
94.25
72.57
91.42
QC (kW)
QB (kW)
dTcooling (C)
Fs (te/h)
Condenser
heat load
Reboiler heat
load
25189
34272
Tf (C)
Temperature
of feed
Fw (te/h)
Condenser
Reflux Ratio cooling water
flow rate
Specific heat Specific heat Specific heat

capacity of
capacity of
capacity of
feed
distillate
bottoms
3.922
2.632
4.18
Condenser
Reboiler steam
cooling water
requirement
temp rise
saturated p=4 bar
70
58
Fig 5.6- Heat and Mass Balance
62
This heat and mass balance illustrates several key design points. Due to the
relatively low ethanol concentration in the feed stream the vapour and bottoms
flow rate are both very large and, consequently, there is a large steam demand
from the reboiler. There is also room for recovery of a significant quantity of
medium grade heat; the condenser requires 310 te/hr of water in order to remove
25189kW of heat to condense the tops product, if it is assumed that the condenser
is supplied with cold water at 20C then 310 te/hr of water will be available at
90C. This water will not be contaminated during the condensing process thus a
sensible use for this water would be as boiler feed, if the water was treated before
entering the condenser it could then be fed straight to the boiler. The use of
treated water in the condenser (shell side) will also help prolong periods between
planned maintenance operations due to reduced fouling (scale formation).
The heat available in the bottoms can be used to preheat the feed to saturation
temperature (assumption made in heat balance). It is better practise to use the
bottoms to preheat the feed than cooling water leaving the condenser as in
practise a temperature difference between the condenser cooling water entering
the heat exchanger and the feed leaving of 90-88=2C will not be a large enough
driving force for efficient heat exchange.
As the column design is refined heat loads and requirements will vary, being most
sensitive to reflux ratio, however these general points will still be applicable.
5.5 - Computational Modelling using Aspen

The Aspen labs flowsheeting programme, Aspen plus, allows for design parameters
to be optimised through use of the sensitivity or optimisation model analysis tools.
The aim of this column design is to maximise the fraction of ethanol in the
distillate stream whilst keeping the reboiler and condenser heat loads within
reasonable bounds. Using data collected from preliminary calculations a model of
the ethanol-water separation is created with the feed stream variables and the
total distillate flow specified as outlined previously in figure 5.1.
To find the number of ideal plates required to achieve xd = 0.9 a model was created
with a high reflux ratio of 10 and with 20 plates, a value 5 times grater than Nmin.
The high reflux ratio ensures that there is sufficient liquid flowing down the
rectifying section of the column to allow the vapour and liquid to be brought into
equilibrium on each plate meaning the number of plates required can be
determined from the simulation results. Figure 5.7 shows the stage (plate)-vapour
composition graph for a column with the feed entering on stage 8 and figure 5.8 for
a column with feed entering on stage 15. (Note the convention Aspen uses, stages
are numbered increasing down the column from the condenser to the reboiler.)
63
Fig 5.7- Variation of component mass fraction (vapour phase) with equilibrium
stage, feed introduced at stage 8.
Figure 5.7 shows that although the desired mass fraction of ethanol in the distillate
is being achieved no stripping is taking place in the lower part of the column from
stage 11-20. This suggests that 9 fewer equilibrium stages are needed. Designing a
column with stages over which no change in composition occurs serves no purpose
other than to increase the capital cost of the unit.
Fig 5.8 - Variation of component mass fraction (vapour phase) with equilibrium
stage, feed introduced at stage 15.
64
Figure 5.8 shows a similar situation to figure 5.7 except that the location of the
feed means that the section of redundant stages is split in two, 8 stages can be
removed from this column. From these results it is expected that a column with 11
equilibrium stages could achieve the separation with judicious choice of feed
location.
Using Aspens sensitivity model analysis tool, with the mass fraction of ethanol in
the distillate stream as the dependent variable to be maximised, different
permutations of column design were explored. This process of refinement took
several iterations due to the interdependence of the variables. Figure 5.9 shows
the final result for the optimum feed plate location (saturated liquid feed) found to
be stage 6 and figure 5.10 the final reflux ratio optimisation from which the
required reflux ratio was found to be 6. The heat and mass balance can be
calculated for this reflux ratio and is presented in section 5.8.
Fig 5.9 Mass fraction of ethanol in distillate vs. Feed location
65
Fig 5.10 Mass fraction of ethanol in distillate vs. Reflux ratio

Figure 5.11 (See below) shows the vapour composition at each stage of the
separation process. It can be seen that as required xd = 0.9 and composition change
occurs at every stage, meaning the chosen reflux ratio provides adequate liquid in
the rectifying section. This information is more easily understood when
represented on a McCabe-Thiele diagram.
Fig 5.11- Variation of component mass fraction (vapour phase) with equilibrium
stage, at design conditions.
66
5.6 - McCabe-Thiele Construction

The McCabe-Thiele construction for the design conditions found using Aspen can be
generated with the following equations for the operating lines. The McCabe-Thiele
construction graphically represents the distillation process, at this point the stage
efficiency will be taken as 100% (each stage is ideal, with the horizontal extensions
of the construction reaching the VLE curve) meaning the number of equilibrium
stages for this separation will be found. In reality the number of actual stages
required will be greater than this, see next section.
Rectifying line: y n +1 = 0.857 x n + 0.111
Feed line:
x = 0.06459 y
I.e. a vertical line passing through xF on the x-axis. This is expected for saturated
liquid feed (q=1).
Stripping Line: This operating line is found graphically as it passes through xB and
the intersection of the feed and rectifying lines. The next 3 figures detail the
McCabe-Thiele construction, Figures 5.13 and 5.14 are enlargements of the region
around x = 0 where the separation space is small.
Fig 5.12- McCabe-Thiele Construction showing operating lines as defined

previously and the line y=x.
67
Fig 5.13- McCabe-Thiele Construction showing magnified view of the rectifyingstripping line intersection
Fig 5.14- McCabe-Thiele Construction showing final steps down to xB~0

Comparison of Figures 5.11 and 5.12-14 shows agreement between Aspen results
and the hand calculation, that is the requirement of 11 equilibrium stages i.e. ten
plates plus the kettle reboiler. As can be seen the greatest change in composition
occurs over stages 4-8, this is expected as these stages coincide with where the
68
separation space (gap between VLE curve and operating line) is greatest, thus
allowing for the change.
5.7 - Column Internals

So far the column design has been considered in terms of ideal plates, for which
the vapour and liquid are brought into equilibrium (The murphree vapour efficiency
is 100%). Added complications such as plate type, plate spacing, downcomer
backup and plate pressure drop havent been considered. The correct plate type
must be found for the ethanol-water separation, the correct plate being chosen
primarily chosen to have a maximum Murphree vapour efficiency at design
operating conditions. The plate type chosen also effects column operating
characteristics, namely turndown, setting a region of flow rates over which the
column can operate. Too great a vapour flow rate in the column will cause liquid
entrainment and flooding on the plates, too low a vapour flow rate will allow
weeping to occur either case results in non-efficient operation.
The maximum vapour flowrate is defined as the vapour flowrate at which flooding
occurs and obtained from the following correlation:
U max = K v
( )
l v 0.2
20
v
Where is surface tension and Kv is correlation coefficient dependent on plate

type and spacing. Figure 5.15 shows Kv values for bubble cap and sieve plates.
Fig 5.15- Kv values for differing plate spacings 6-3663

The abissca flow parameter is calculated here as (see appendix 11):
FlV = 0.032
63
From Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook- 6th Edition McGraw-Hill
69
FlV is evaluated for flow conditions at the top of the column as this is where the
vapour velocity is a maximum and hence if the flooding point is just reached at this
stage the rest of the plates in the column should be operating just below flooding
limits.
Using the correlation for Umax and the Kv values read from figure 5.15 the maximum
vapour velocities can be found. The surface tension of a 90% ethanol 10% water
mixture is found using the method of Tamura, Kurata and Odani to be 17.63 mN/m
(appendix 12). Figure 5.16 shows the values of Umax obtained.
Plate
Spacing (m)
0.15
0.23
0.30
0.46
0.61
0.91
Kv
0.13
0.16
0.21
0.29
0.36
0.46
Umax (ft/s)
2.75
3.38
4.48
6.12
7.64
9.71
Umax (m/s)
0.84
1.03
1.36
1.87
2.33
2.96
Fig 5.16-Maximum allowable Vapour Velocities

The bubbling or contact area required can now be calculated from values of Umax:
V
D( R + 1) 22.64ms 1
Area =
=
=
U max
U max
U max
The actual column area is related to the bubbling area by the active area, the
amount of plate area that liquid-vapour contact occurs over i.e. the section of
plate that isnt occupied by downcomer, active area is taken as 0.85. The required
column diameter is easily computed from the column area. Figure 5.17 shows the
column diameters required for the range of vapour velocities shown in figure 5.16.
Also shown is another flow parameter Fg which is used to find the murphree vapour
efficiency.
Plate Spacing (m)
0.15
0.23
0.30
0.46
0.61
0.91
Bubble Area (m2)
26.84
21.81
16.46
12.03
9.64
7.59
Column Area
(m2)
31.58
25.66
19.37
14.16
11.34
8.92
Column Diameter
(m)
6.34
5.72
4.97
4.25
3.80
3.37
Fg
0.88
1.08
1.43
1.95
2.44
3.10
Fig 5.17- Column Diameter

As a result of the large amount of reflux needed to achieve the tops purity of
xD=0.9 a large column diameter is required to keep the vapour velocity from being
too high. When plate type and spacing are chosen the murphree vapour efficiency,
plate cost and also column diameter and hence column capital cost have to be
balanced.
The murphree vapour efficiencies of sieve, bubble cap and valve plates for a range
of Fg are given in fig 5.18.
70
Fig 5.18-Murphree Vapour Efficiencies for the ethanol-water separation64

Fig 5.18 shows that for the ethanol-water separation valve plates would be a bad
choice of column internals based on low efficiencies over a narrow operating range
(narrow range of Fg values). Taking the Fg values calculated in figure 5.16 it is
apparent that the best option is either sieve or bubble cap plates spaced 0.15, 0.23
or 0.30 m apart, larger spacings result in impractically low murphree vapour
efficiencies. Taking the column diameter into consideration a plate spacing of
0.30m gives a diameter of 4.97m, which is large (due to the high vapour flow as
previously mentioned) but more reasonable than the ~6m diameters for the
narrower plate spacings. This diameter of 4.97m and 0.30m plate spacing give Fg
=1.43 which sits just within a reasonable range of murphree vapour efficiencies. At
this value of Fg it is found from figure 5.17 that sieve plates have a murphree
vapour efficiency of 0.77 and bubble cap trays 0.75. The higher efficiency of sieve
plates coupled with the fact they are less capital intensive than bubble cap plates,
mainly due to a simpler manufacturing process than that for bubble cap trays,
make sieve plates the best choice for column internals for this ethanol-water
separation.
The number of actual stages required is now obtained with another McCabe-Thiele
construction taking into account the murphree vapour efficiency of 0.77. It is found
that 13 stages are required. Appendix 13 shows the McCabe-Thiele construction.
64
Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill
71
Using this information the column internals can now be specified and the height of
the column calculated.
Plate Type
Plate Spacing
(m)
Sieve
0.3
Murphree
Vapour
Efficiency (%)
77
Number of
Plates
13
Umax (ms-1)
1.29
Column
Height (m)
3.9
Column
Diameter (m)
5.1
A safety factor of 5% was used to reduce the maximum allowable vapour velocity to
ensure reliable operation of the column at design conditions, this also allows for
the column to be run at rates higher than 18.85 te/hr of distillate, important in
meeting production quotas in the event of unplanned plant downtime. The column
diameter found is large in comparison with column height, in practise it may be
preferable to run the distillation with two separate columns operating in parallel,
halving the maximum vapour velocity in each column. Economically this is
undesirable due to the greater capital cost of two columns as opposed to
fabrication and installation of one column. Operating costs would also be
increased, not least due to effects such as increased steam requirements due to
the heat loss from the large surface area of the two columns combined.
72
5.8 - Final Column Specification

The final heat and mass balance is shown below in figure 5.19. The calculation was
carried out following the same method and assumptions as for the preliminary heat
and mass balance presented in section 5.4.
F (te/h)
xf
Feed flow rate
Mass fraction of
ethanol in feed
113.10
0.15
0.9
88
445
D (te/h)
B (te/h)
L (te/h)
V (te/h)
CpF
CpD
CpB
Distillate flow
rate
xd
xb
Mass fraction of Mass fraction of

ethanol in
ethanol in
distillate
bottoms
Bottoms flow
Reflux flow rate Vapour flow rate
rate
18.85
94.25
113.10
131.95
QC (kW)
QB (kW)
dTcooling (C)
Fs (te/h)
Condenser
heat load
Reboiler heat
load
36356
45438
Tf (C)
Temperature
of feed
Fw (te/h)
Condenser
Reflux Ratio cooling water
flow rate
Specific heat Specific heat Specific heat

capacity of
capacity of
capacity of
feed
distillate
bottoms
3.922
2.632
4.18
Condenser
Reboiler steam
cooling water
requirement
temp rise
saturated p=4 bar
70
77
Fig- 5.19- Final Heat and Mass Balance

The high reflux ratio of 6 has lead to a high vapour flow rate of 131.95 te/hr at the
top of the column, the effect of this was seen in section 5.7, a large bubbling area
and hence a column with a diameter of 5.10m is required to ensure that efficient
separation occurs.
The heat loads calculate compare well with the figures obtained from the Aspen
simulation, confirming the accuracy of the heat balance.
Aspen resultsQC=36366 kW
QB=37803 kW
The ~7500 kW variation in the reboiler heat load is due to the assumption made in
the manual heat and mass balance that the bottoms product is pure water,
meaning a higher value of specific heat capacity is used than in the calculation
performed by Aspen, which accounted for the trace amount of ethanol in the
bottoms (0.016% ethanol by mass). The result of this is that in reality the steam
requirement of the reboiler will be reduced to 64 te/hr (saturated steam @ 4 bar),
73
this small difference in terms of the column mass balance is significant in terms of
energy consumption.
As stated in section 5.4 the bottoms stream can be used to preheat the feed stream
to its saturation temperature of 88C. This achieved with a counter-flow shell and
tube heat exchanger with the feed stream tube side and bottoms stream shell side.
The feed stream enters the exchanger at 20C and exits at 88C. Bottoms is cooled
from 100C to 23.5C (Appendix 14). The investment in this heat exchanger is
offset by the large amount of heat recovery achieved and the overall efficiency
improvement of the column as a whole.
Another questionable assumption made in the heat balance (both the hand
calculation and Aspen) is that there is no heat loss from the column i.e. it is
perfectly insulated. In reality there would be heat loss from the column, although
this can be minimised through proper insulation. The column itself and the reboiler
should be well insulated, the condenser should also be insulated as although this
increases the heat removal requirement the result is a net increase in heat
recovery from the process with associated improvements in efficiency.
The distillation column is a critical rate-limiting step in the overall ethanol process,
as the distillate flowrate directly determines the plant output. The biggest threat
to column operation is presented by failure of the feed or reflux pumps, without
either of these pumps the column cannot function. Due to the reliance of the
whole process on these pumps two of each type will be installed (one primary and
one backup), with control set to automatically bring the backup online in the event
of a pump failure. Having backup pumps also allows routine maintenance (pump
overhauls) to be carried out whilst production is running, minimising plant
downtime. Hence the increased capital investment for the extra pumps is offset
through gains in plant reliability.
Safe column operating procedures, especially for start up and shut down, must
exist to ensure personnel are at minimum risk and to provide reliable continuous
production. In the event of an emergency shut down the column may be left with a
water-ethanol vapour mixture inside. As the column cools and the vapour mixture
condenses a vacuum could form in the column, this is potentially dangerous as the
column is not a pressure vessel and hence the stresses developed in the column
walls by a vacuum could cause buckling and collapse. To prevent the occurrence of
this failure a vacuum release valve will be fitted to the column, this valve lifts
when a preset difference in pressure between atmospheric and internal column
pressure is detected. Another point to note is that in breaking the vacuum the
column should be filled with an inert, such as nitrogen, not air to reduce the
possibility of ignition of the flammable ethanol-water mixture present.
5.9 - Economics
In order for a complete economic analysis of the whole bio-ethanol plant to be
executed it is necessary to estimate the capital expenditure required to
manufacture and install the major plant items on site and also estimate the energy
74
consumption to establish operating costs. For the distillation part of the separation
process the capital-intensive items are the column (including reboiler and
condenser) and column internals, feed and reflux pumps and the heat exchanger
for feed preheating.
The capital required for these plant items is estimated below, 5% of the cost of
manufacture has been added for the cost of installation on site.
Column 1 off
250,000
Pumps 4 off @ 6500 = 35,000
Heat Exchanger
25,000
Installation
310,000
Total
325,500
The significant energy usage of the distillation process is the large quantity of
steam needed to heat liquid in the reboiler. Feed and reflux pumps will consume
electricity and the column control valves will require plant compressed air for
automatic actuators. Utility requirements are estimated below.
Steam
64 te/hr @ 4 bar and saturation temperature (from heat balance)
Electricity 200kW
75
Chapter 6 : Dehydration (Sanampreet Gill)

The final part of the production of ethanol is dehydration. The purpose for which
the plant is being built requires that the concentration of ethanol to water is in the
ratio of 99.8% to 0.02%, and this intense concentration of ethanol is not achievable
by simple distillation. Therefore, an extra section entitled dehydration is required
in the plant.
Dehydration is defined as, the removal of water from an object65. And in the
production of ethanol to be a supplement in petrol, it needs to be a pure alcohol,
which is defined as containing no more than 1% water66.
6.1 - Dehydration Methods

Research was conducted on various academic databases to reveal how dehydration
occurs. Results included settling, coalescence, absorbent filtration, centrifugation,
flash distillation, freeze drying and super critical drying. However, when an
industrial search was done, the search results were narrowed to the following.
1. Adding Benzene
2. Using glycerine
3. Pervaporation techniques.
These three methods were further researched into and a decision was then made
to see what would be most suitable for the plant being designed.
6.1.1 - Dehydration using Benzene67
This method obtains the absolute alcohol from a 95% ethanol water mix, using a
ternary azeotrope. That is, another distillation is done using a three-component
azeotrope. An azeotrope68 is a liquid mixture of two or more components, which
have a unique boiling point. As a consequence, the vapour has the same
composition, as the liquid and simple distillation will not separate the constituents
as it would with most liquid mixtures; to get a higher concentration it is necessary
to use azeotropic distillation.
To do this, two steps need to be completed to set up the distillation.
1. A mixture of 7.5% water (boiling point 100C), 18.5% ethanol (boiling point
78.3C) and 74% benzene (boiling point 80C) forms a tenary azeotrope
(boiling point 64.9C), which is a minimum boiling mixture.
2. Also formulate a benzene and ethanol binary azeotrope, which has a boiling
point 68.2C.
65
Wikipedia search for dehydration

Wikipedia search for pure alcohol
67
http://www.ucc.ie/ucc/depts/chem
68
Wikipedia search for azeotrope
66
76
Chapter 06 S.E. Gill
Therefore, when a mixture of 95% ethanol and benzene is distilled, the above
tenary azeotrope distils first, followed by the binary azeotrope, and the final
fraction (boiling point 78.3C) is absolute alcohol.
Distillation here will occur via a distillation column.
Distillation has the
69
definition , it is a chemical separations process involving vaporization and
condensation that is used to separate components of varying vapour pressures
(volatilities) in a liquid or gas stream.
Simple distillation involves a single stage operation in which heat is applied to a
liquid mixture in a still, causing a portion of the liquid to vaporize. These vapours
are subsequently cooled and condensed producing a liquid product called distillate
or overhead product. The distillate is enriched with the higher volatility
components. Conversely, the mixture remaining in the still is enriched with the less
volatile components. This mixture is called the bottoms product. Multiple staging is
utilized in most commercial distillation operations to obtain better separation of
organic components than is possible in a single evaporation and condensation
stage.
6.1.2 - Dehydration using Glycerine70
To adopt this method involves using the Mariller-Granger Processes. The summary
of the procedure is that alcoholic vapours pass through pure glycerine yield 99.2%
alcohol directly, and by adding potassium carbonate to the glycerine is sufficient to
obtain 99.8%. The glycerine and that salt that it holds in solution are regenerated
and returned to the circuit.
There are three possible methods by which dehydration by glycerine can occur, and
the method finally chosen depends on which is more appropriate to design brief
requirements.
6.1.2.1- Continuous Rectifier Case
Fig 6.1: Continuous rectifier apparatus

69
70
http://www.frtr.gov/matrix2/section4/4_54.html
E. Boullanger: Distillerie Agricole et Industrielle (Paris: Ballire, 1924)
77
By reading the literature, it can be determined exactly how the liquid travels
through the above apparatus. However some key points to note about this
dehydration method is that, with this method 96.5% alcohol is received. To obtain
alcohol at 99.8-100% with glycerine with dehydrating salts added, it is vital to
complete the total dehydration of the product, and operation, which can only be
accomplished under vacuum to avoid any degradation of the absorbent. This can
be interpreted as that if this method was chosen it would be difficult to get the
concentration of alcohol that is desired.
6.1.2.2: Continuous direct rectifier case
Fig 6.2: Continuous direct rectifier apparatus

This case is unique because it produces absolute alcohol with the smallest
expenditure of steam. To understand fully how the apparatus operates, the
literature can be read.
6.1.2.3: Adaptation of the Mariller-Granger process to a batch Rectifier
Fig 6.3: Apparatus for batch rectifier
78
This process happens over a twenty-four hour period, and cannot stand on its own,
because it only completes part of the dehydration. For further information on this
process the literature should be read.
6.1.3 - Dehydration using Pervaporation Techniques
A definition of the process is provided by Yeom et al., (1996) and Chang et al.,
(1998), pervaporation is a membrane process used for the separation of liquid
mixtures by means of partial vaporization across a permselective membrane. The
permeate is then obtained as a liquid by condensation. The driving force for
permeation is established by maintaining a difference in partial pressure of the
permeate across the membrane. This is accomplished in vacuum pervaporation by
lowering the total pressure on the downstream side of the membrane.
The separation process is mainly due to the polarity difference and not on the
volatility difference of the components in the feed. There are three different
types of pervaporation processes.
6.1.3.1: Batch Pervaporation71
Fig 6.4: Flow sheet for batch pervaporation

These systems are simple and flexible, but a buffer tank is required. They are
ideal for smaller throughputs. The liquid feed from a batch tank is pumped
through heat exchangers to recover the heat content from the product stream. It
is then passed continuously through the membrane separation modules. The
membrane modules are contained within vacuum chambers. The permeate is
condensed and the retenate is returned back to the tank. With every pass, the
retenate gradually becomes more and more concentrated. The process is then
repeated until the desired purification level is achieved. This procedure is not
suitable for the design brief because it has been decided to produce 17 000
tonnes/hr, which is not a small throughput.
71
Azeo-Sep Company Brouchure
79
6.1.3.2: Continuous Pervaporation7
Fig 6.5: Flow sheet for continuous pervaporation

This process consumes very little energy, operates best with low impurities in the
feed and is best for larger capacities. Continuous units are typically used in a
manufacturing environment where larger throughputs are required. Feed is
preheated and continuously passed through a series of membrane separation
modules, which are located in a vacuum chamber. Permeate from the modules is
then condensed. A vacuum pump removes the incondensable from the system. To
maintain a high removal efficiency of permeating components, the heat of
vaporization is provided by the inter-stage heaters.
6.1.3.3: Vapour phase permeation7
This process is preferred for direct feeds from distillation columns or for streams
with dissolved solids. However as there are no dissolved solids in the feed for this
plant, this method does not need to be considered any further.
6.2 - Method Selection

A number of methods have been considered by which dehydration can occur.
However a system had to be developed by which a decision could be made on
which method to choose. Considering the advantages and disadvantages of each
method did this.
80
6.2.1 - Dehydration with Benzene

Advantages
Disadvantages
This is a simple process

that relies on a tried
and tested method,
distillation.
Distillation has many limitations, and one of them is

that distillation is a conventional fluid mixture
separation technology that can separate
components with different volatilities and markedly
different boiling points. However, distillation is
extremely complicated when the concentration of
the separating components are similar in the liquid
and vapour phase, called the azeotropic point
distillation alone cannot perform any further
separation beyond the azeotropic point.
Research has shown benzene to be a carcinogen (cancer
causing). With exposures from less than five years to
more than thirty years, individuals have developed and
died from leukaemia. Long-term exposure may affect
bone marrow and blood production. Short-term
exposure to high levels of benzene can cause drowsiness,
dizziness, unconsciousness and death.72 (from the US
department of health)
Distillation units are comparatively tall and can cover
large areas. 73
Distillation has delivered the 90/10 mix, because that is
its limit, it will not work for more.
6.2.2 - Dehydration Using Glycerine

Advantages
This is a tried and tested dehydration
procedure in industry, which means that
it is a low risk set of equipment.
Disadvantages
Need to design lots of separate
components, that is there are lots of
boilers, coolers, distillation columns,
etc. Therefore this will take up more
plant space, and the more calculations
involved the more likely it is that
something will be miscalculated.
If the continuous direct rectifier case is

chosen, we can use the least amount of
steam, which gives the lowest cost.
The percentage of absolute alcohol
achieved at the end of the procedure is
99.8%.
72
73
US Department of Health Website

http://www.frtr.gov/matrix2/section4/4_54.html
81
6.2.3 - Dehydration using Pervaporation Techniques

Advantages
Disadvantages
Pervaporation is an energy efficient

combination of membrane permeating
and evaporation, it involves low
temperatures and pressures.
Commercial sales of pervaporation

systems are low because of the high cost
of reheating the permeate between
stages to sustain a meaningful flux and
because of the large membrane surface
area required.
With this method the product will not

be contaminated through the process.
The temperature reduction in the

pervaporation effect has two
disadvantages:
1. The partial vapour pressure of the
better permeable component is
not only reduced by its reduced
concentration in the retentate,
but also by the decrease in
temperature. For the retenate the
driving force is lower than the
feed.
2. The transmembrane flux decreases
with decreasing temperature.
Pervaporation is used in other stages of

the production of bio-ethanol.
A higher percentage of absolute alcohol
is obtained by this process, relative to
distillation or dehydration using
glycerine.
There are reduced capital costs by this
process relative to conventional
systems.
The modular membrane design means
that few components are involved in the
process and that if a particular part is
damaged, it can be easily replaced
6.2.4 - Conclusions
It can be noted from these advantages and disadvantages that the most suitable
method to use for dehydration for the purpose of this plant, is pervaporation. The
reasons for this can be summarised below.
By using the continuous pervaporation system, firstly the criteria of working with
large capacities of feed is fulfilled. Secondly, the system works best with low
impurities in the feed, since after distillation the feed will probably be only
ethanol and water since all the glucose and fructose will be removed. And thirdly,
the literature suggests that little energy is consumed with this method, which helps
the overall economics of the project.
82
6.3 - Pervaporation Design

Figure 6.5 can be simplified further so that it can be seen exactly what needs to be
designed.
PERVAPORATION
UNIT
Heat Exchanger
Condenser
Fig 6.6: Simplified pervaporation process

The first piece of equipment that can be designed is the pervaporation unit. A key
component to the units design is the selection of the membrane.
6.3.1 - Membrane selection
Membrane separation occurs because of differences in size, shape, chemical
properties or electrical charge of the substances to be separated.
The
performance of membrane separation is determined by the degree of separation of
fluid mixtures and permeation rate (flux). There are different types of membranes
that can be used, for example:
Synthetic membranes are thin, solid-phase barriers that allow preferential
passage of certain substances under the influence of a driving force.
Micro-porous membranes control separation by size, shape and charge
discrimination.
Non-porous membranes depend on sorption and diffusion.
Pervaporation membranes are usually composites. The first layer is a porous,
polymeric support coated with a second polymer, the active or permselective
layer, which is engineered to preferentially absorb the chemical species of
interest. The membranes separation characteristics can be further refined by
varying the thickness of the persmselectvity layer.
For the purpose of the pervaporation module in the bio-ethanol plant, water needs
to be removed, so hydrophilic membranes need to be used. These are of the
composite type, an example is given in figure 6.7.
Fig 6.7: Cross section of a composite Membrane74

74
Hartmut Bruschke (1995), Industrial application of membrane separation processes
83
In a composite membrane the different fractions, like separation and mechanical

stability, are attributed to different layers. Thus composite membranes can
combine very thin and highly selective separation layers with rigid, mechanically
and thermally stable backing layers.
A good hydrophilic to use for this procedure would be polyvinyl alcohol75.
Fig 6.8: PVA molecular structure

Its characteristics depends on its molecular weight or polymer chain length and its
degree of hydrolysis or alcohol group (OH) content.
High
Molecular Weight:
Solvent resistance
Tensile strength
Water resistance
Adhesive strength
Viscosity
Surface activity
Emulsifying / dispersing power
Low Molecular Weight:

Solubility
Hygroscopicity
Flexibility
High
Degree of hydrolysis:
Solvent resistance
Tensile strength
Water resistance
Adhesion to hydrophilic surfaces
Viscosity
Low Degree of Hydrolysis:

Solubility
Hygroscopcity
Flexibility
Bonding to hydrophobic surface
Surface activity
Emulsifying / dispersing power
From these above characteristics, it can be said that a form of poly-vinyl alcohol is
needed that has undergone a high degree of hydrolysis and that has a high
75
www.erkol.com/eng/characteristics.htm
84
molecular weight. However by doing commercial research, it has been found that
a number of people stock membranes called poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA), so for the
purpose of the project, this membrane just needs to be bought in the quantities
required, which is the next step of the design process.
6.3.2 - Pervaporation Unit design
Pervaporation is a process that is based on the separation principle. The
membranes are often made of polymers and they are used for this purpose for two
reasons, as suggested by G.H. Koops and C.A. Smolders.
Firstly, membranes separate a mixture because of a difference in size of the two
components. These membranes show only good selectivity for mixtures with
dissimilar steric factors. Components with large steric factors diffuse less quickly.
Secondly, membranes discriminate between components because of an interaction
between one of the separating components and the membrane taking place during
diffusion, such as seen with ion-exchange and hydrophilic membranes.
R.Y.M. Huang made the observation that the more permeable and selective the
membrane, the greater the production capacity of the device.
Pervaporation is summarised by R.Y.M. Huang as, vaporization of the permeate at
the downstream surface of the membrane causes localized cooling which induces a
temperature gradient within the thickness of the barrier.
Therefore, the
temperature of the flowing retenate also decreases as it proceeds along the
module and in the steady-state regime, a definite temperature-profile is
established between the two opposite ends of the pervaporator.
For the purposes of this project, continuous flow pervaporation will be considered.
And this can be shown by the following diagram.
P
Q0
co, To
Q + dQ
c, T
c + dc
z
dQ, dc < 0
z+
dz
Qt
ct, To - T
T > 0
Fig 6.9: Continuous Flow Pervaporation

There are certain characteristic values that a pervaporation module has that
separate it from other pervaporation modules, and these will need to be calculated
in the design procedure. They include:
85
Area of Membrane
Separation Factor
Permeation Rate
Operational Temperature
Operational Pressure
The first step in the design procedure was to do a mass balance of flow rates by
mass of the pervaporation module. In the dehydration section:
y = 1885.1 33.980
= 1851.102 kg/hr
x = 18, 851 kg/hr

Ethanol Flow rate =
0.9x = 0.9 x 18, 851
= 16, 965.9 kg/hr
Water Flow rate =
0.1x = 0.1 x 18, 851
= 1885.1 kg/hr
PERVAPORATION
UNIT
z = 17 000 kg/hr
Ethanol Flow rate =
0.9982z = 16, 965.9
kg/hr
Water Flow rate =
0.002z = 0.002 x 17
000
= 33.998 kg/hr
Let x = the flow rate into the pervaporation module

y = the flow of retenate water
z = the flow rate of liquid out of the pervaporation module
Fig 6.10: Mass balance of pervaporation module
The team decided that a second pervaporation module would also be included
between the fermentation part of the process and the distillation. The reason for
this is because the extra amount of removal of liquid, would greatly improve the
efficiency of the distillation process. A similar mass balance to the above was done
for this pervaporation module, so that the flow rates could be included on the
overall flow sheet of the process. However because of time constraints, it was
decided that this pervaporation module would not be designed to great lengths.
86

y = 4.18 x 106 1.25 x
106
= 2.93 x 106 kg/hr
PERVAPORATION
UNIT
x = 4.4 x 10 kg/hr
Ethanol Flow rate =
0.05x = 0.05 x 4.4 x 106
= 2.2 x 105 kg/hr
Water Flow rate =
0.95x = 0.95 x 4.4 x 106
= 4.18 x 106 kg/hr
z = 1.47 x 106 kg/hr

Ethanol Flow rate =
0.15z = 2.2 x 105 kg/hr
Water Flow rate =
0.85z = 0.85 x 1.47 x
106
= 1.25 x 106 kg/hr
Let x = the flow rate of liquid into the pervaporation module.

Let y = the flow rate of retenate water out of the pervaporation module.
Let z = the flow rate of liquid out of the pervaporation module.
Fig 6.11: mass balance of pervaporation unit between the fermentor section and
distillation section.
6.3.2.1: Area of Membrane
The first step to designing the pervaporation unit was to determine the area of the
membrane that needs to be used.
Ji
Qi
At
(eq 6.1)
where Ji = Flux of component i (moles/ hr m2)

Qi = Moles of component i permeated in time t
A = Effective membrane surface area (m2)
It is now necessary to go through the process of how each of these variables was
calculated.
Firstly to calculate the flux of component i, it was necessary to make use of some
graphs found in literature. These have been copied from the original text into fig
6.12.
Fig 6.12: Selectivity and permeability of the polyvinylalcohol based G.F.T.

membrane when it is used, at 90C, to dehydrate, by pervaporation, water-alcohol
mixtures.12
87
Considering the pervaporation module after the distillation section, the liquid in
the system has the following composition, 90% of it is ethanol and 10% of it is
water. Therefore, putting this on the graph in fig 6. 12,
Fig 6.13: Calculating the flux of water when it has a 10% concentration
Therefore it can be said that the flux of water is 1.4 kg/hr m2. It would be sensible
to introduce a safety factor here, instead of calling it a safety factor, it should be
called the actual conversion factor. Koops and Smolders suggested in their article
that a suitable conversion factor would be 98%. Therefore the flux of water J =
1.372 kg/hr m2. But to use this value in equation 6. , the value needs to be
converted to moles.
Flux of Water = Mass
Molar Mass
= 1.372
2 x 1 + 18
= 0.0686 mol/ hr m2
The next variable to calculate for equation 6.1, is Qi which is the mass flow rate
into the pervaporation module, but it needs to be in moles.
Qi = 1885.1
2(1) + 18
= 94.255 mol hr-1
Substituting these values into equation 6.1, will give the area of the membrane
needed.
Q
A= i
Jit
= 94.255
0.0686
= 1373. 979592
= 1375 m2
6.3.2.2: Separation Factor
The next characteristic value about a pervaporation module is its separation factor.
The separation factor is denoted by the Greek letter alpha, .
88

f
c water
Ethanol
=
=
p
c water
ethanol
0 .1
0.9 = 55.4
0 .2
99.8
6.3.2.3: Permeation rate

This has been calculated in section 6.3.2.1, and taking into account of a conversion
factor, it is found that the permeation rate is 1.372 kg/hr m2.
6.3.2.4: Operational Temperature
By reading the literature, it was found that the ideal temperature of liquid
entering the pervaporation module should be 90C. Since the liquid is coming from
the distillation section, it can be made to be at this temperature by first going
through a heat exchanger. This has been designed in section 6.4.
6.3.2.5: Operation Pressure
G.H. Koops and C.A. Smolders, when doing their research, released in a paper
entitled, pervaproation in biotechnology that for ideal pervaporation in the
conditions being considered, the pressure should be maintained between the range
10 100 mbar.
6.3.3 - Pervaporation Unit Design Modification
So far the basic characteristics of the module have been discussed, however it has
been seen that ideal pervaporation occurs at 90C, however pervaporation occurs
because energy from the ethanol is used to evaporate away the water. With the
energy being lost, the overall temperature of the liquid will decrease, which will
reduce the overall efficiency of the process. Therefore it is necessary that the
liquid needs to be reheated after some time of going through the pervaporation
module. A first design suggestion is given in figure 6.14.
Pervaporation
Module 1
90%
Pervaporation
Module 2
95%
95%
Pervaporation
Module 3
97%
97%
99.8%
Fig 6.14: Design suggestion for the dehydration process. There are three
pervaporation modules with two heat exchangers in between.
The next step of the design process is to work out the characteristics of each of the
above pervaporation modules, by adopting a similar approach as above. The
lengths of each module will now be specified.
89
6.3.3.1: Pervaporation Module 1

Mass balance for this module:
y = 1885.1 892.9421
= 992.1579 kg/hr
x = 18,851 kg/hr
Ethanol Flow rate =
0.9x = 0.9 x 18 851
= 16 965.9 kg/hr
Water Flow rate =
0.1x = 0.1 x 18 851
= 1885.1 kg/hr
PERVAPORATION
UNIT
z = 17858.8421 kg/hr
Ethanol Flow rate =
0.95z = 16965.9 kg/hr
Water Flow rate =
0.05z = 0.05 x
17585.8421
= 892.9421 kg/hr
Fig 6.15: Mass balance of first pervaporation module.

Permeation rate = Ji = 1.372 kg/hr m2 (assuming 98% conversion)
= 0.068 mol/hr m2
Flow rate of water into pervaporation module Qi/ t = 1885.1 kg/hr
= 94.255 mol/hr
Effective membrane area = A = 1375 m2
By considering the latent heat of vaporization of water, it can be determined the
temperature loss over this pervaporation module. To do this, the following
calculation procedure needs to be followed.
Heat required to evaporate water at 90C = mole weight of water x latent heat of
water
= 0.1 x 2283.2
= 230.89 kJ kg-1
Heat dissipated by ethanol = mole weight of ethanol x specific heat capacity x T
228320
0.9 x3400
= 74.6143
= 74.6C
T =
Therefore, the temperature drop across the pervaporation module is = 90 74.6

= 15.4C
Make a design decision on the length of the pervaporation module, choose 6m. By
applying Bernollis equation across the length of one membrane drop, it can be
seen that the pressure difference is minimal, and a perfect amount that an
ordinary pump can withstand. The pressure drop was calculated to be 0.155bar.
Length of each membrane = 6m
90
Diameter of each membrane tube = 0.1m

Surface area of one tube = 2rh
= 2 x x 0.05 x 5
= 1.57079
= 1.6m2
Number of Tubes = Total Area
SA of one tube
= 1375
1.6
= 875.352
875 tubes
To decide how these tubes of membrane will be arranged, the literature suggests
making an analogy with heat exchangers. In that, it will be said that the overall
unit will be rectangular in shape, as it will be easy to construct and it will be easier
to place the membrane tubes inside. The construction of such a unit will be given
to some alternative company, and the one that has been chosen is Kuhni, a Swiss
based company, as they are one of the only companies located globally that engage
in pervaporation module construction commercially. They have stated that the
membrane thickness should be 5mm. From this it can be calculated the total
diameter of the membrane tubes, which is 0.11m. Using the analogy with heat
exchangers, arrange the tubes in a square format, and the tube pitch, will not need
to be as much as in heat exchangers, since the fluids being used are very clean, so
having a triangular pitch is not necessary, as that often helps when cleaning is
needed. This means that the pitch distance is 1.1 times the tube diameter. Where
the pitch distance represents the distance between each of the tubes, as shown in
the figure below.
Arrows are equal in length and

represent the pitch distance.
Fig 6.16: Square pitch design

For this pervaporation module, the total number of tubes needed are 875. finding
the nearest square root, gives that there should be thirty tubes across and 29 tubes
height wise.
Therefore, with this piece of information we can work out the total length, width
wise and height wise.
Total width of pervaporation module = 30 x 0.11 + 31 x 0.001
= 3.3m
Total height of pervaporation module = 29 x 0.11 + 31 x 0.001
91

= 3.22m
The figure shows the overall design of the unit:
3.2m
29 tubes
3.3m
30 tubes
6.3.3.2: Pervaporation Module 2
y = 892.942- 524.718
= 368.2236 kg/hr
x = 17858.842 kg/hr
Ethanol Flow rate =
0.95x = 0.95 x 17858.84
= 16965.9 kg/hr
Water Flow rate =
0.05x = 0.05 x 17858.84
= 892.942 kg/hr
PERVAPORATION
UNIT
z = 17490.618 kg/hr
Ethanol Flow rate =
0.97z = 16965.9 kg/hr
Water Flow rate =
0.03z = 0.03 x
17490.618
= 524.7186 kg/hr
Fig 6.18 Mass balance of the second pervaporation module in the dehydration
section
Need to calculate the permeation rate from fig 6.12. The graph would now look
like since the concentration of water is now 5%.
From the graph it can be seen that the permeation rate is 0.58 kg/hr m2.
Permeation rate = J = 0.568 kg/hr m2 (assuming 98% conversion)
= 0.02842 mol/hr m2
Flow rate of water into pervaporation module = Qi/t = 892.942 kg/hr
= 44.6447 mol/hr
92
From equation 6.1, the effective area is

A = 1571 m2
The temperature drop over this pervaporation module will be:
water
= 0.05 x 2283.2
= 114.16 kJ kg-1
114160
T =
0.95 x3400
= 35.3437
= 35.3C
= 54.7C
Make a design decision that the length of the pervaporation module should be 5m.
By Bernoullis equation the pressure drop across a single tube of membrane will be
0.155 bar, which any ordinary pump can handle.
Length of membrane tube = 5m
Diameter of membrane tube = 0.1m
SA of one tube = 2rh
= 2 x x 0.05 x 5
= 1.57079
= 1.6m2
1571
1.57079
= 1000
Number of tubes =
For this pervaporation module, the total number of tubes needed is 1000. finding
the nearest square root, gives that there should be 31 tubes across and 33 tubes
height wise.
= 3.442 = 3.4m
= 3.7m
93
3.7m
33 tubes
5m
3.4m
31 tubes
6.3.3.3: Pervaporation module 3

y = 524.7186 33.999
= 490.7186 kg/hr
x = 17490.618 kg/hr
Ethanol Flow rate =
0.97x = 0.97 x 17490.61
= 16965.9 kg/hr
Water Flow rate =
0.03x = 0.03 x 17490.61
= 524.7186 kg/hr
PERVAPORATION
UNIT
z = 16999.899 kg/hr
Ethanol Flow rate =
0.998z = 16965.9
kg/hr
Water Flow rate =
0.002z = 0.002 x
16999.899
= 33.9998 kg/hr
Fig 6.20: Mass balance for third pervaporation module

To calculate the permeation rate need to use fig 6.12,
From the graph the permeation rate is 0.32 kg/hr m2.

Permeation rate = 0.3136 kg/hr m2 (assuming 98% conversion)
= 0.01568 mol/hr m2
Flow rate of water into the pervaporation module = 524.7186 kg/hr
= 26.2359 mol/hr
26.2359
Effective area of membrane =
0.01568
= 1675m2
The temperature drop over this pervaporation module will be:
94
water
= 0.03 x 2283.2
= 68.496 kJ kg-1
68496
T =
0.97 x3400
= 20.7689
= 20.8C
= 69.2C
Make a design decision that the length of the pervaporation module should be 5m.
By Bernoullis equation the pressure drop across a single tube of membrane will be
0.155 bar, which any ordinary pump can handle.
Length of membrane tube = 5m
Diameter of membrane tube = 0.1m
SA of one tube = 2rh
= 2 x x 0.05 x 5
= 1.57079
= 1.6m2
1675
1.57079
= 1066.3424
= 1065 tubes
For this pervaporation module, the total number of tubes needed is 1065. finding
the nearest square root, gives that there should be 33 tubes across and 32 tubes
height wise.
Number of tubes =
= 3.7m
= 3.6m
95
3.6m
32 tubes
5m
3.7m
33 tubes
Fig 6.21: Schematic drawing of pervaporation module 3
6.4 - Heat Exchanger design

The liquid entering needs to be at 90C so that the pervaporation happens
efficiently. To do this it must go through a heat exchanger. This is obvious from
figure 6.6.
PERVAPORATION
UNIT
Heat Exchanger
Condenser

To design the heat exchanger, use the standard method of designing from Coulson
and Richardsons Chemical Engineering Volume 6.
Certain preliminary values were needed to calculate all the heat exchanger
characteristics, these were:
Flow rate into the shell side of the heat exchanger = 18851 kg/hr
Feed inlet temperature = 25C
Feed outlet temperature = 90C
Steam inlet temperature = 126.09C
Steam outlet temperature = 105C
Heat transferred to feed = mcT
= 18851/3600 x 3.4 x (90 25)
= 1157 kW
Steam flow rate =
Q
cT
1157 x 103
(126.09 105) x 2.147
= 25.57 kg s-1
96
As a first estimate, assume that the overall heat transfer coefficient is 200W/m2
C.
With this value, the number of tubes can be determined, which is 280. As the shell
side fluid is relatively clean, use 1.25 triangular pitch.
Bundle diameter = 482 mm
Shell diameter = 540mm
Then by calculating the tube side coefficient and shell side coefficients it can be
seen that the original estimate for the overall heat transfer coefficient was
correct.
Therefore, summary of the heat exchanger characteristics are:
Flow rate into and out of shell side
18851 kg/hr
Flow rate into and out of tube side
25.57 kg/s
Heating steam inlet temperature
126.09C
Heating steam outlet temperature
105C
Inlet feed temperature
25C
Outlet feed temperature
90C
Heat Transfer Area
84.84m2
Overall heat transfer coefficient
263 W/m2 C
Number of tubes (triangular pitch)
280
Pipe outer diameter
20mm
Pipe internal diameter
16mm
Length
4.83m (allowing for tube spacing)
Shell Diameter
0.54 m
Shell and tubes made from Steel
One shell pass and two tube passes
0.54m
0.27m
4.83m
0.27m
5.4m
Fig 6.23: Schematic drawing of heat exchanger before pervaporation begins
97
6.5 - Condenser Design

The liquid leaving the pervaporation unit needs to be cooled down so that it can be
stored safely, and to do this a condenser is required.
PERVAPORATION
UNIT
Heat Exchanger
Condenser

A condenser is a type of heat exchanger, and to design it a standard method was
adopted from Coulson and Richardsons Chemical Engineering (Volume 6).
Out of the four kinds of condensers possible a shell and tube exchanger will be
designed that has a horizontal shell side and vertical tube-side.
Data needed for the designing of the condenser is:
Flow rate into condenser = 17, 000 kg/hr (of 99.8% C2H5OH and 0.02% H20)
Operation will be at atmospheric pressure
Inlet feed at 65C
Outlet feed at 25C
Cooling water inlet = 20C
Cooling water outlet = 40C
Heat transferred from ethanol = mcT
17000
x 3.4012 x (65-25)
=
3600
= 642.4488
= 642 kW (3sf)
Q
Cooling water flow =
cT
642.4488
=
4.18 x(40 20)
= 7.6847
= 7.68 kg/s
Assumed overall coefficient = 900 W/m2 C
R = (65 25)
(40 - 20)
=2
S = (40 20)
(65 20)
= 0.44
98
Make the design decision that it will be a horizontal exchanger, condensation will
occur in the shell and there are four tube passes. For two shell passes, there are
four tube passes. And the correction factor for this kind of exchanger is Ft = 0.83.
(65 40) (25 20)

(65 40)
ln
(25 20)
= 12.427C
Tm = Ft x Tlm
= 0.83 x 12.42669
= 10.3C
Tlm =
Trial Area = A =
Q
UTm
642.4488 x10 3
=
900 x10.31241
= 722m2
Make a design decision, pipes will have 20mm outer diameter, 16.8mm inner
diameter and be 4.88m long and are made of steel.
Surface area of one tube = 20 x 10-3 x x 4.88
= 0.305m2
Number of tubes = Total Area
SA of one tube
= 722.1075
0.305
=2368 tubes
This is an unrealistic number of tubes, pipe dimensions should be changed. After
changing these, and iterating through the above process till a sensible answer was
reached, meant that the final values of the tube part of the condenser came out to
be;
Have the pipe outer diameter as 50mm, and its thickness = 3.2mm
Number of tubes = 942
Using a square pitch = 1.25 x 50
= 62.5mm
Tube bundle diameter = 2330mm
Number of tubes in centre row = Bundle Diameter
Pitch distance
= 38 tubes
Now calculate the characteristic values for the Shell Side.
Shell Side Coefficient = 1500 W/m2 C
Mean temperatures:
Shell side = 65 + 25
2
99
= 45 C
Tube side = 40 + 20
2
= 30 C
Tube wall temperature, Tw
(45 Tw)1500 = (45 30)900
Tw = 36 C
By looking in HLT, we can get the physical properties of water at 36C, which will
be used to determine the vapour mean temperature. But by doing an iterative
process, it was calculated that the shell side coefficient is actually, 6017 W/m2 C,
which means that the tube wall temperature is now, 42.7C.
Tube side coefficient
Adopting a similar procedure as above, this coefficient takes the value 159 W/m2
C.
All these coefficients and making intelligent guesses for the appropriate fouling
factors, the overall heat transfer coefficient can be determined for the condenser.
These values give an overall heat transfer coefficient of 138 W/m2 C.
With this more accurate value of heat transfer coefficient, the transfer area can be
recalculated, which changes the overall number of tubes needed. The number of
tubes now needed are 813 tubes, and there are 35 tubes in the centre row.
After a different set of calculations the shells internal diameter can be calculated,
and this is 2286.8311mm.
Summary of condenser characteristic values
Flow rate into condenser
17000 kg/hr
Cooling water flow rate
7.68 kg/s
Inlet feed temperature
65C
Outlet feed temperature
25C
Cooling water inlet temperature
20C
Cooling water outlet temperature
40C
Overall heat transfer coefficient
138 W/m2 C
Number of tubes
813
Number of tubes in centre row
35
Pipe outer diameter
50mm
Pipe internal diameter
46.8mm
Pipe length
4.88m
Shell internal diameter
2286.83mm
Tubes are made from steel
Shell is made from steel
There are four tube passes and two
shell passes
100
The condenser can be drawn schematically:
2.3m
1.15m
4.88m
1.15m
7.18m
Fig 6.25: condenser design with measurements (square pitch)
6.6 - Costing
From Coulson and Richardsons Chemcial Engineering, a graph is provided where
the cost of heat exchangers and condensers can be estimated. The pervaporation
modules costs were estimated by considering the Kuhni company brouchures. To
combine the extra costs for installation on the plant, an extra 5% of the capital
cost has been incorporated. Also an extra factor of two was included due to the
price appreciation from since Coulson and Richardsons book was published.
Heat Exchanger before pervaporation module = 20,000
Heat Exchanger after first pervaporation module = 17,000
Heat Exchanger after second pervaporation module = 17,000
Condenser after pervaporation unit = 18,000
Pervaporation Module = 3 x 30,000
Total Capital Costs = 300,000
101
Chapter 7 : Steam Raising (Michael Wallace & James Winterburn)

7.1 - The Steam Cycle (MW)
Steam is required for heating and sterilisation purposes throughout the production
process. To produce this steam it is necessary to raise steam on site. This can be
achieved by using a Rankine Cycle (see fig7.1).
Fig7.1 Simplified Rankine Cycle Diagram

In order to maximise plant efficiency it was decided to use some steam to produce
on-site electricity also, therefore the steam must be superheated so that it can be
expanded through a backpressure turbogenerator. The saturated steam can then
be used in the production process, in which it will be condensed. The output of the
turbine needs to be set at the maximum steam temperature which is required for
the distillation column, so the saturated steam needs to be at 126.09c (2.4bar).
Steam is produced by heating very clean water in a boiler, it can then be
superheated to a temperature which is much higher than the boiling temperature.
102
Chapter 06 MW & JW
7.2 - Boiler Feedwater Treatment (JW)

For boilers operated at higher pressure and temperature than a typical small-scale
household boiler some form of feedwater treatment is needed before water is
introduced to the boiler. A successful water treatment programme will help to
ensure safe operation and longevity of a boiler.
Untreated or raw water contains the following containments:
Dissolved gases- CO2 and O2
Hardness (Alkaline/temporary and non-alkaline/permanent) - caused by the
presence of the mineral salts of Ca and Mg. These minerals form scale if
allowed to enter the boiler.
Other containments- Si, P
The block diagram in fig7.2 below shows the stages of a typical water treatment
plant to reduce water hardness to an acceptable level (below 4ppm as CaCO3).
Fig7.2 Water Treatment Block Diagram

7.2.1 - De-alkalization
The first step in the water treatment process is to remove Ca and Mg bicarbonates,
i.e. temporary hardness. This results in a decrease of the overall TDS. Temporary
hardness removal is achieved by forcing raw water through a weakly acidic cation
exchange resin; this resin contains H+ ions that are exchanged for Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions
that are trapped in the resin. After a certain volume of water has passed through
the unit it must be regenerated i.e. the H+ ions that have been displaced from the
resin bed replaced, this point can be detected from an increase in water
conductivity post-exchange. Regeneration is achieved by backflushing the unit with
hydrochloric acid HCl. Obviously while regeneration is taking place the unit will be
offline, for this reason two de-alkization units are used in parallel to allow
continuous operation.
103
Chapter 06 MW & JW
7.2.2 - De-gasing
This stage in the treatment process removes CO2 from the feedwater. This is
critical as if dissolved Carbon dioxide is left in feedwater it will form highly
corrosive carbonic acid that would damage the boiler.
7.2.3 - Base-Exchange
Next another form of cation exchange is used (see fig7.3), again with the use of
resin beds. Here total Ca and Mg hardness is replaced for Na hardness, this
exchanges one form of scale forming salts with different non-scale forming salts.
I.e. Mg2+ and Ca 2+ exchanged for Na+. Consequently TDS and pH are unaltered by
this process. These resin beds are regenerated on a volume flow basis, as this
process doesnt alter the total water hardness so no change in conductivity occurs.
Regeneration is achieved by backflushing with a ~10% brine solution. Again two or
more units are operated in parallel to ensure continuous operation. After base
exchange has taken place water is referred to as semi-treated.
Fig7.3 Base-Exchange Schematic76

([1]Raw Water [2]After De-alk [3]In de-gasser taken [4]After de-gassing [5]After
base exchange)
76
From http://www.spiraxsarco.com/learn/
104
Chapter 06 MW & JW
The table in fig7.4 below outlines the chemistry occurring and the variation in pH
throughout the processes described so far.
Fig7.4 Water treatment Chemistry77

7.2.4 - Deaeration
In this stage dissolved oxygen is removed from the feed water. This can be
achieved by several methods. Vacuum deaeration involves passing the semi treated
water through a counter-current flow stripping column using steam to heat the
water and strip dissolved oxygen (and other gases). The column would typically
contain sieve trays to distribute the water and provide the required interfacial area
for stripping. The fundamental principle of operation is that the partial pressure of
dissolved oxygen in the water is higher than in the partial pressure of oxygen in the
column so oxygen transfers out of the water (Henrys Law). De-oxygenated water
collects at the bottom of the column, where it is covered by a blanket of steam to
prevent oxygen dissolving back in. The vacuum is maintained in the column by
using a steam nozzle sized to give the required suction and non-condensables
removal. One disadvantage of this type of deaerator is its requirement for steam to
function, obviously this has to bypassed during start-up. Also the cost of steam
consumed has to be compared with the cost of deaerating solely with chemical
oxygen scavengers.
7.2.5 - Hotwell
This is an insulated vessel that stores treated feedwater, typically at around 80C,
before it is pumped into the boiler. Chemicals are dosed here to condition the
feedwater before it enters the boiler. Typically an anti-foaming agent, a polymer
to condition sludge formed in the boiler, an oxygen scavenger such as sodium
sulphite to remove any remaining oxygen and NaOH to maintain the correct pH will
be added.
From the hotwell water is pumped through the economiser (tube side), this
preheats the water and cools combustion gases before they are vented via the
stack, improving the overall efficiency of the steam cycle.
77
From http://www.spiraxsarco.com/learn/
105
Chapter 06 MW & JW
7.2.6 - Boiler Chemistry Phosphate Cycle

Despite all of the water treatment some scale forming salts will still enter the
boiler, one way of controlling scale formation in the boiler is with the phosphate
cycle.
Caustic alkalinity is maintained at a specific pH so hardness is precipitated
as a mobile sludge. Calcium hardness, a Ca-OH-P forms a non-adherent
sludge.78
Precipitation of magnesium phosphate should be avoided as this forms a
sticky sludge. Mg(OH)2 formation is promoted by maintaining the
phos:caustic alkalinity ratio at 1:10.
Caustic alkalinity is controlled by the dosing of NaOH in the hotwell. Most water
companies add phosphorous to water supplies so it is often not necessary to add
large quantities. Boiler conditions would be monitored by a control system which
varies chemical dosing and blowdown to maintain optimum boiler conditions.
78
http://www.purite.com/word/WaterConditioningforBoilerFeedCoolingFinal.doc
106
Chapter 06 MW & JW
7.3 - Steam Requirement (MW)

For our plant we require condensing steam at a sufficient temperature for the
distillation column reboiler. It was decided to set this at 2.4bar (126.09c) and then
design all other heat exchangers to run at this temperature.
The plant requires 84 tonnes of steam per hour.
7.4 - Turbine Requirements for Electricity Generation (MW)

A backpressure turbogenerator allows the superheated steam to be let down to
the required pressure for the process steam. In order to determine the superheat
temperature required, The Turbine Steam Consumption Calculator79 was used
with an estimated 70% turbine efficiency and gave the results (Fig 7.5) which will
be used for the steam plant design:
Input
Steam Pressure
13
bar
Steam Temperature
260
Turbine Efficiency
70
Turbine Power
5.5
MW
Turbine Properties
Exhaust
Temperature
129.1
Exhaust Pressure
2.4
bar
(Degree Superheat
2.9
c)
Steam Consumption
Consumed
84.85 tonnes /hr
Fig7.5 Steam Requirements
79
The Turbine Steam Consumption Calculator Version 2.1 (2002) Katmar Software
107
Chapter 06 MW & JW
7.5 - Raising Steam (MW)

There
are three stages which are required to raise the superheated steam;
Raise the temperature of purified ambient water to ~120c [A-B on Fig7.6]
Use a steam drum system to raise saturated steam [B-C on Fig7.6]
Superheat the saturated steam [C-D on Fig7.6]
280
260
240
220
200
180
160
140
120
100
419.1
2184.9
2714.5
2954.3
Fig7.6 Enthalpy Temperature Diagram

7.5.1 - Stage 1 [A-B]
The primary stage is achieved in two parts, during the feed water treatment stage
the water is raised to 80c in the hotwell (see section 7.2.3), and then a boiler
must be used to raise it to 120c. This boiler will need to add an extra:
H = h f (126) h f (80 )
(eq7.1)
H = 529.6 334.9 = 194.7 kJkg 1
H = 16.36GJhr 1
This can be carried out in a water tube boiler, fired by natural gas which will
have an efficiency of ~85%80. Therefore the heat required must take account of the
boiler efficiency:
H = 16.36(1.15) = 18.81GJhr 1
The net heat of combustion for natural gas is 47.65 MJ/kg81, so this boiler will
require 395kg/hr of gas.
80
http://www.pge.com/biz/rebates/express_efficiency/useful_info/boiler_guide.html#topic3
108
Chapter 06 MW & JW
7.5.2 - Stage 2 [B-C]

To ensure that the steam is produced efficiently, it is necessary to avoid dry-out
in the pipes so a system has been designed which prevents this problem. It uses a
large steam drum to hold a mixture of steam and water, from which water is fed
down into the furnace where steam will be generated.
Fig7.7 Steam system

This time assuming an efficiency of 75%
H = hg (126) h f (126 )
H = 2714.9 529.6 = 2184.9kJkg 1
H = 183.53GJhr 1
H = 183.53(1.25) = 229.4GJhr 1 required to produce condensing steam (2.4bar)
In Chapter 2 it was noted that bran was produced as a waste product, and the
theoretical heat available was calculated as 258.25 GJ /hr. It was decided that
burning the bran would be an economical and environmentally friendly method of
raising steam.
81
http://www.uniongas.com/aboutus/aboutng/composition.asp
109
Chapter 06 MW & JW
7.5.3 - Stage 3 [C-D]

Finally it is necessary to superheat the steam, this can be carried out in a
superheating boiler which will require:
H = hg ( 260) hg ( 260)
H = 2954.3 2714.9 = 239.8kJkg 1
H = 20.14GJhr 1
H = 20.14(1.15) = 23.16GJhr 1
Which will require 486kg/hr of Natural gas.

7.5.4 - Waste
Raising steam by this method will require 881kg/hr of natural gas, which will
produce ~2500kg carbon dioxide per hour when combusted.
7.6 - Water Recycle (MW)

Once the steam has been condensed through the process, it can be recycled to the
hotwell. The other processes use water in various ways and the requirements are
summarised below.
Pure Water IN
Pure Water OUT
Dirty Water OUT
Pretreatment
107,200 l/h
124.2 tonnes/h
Hydrolysis
1,524,000 l/h
1,447,200 l/h
Fermentation
293,400 l/h
169,650 l/h
Distillation
94,250 l/h
Dehydration
1,850 l/h
1,924,600 l/h
1,712,950 l/h
124.2 tonnes/h
Therefore ~212,000 l/h of new water will be required in the plant, and the steam
cycle can be topped-upwith pure water from the distillation column.
110
Chapter 06 MW & JW
7.7 - Economics of construction (MW)

Capital cost
De-Alkaliser
2,000
De-Gasser
72,000
Base Exchange Unit
180,000
De-Aerator
108,000
Hotwell
240,000
Primary Boiler
250,000
Bran Furnace & Boiler
500,000
1,588,000
111
Chapter 8 : Plant Location (Sanampreet Gill)

It was decided that for various sustainability reasons that the most suitable
location for the plant would be in the United Kingdom. The primary reason being
that the bio-ethanol produced is intended for the UK market. From this it can be
seen that the main customers are the large petrol distributors in the country, and
to attract them, it would be best to place the plant near them. The first stage in
the plant location decision was to find where all the refineries in the United
Kingdom are situated.
8.1 - British Refineries

The UKPIA (UK Petroleum Industry Association) stated there are nine refineries in
the United Kingdom.
1. BP Coryton Refinery
2. BP Grangemouth Refinery
3. ConocoPhillips Humber Refinery
4. Esso Refinery Fawley
5. Lindsey Oil Refinery (Total)
6. Shell Stanlow Maunfacturing Complex
7. Texaco Pembroke Refinery
8. Total Milford Haven Refinery
9. Petroplus Refining Teeside
Each of these refineries does not solely produce petrol, and therefore it needed to
be seen what their product portfolio was, and to see how likely they would like our
product. Each of their locations was also noted.
8.1.1 - BP Coryton Refinery
Fig 8.1 Location of Coryton Refinery82

Coryton is situated 30 miles from London, therefore land will be very expensive in
this area since being so close to London and on the East of the United Kingdom
large amounts of land space available is rare. However it is well located for deep
water, road and rail facilities. This means that the product can easily be
transported to this facility, the team deciding the most economical method.
82
Institute of Petroleum
112
This refinery has a capacity of 10.0 million tonnes per year, and its output is
represented in figure 8.2.
Output of BP Coryton Refinery
Output of BP Coryton Refinery
Bitumen
3%
40%
Lubes & specialities

4%
35%
LPG
2%
Percentage of Outpu
30%
Fuel Oil
17%
25%
Petrol
36%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Series1
Petrol
Diesel
36%
27%
Kerosene & Jet

fuels
11%
Fuel Oil
Lubes & specialities
Bitumen
LPG
17%
4%
3%
2%
Output Type
Kerosene & Jet fuels

11%
Diesel
27%
Fig 8.2 Output of BP Coryton Refinery

This refinerys main output is petrol for automobiles (36%), therefore it is a key
customer for us. The bio-ethanol plant should be either located near this refinery
or good transport links should be set up with the refinery.
8.1.2 - BP Grangemouth Refinery
Fig 8.3 Location of BP Grangemouth Refinery1

This refinery is located close to the Firth of Forth, Grangemouth. Its refining
capacity is greater than 10.0 million tonnes per year. Its output products can be
summarised in figure 8.4.
113

Output of BP Grangemouth Refinery
O u t p u t o f B P G r a n g e m o u t h R e f in e r y
LPG/petrochemical
feedstocks
12%
30%
Fuel gas/other
6%
Petrol
22%
25%
20%
15 %
Fuel Oil
15%
10 %
5%
0%
Ser e
i s1
Pet r ol
Diesel
22%
24%
Ker osen e & e

jt
f uel
13 %
Gas Oil
FuelOil
8%
15 %
LPG/ pet r ochemi

cal f eedst ocks
Diesel
24%
Fuelgas/ ot her
12 %
Gas Oil
8%
6%
Kerosene & jet fuel

13%
Out put T ype
Fig 8.4 Output of BP Grangemouth

This refinerys major output is petrol (22%), and therefore BP Grangemouth is a key
stakeholder in our plant location decision.
8.1.3 - ConocoPhillips Humber Refinery
Fig 8.5 Location of ConocoPhillips Humber Refinery1

This refinery is located on the Humber Estuary at South Killingholme. Products
arrive here by shop or road. The refinerys capacity is 11.5 million tonnes per
year, and its product portfolio is given in figure 8.6.
Output of ConocoPhillips Humber Refinery
Output of ConocoPhillips Humber Refinery
Petrochem
4%
50%
Fuel Oil
4%
45%
Percentage of Outpu
40%
LPG
2%
Coke
6%
35%
30%
Kero/jet
8%
25%
Diesel
44%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Series1
Diesel
Petrol
Kero/jet
Coke
Fuel Oil
Petrochem
LPG
44%
32%
8%
6%
4%
4%
2%
Petrol
32%
Output Type
Fig 8.6 Output of ConocoPhillips Humber Refinery

114
Petrol is this refinerys second largest output (32%), which is still a large amount
and therefore this refinerys location also will have a key impact on the bio-ethanol
plants location.
8.1.4 - Esso Refinery Fawley
Fig 8.7 Location of Esso Refinery1

This is the largest refinery in the UK and is located on the west shore of
Southampton Water. Over 11 million gallons of petrol, diesel, jet fuel and
petrochemical feedstocks are produced every day.
8.1.5 - Lindsey Oil Refinery (Total)
Fig 8.8 Location of Lindsey Oil Refinery1

This is located close to the south bank of the Humber Estuary in North Lincolnshire.
Its refining capacity is 11 million tonnes per year. Its output can be described by
figure 8.9.
115
Outo ut o f Lindsey Oil Refiner y (To tal)
Output of Lindsey Oil Refinery (Total)
Percentage of Output
40%
Kerosene & jet fuel

13%
30%
Diesel
30%
20%
Fuel oil & bitumen
15%
10%
0%
Ser ies1
Diesel
Petr ol
30%
25%
LPG & speciality

pr oducts
17%
Fuel oil & bitumen
Ker osene & jet fuel
15%
13%
LPG & speciality products

17%
Output Type
Petrol
25%
Fig 8.9 Output of Lindsey Oil Refinery

This refinery also produces a substantial amount of petrol, and therefore its
location needs to be considered.
8.1.6 - Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex
Fig 8.10 Location of Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex283
83
Multimap.com
116
This is located south of the Mersey estuary near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire. Its
refining capacity is 12 million tonnes per year. Its product description is given in
figure 8.11.
Fig 8.11 Output of Shell Stanlow Manufacturing Complex

This refinery also produces a substantial amount of petrol and is therefore also a
key stakeholder in the decision to where the plant should be located.
8.1.7 - Texaco Ltd
Fig 8.12 Location of Texaco Ltd2

117
This Pembroke refinery is located on the Pembroke coast. It has a refining capacity
of 10.5million tonnes per year.
8.1.8 - Total Milford Haven Refinery
Fig 8.13 Location of Total Milford Haven Refinery1

This is located in Wales. Its refining capacity is 6 million tonnes per year. Its
output is given in figure 8.14.
Output of Total Milford Haven Refinery
Output o f To tal M ilfo r d Hav en Refiner y
LPG & refinery fuel

10%
35%
Percentage of Output
30%
Kerosene & jet fuel

10%
Petrol
33%
25%
20%
15%
10%
Fuel Oils
14%
5%
0%
Ser ies1
Petr ol
Diesel
Fuel Oils
Ker osene & jet fuel
LPG & r efiner y fuel
33%
33%
14%
10%
10%
Output type
Diesel
33%
Fig 8.14 Output of Total Milford Haven Refinery

33% of this refinerys output is petrol, and translated into figures it produces 6.8
million litres per day, therefore this refinerys location also has to be considered.
8.1.9 - Petroplus Refining Teeside
This is located on the river Tees in north east England. That is in Middlesbrough. It
has a refining capacity of 5.5 million tonnes per year. Its output products include
ultra low sulphur diesel and bio-diesel, kerosene and gas oil and petrochemical
feed-stocks.
As it can be seen none of these products can be blended with bio-ethanol,therefore
this refinery does not need to be considered in the bio-ethanol plant location
decision.
118
From the above analysis it can be seen that there are seven possible locations of
the bio-ethanol plant. An economic study can be done for each of these sites to
help decide how having a plant will affect the local community.
To decide where the plant should be located the following factors will be
considered, some economic based, with each location being given a score on a
scale of one to five, where one is the worst and five is the best. The location which
has the highest score will therefore be the appropriate choice for plant location.
The first factor being considered is plant location. The plant should be located
centrally in the United Kingdom, as the product can then be transported to all the
other refineries by road or train, since the United Kingdom is a small country. The
second factor to consider is the cost of land. The land that the plant should be
built on should not be too expensive, as the plant equipment should be where the
money goes. The third factor to consider is unemployment in the area. This is
being considered because by placing the plant in a certain location which has a
high unemployment rate, the local economics will be helped because more people
will be employed. The fourth factor to consider is the economic activity of the site
location. If the plant is built, people will want other facilities as they will have
more disposable income. Therefore it is important to consider a location that has
these features or one where it would help the area if these facilities were built.
This is in particular reference to shopping facilities, restaurants, etc. Also if the
area already has a certain substantial amount of development that means a good
infrastructure will exist in the area. And the final factor is the qualifications of the
potential workforce. This factor needs to be considered because it needs to be
determined the type of people that need to work in the plant. It will be
predominantly operators, which will need to be trained by plant engineers,
therefore it would be preferred if the residents of the location had a certain
minimal degree of qualifications. It can be assumed that the head engineers of the
plant will come from other locations or will commute.
These factors were drawn into a table and a graph was plotted of the results to
make the decision more obvious.
Fig 8.15 Decision Table for Location of plant
Decision Table for Plant

Location
Site
Essex
Milford
Haven
Ellesmere
Port
Killingholme
Southampton
Cost
Economic Level of
of
Location Land Unemployment Activity
Qualifications Total
1
2
2
5
10
4
14
3
4
3
4
5
3
1
5
4
3
5
4
11
19
14
119

Graph to show plant location based on a number of criteria
20
18
16
14
Score
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Essex
Milford Haven
Ellesmere Port
Killingholme
Southampton
Possible Sites
Fig 8.16 Graph showing the results of the Decision table for plant location
From Fig 8.16 it can be seen that Killingholme is the best location for the plant,
since it scored the highest mark of 19. Another good reason for locating the plant
in Killingholme is that there are actually two refineries there, which will mean the
risk of producing the ethanol is spread, since we are not only targeting one
company.
8.2 - Stakeholder Analysis

Part of making the decision of where the plant should be located, involves
considering the potential stakeholders in the project. A definition provided by an
online website on stakeholder analysis84 is, stakeholder analysis is the
identification of a projects key stakeholders, an assessment of their interests and
the ways in which those interests affect project riskiness and viability. It
contributes to project design by identifying the goals and roles of different groups
and by helping to formulate appropriate forms of engagement with these groups.
From this definition, it can be understood how important stakeholder analysis is to
the success of a project. Since by involving the right people in the right way in the
project, can make it a big difference to its level of success. A real life example of
this would be the building of wind farms in the United Kingdom.
By answering a number of questions it can be decided who the potential
stakeholders are in the decision to build the bio-ethanol plant.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
84
Local residents of Killingholme.

The residents living directly next to the plant
The Lindsey Oil Refinery (Total)
The ConocoPhillips Humber Refinery
Government
http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/sal/stakeholder.asp
120
6. Shareholders
7. Suppliers
8. The Press
9. Lenders (those financing the project)
10. Prospective customers (Global companies)
11. Greenpeace
12. Local Councils
Building the plant in a slightly run down area will open up new amounts of
potential financing. For example if the plnat was built in Cardiff Bay, a subsidy or
grant could be obtained from The Welsh Development Agency.
8.3 - Site Layout

A possible site map has been shown, however, as designs are corrected further this
will be subject to change.
Fig 8.17: Possible Site Layout
121
Chapter 9 : Economics (Michael Wallace)

In order to assess the economic viability of this project it is necessary to analyse
both the capital cost of construction and the day-to-day running costs of the
plant.
9.1 - Assumptions
For this analysis I have made some assumptions :
12 year minimum life-span of product (and therefore plant)
Inflation-free economy
Assuming construction completed in 2 years, from purchase of land
Assuming capital cost spread evenly over both years of construction
9.2 - Plant Cost Estimation

It was decided that two methods be used to estimate the capital construction cost
of the plant. The first being an estimate, based on a similar plant which has
already been constructed and the second is an estimation based upon the costs of
the main plant items.
9.2.1 - Method 1 : Similar Plant Estimation
British Sugar Ethanol Plant, Norfolk (Completion date Jan 2007)
Producing from sugar beet
55,000 tonnes per year production
20million estimated cost
Which when scaled up to our production scale gives an estimate of 46.6million
9.2.2 - Method 2 : MPI Estimation
This method uses an estimated basic cost (fabrication cost + delivery to site) of
the main plant items (MPIs) along with some carefully chosen factors to attain a
total cost for each MPI85. Lang86 suggests that for a solid-fluid plant the total
capital cost should equal 3.63 x MPI basic cost.
Individual factors must be set for each of the following expenses:
Delivery to the construction site
Erection, including labour
Civils: foundations and groundworks
Instrumentation & Electrical
Piping: all associated pipe work
Winterisation and Lagging
Ancillaries: lighting, pumps, fans etc
85
86
Talk given by Dr C Snowdon (7th Feb 2006)

Plant Design & Economics for Chemical Engineers (5th Ed); Max S Peters Et Al; ISBN 0072392665
122
Many factor values are suggested87,88, so we will use the following combination:
Main Plant Item
Erection
Civils
Instrumentation & Electrical
Piping
Winterisation & Lagging
Ancilleries
Other Work
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
1.00
0.40
0.20
0.60
0.70
0.05
0.60
0.15
TOTAL = 3.70 = T
Which provides a total factor which is similar to the Lang factor (3.63), the basic
cost of each section should now be multiplied by this factor:
Estimated
MPI
Basic Cost'
Total Cost
#1: Pre-processing
1,588,000
3.7
5,875,600
#2: Hydrolysis
2,500,000
3.7
9,250,000
#3: Fermentation
1,100,000
3.7
4,070,000
#4: Distillation
325,000
3.7
1,202,500
#5: Dehydration
254,000
3.7
939,800
1,588,000
3.7
5,875,600
MPI =
27,213,500
#6: Steam Raising
It is now necessary to add on an extra 33% to account for the utilities, amenities,
control room and site security, an extra 25% for design charges and fees and an
extra 25% as a contingency measure, to account for any omissions etc.
Therefore an extra 83% must be added to the MPI value;
MPI + extras = 49,800,705
9.2.3 - Capital cost Estimation
To estimate the cost of this plant two different methods have been used, similar
plant and MPI, which have given costs of 46.6million and 49.8million
respectively. Both methods have disadvantages, but there is some error introduced
in the MPI analysis due to inaccurate costing of these large items. Without access
to suppliers to obtain accurate and up to date estimates this method is difficult to
87
Chemical Engineering Design Project: A Case Study Approach; Production of Phthalic Anhydride,
M Ray et Al, ISBN 9056991361
88
Plant Design & Economics for Chemical Engineers (5th Ed); Max S Peters Et Al; ISBN 0072392665
123
use but the large factors used, account for these inaccuracies well. We must now
combine the estimates to obtain an approximate cost.
The similar plant estimate is likely to be lower than the actual cost since it is
simply a scaled up value obtained from a smaller plant so it is not sufficient to
meet half way between both values. Therefore we will bias towards the higher,
MPI estimate by 2/3;
Capital cost estimate = 48.7million
Finally it is necessary to include the cost of 2 weeks worth of product, which will
be produced and stored in case of a large scale breakdown, 8.6million.
Therefore total Capital Cost Estimate = 57.3million
9.3 - Profit & Loss Analysis

Now that we have an estimate of the capital required for the plant it is necessary
to analyse the viability of the project by testing the profit & loss under different
economic situations.
This analysis is based upon a production scale of 17 tonnes/hr of Bio-ethanol, with
a 2 week downtime per year.
Notes:
Labour: (Based on wage for # operators + # Ancillary staff) x 1.3
Personnel: 40 % of Labour costs
Maintenance: 4% of total capital cost
Insurance: 3% of total capital cost
Local Taxes: 1% of total capital cost
Depreciation: 12 year plant lifespan
Cost of land negligible compared to capital cost.
Constant value of tax on petrol.
To carry out this analysis, seven scenarios will be used along with the assumptions
noted above.
124
9.3.1 - Scenario 1 Worst-case

High cost:
Feedstock
Fuel
Water
Labour (3 x minimum wage)
Large number of workers
Feed
Fuel
Water
Labour
# Staff
Tax
Tax (bio)
Petrol
( / te)
( / kWh)
( / l)
( / h)
(#)
(%)
( / l)
( / l)
104.7
0.024
0.001
15
150
30
0.2835
0.4305
9.3.2 - Scenario 2 Best-case

Low cost:
Feedstock
Fuel
Water
Low number of workers
Feed
Fuel
Water
Labour
# Staff
Tax
Tax (bio)
Petrol
( / te)
( / kWh)
( / l)
( / h)
(#)
(%)
( / l)
( / l)
56.8
0.0068
0.0005
70
30
0.2835
0.4305
9.3.3 - Scenario 3 Average

Mean
cost:
Feedstock
Fuel
Water
Average number of workers

Feed
Fuel
Water
Labour
# Staff
Tax
Tax (bio)
Petrol
( / te)
( / kWh)
( / l)
( / h)
(#)
(%)
( / l)
( / l)
65.8
0.0086
0.00075
10
105
30
0.2835
0.4305
125
9.3.4 - Scenario 4 High Oil Prices

High cost:
Petrol
Fuel
Feed
Fuel
Water
Labour
# Staff
Tax
Tax (bio)
Petrol
( / te)
( / kWh)
( / l)
( / h)
(#)
(%)
( / l)
( / l)
65.8
0.024
0.00075
10
105
30
0.2835
0.452
9.3.5 - Scenario 5 Low Oil Prices

Low cost:
Petrol
Fuel
Feed
Fuel
Water
Labour
# Staff
Tax
Tax (bio)
Petrol
( / te)
( / kWh)
( / l)
( / h)
(#)
(%)
( / l)
( / l)
65.8
0.0068
0.00075
10
105
30
0.2835
0.409
9.3.6 - Scenario 6 High Government Tax

Feed
Fuel
Water
Labour
# Staff
Tax
Tax (bio)
Petrol
( / te)
( / kWh)
( / l)
( / h)
(#)
(%)
( / l)
( / l)
65.8
0.0086
0.00075
10
105
30
0.4835
0.4305
9.3.7 - Scenario 7 Low Government Tax

Feed
Fuel
Water
Labour
# Staff
Tax
Tax (bio)
Petrol
( / te)
( / kWh)
( / l)
( / h)
(#)
(%)
( / l)
( / l)
65.8
0.0086
0.00075
10
105
30
0.4835
0.4305
126
Each of these scenarios was tested in the Profit & Loss spreadsheet (see Appendix
15) and the following results were obtained.
Scenario
Product Price
5% mix Pump
Price
Pre-div Profit
Dividend
Profit Reserves
(#)
( / litre)
( / litre)
()
(%)
()
0.500
0.907
4,639,424
25%
3,479,568
0.300
0.897
6,337,502
25%
4,753,127
0.430
0.904
16,173,351
25%
12,130,013
0.360
0.921
4,410,384
25%
3,307,788
0.340
0.879
6,380,062
25%
4,785,047
0.350
0.910
7,073,351
25%
5,305,013
0.450
0.898
18,448,351
25%
13,836,263
It became obvious that a 5% mix of bio-ethanol (with petrol) can be sold at a

similar price similar to that of 100% petrol, despite various market conditions, and
make a profit.
9.4 - Cash Flow Movement Analysis

Based upon scenario three (average conditions) a cash flow analysis was carried out
(see Appendix 16) and the following diagram illustrates the findings.
Cash Flow Diagram
200,000,000
Sum of Cash Flows Since Initiation
150,000,000
100,000,000
Plant startup
50,000,000
0
0
10
11
12
-50,000,000
Discounted payback period

-100,000,000
Years Since Initiation
Discounted
Non-Discounted
127
Based upon a discounting model, for scenario three, the plant will have paid itself
off within 5 years of project initiation, and after 12 years (expected plant lifetime)
have a Net Present Worth of 51.5million.
9.5 - Conclusions
In conclusion, this proposal can be seen to be financially viable, even when
impacted by various external factors such as high oil and gas prices and high labour
costs. It would also be able to remain profitable if the government removed its
current 20p per litre subsidy from bio-ethanol.
Cash-flow analysis has shown that this plant, under average conditions, could have
a Net Present Worth of 51.5million after 12 years. This is close to the capital
required for a new plant.
128
Chapter 10 : Sustainability (Michael Braisher & William Treharne)

Sustainability is a growing issue and one that a modern engineer must understand
and use to guide them in their practices and choices. But what is sustainability?
"Development meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their needs."89
This definition, by no means the only one in existence, was published in 1987
Brundtland Report. It is common practice to subdivide the subject into three broad
areas; social, economics and environment or perhaps more commonly known as
people, planet, profits.
The above diagram shows the anticipated effects of the plant on each of the
labelled issues. The points furthest from the centre are more harmful than those
near the centre.
89
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainability
129
Chapter 10 MB & WT
10.1 - Social issues (MB)

Most industrial processes require largely unsightly plants, produce some form of
emissions, invariably some noise and some extra traffic and as such often come up
against strong opposition right through from the planning to the decommissioning
stage. With this in mind, it is the social responsibility of plant designers and
owners to minimise the impact on the local area. But what can be done?
The old adage of keeping your friends close and your enemies even closer couldnt
ring more true. The first step is to identify all the key stakeholders at an early
stage and definitely before it is leaked to the press that a plant is in the pipeline.
Having identified all potential stakeholders, it is then possible to rank them in
some order with the most likely opposing groups at the top. This table then forms
a list of contacts and in an order in which the groups should be approached.
Understanding the fears and reservations of all concerned can provide a useful
strategy for marketing the project.
Stakeholders
Local residents
Local farmers
Council
Investors
Building contractors
Greenpeace
Local wildlife groups
Green energy activists
NFU
Large supermarket chain
Local/National press
comment
Likely to oppose such a plant
Likely to be for the project if it
increases their income
Depends on how close it is to election
time
For
For
Likely to be for the plant
May well be opposed
Likely to be for the plant
For the project
For the project
Could be a crucial ally
The aim of such a stakeholder analysis is to use the results to decide what can be
changed about the design in order to overcome local residents concerns without
incurring unreasonable economic costs. A survey of local residents attitudes is one
effective method for identifying their key concerns. However it is important that
the survey isnt negative but starts with an upbeat attitude about how climate
change can be avoided and that they could be proud of having such a plant in their
area. The aim of a survey is two fold. It serves as an opportunity to gain support
whilst at the same time providing the opportunity to find out improvements to
design. One such example may be that local residents are concerned about
increased traffic through their village so re-routing the traffic around the village
may be a solution even it is not the shortest route.
A large supermarket chain would be a key ally in promoting bio-ethanol. Such a
large business would have the resources to advertise bio-ethanol production in a
very positive light whilst they would have the kudos of supplying a renewable form
130
Chapter 10 MB & WT
of energy at their pumps. If some of the bio-ethanol fuel mix supplied the
surrounding area, then this too may help gain support of local residents.
Other issues that may be raised are that the crops used are GM or that the
biodiversity of the area will be spoilt. The National Farmers Union would be a key
ally along with some NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) to help remedy these
fears. Perhaps the issue of housing may be raised. It is a well-known fact that
rural housing is expensive and in high demand, causing problems for locals. Maybe
some housing could be developed for workers or some kind of interest free
mortgage made available. A budget for local sustainable projects could be made
available and a visitor centre created for people to learn about bio-ethanol and its
production.
Deliveries to and from the plant can be scheduled to cause minimal disruption and
traffic congestion.
A bio-ethanol plant will require full time staff, creating jobs in a rural area at a
time when rural employment is at a low. With new jobs comes new training.
Rather than importing a skilled work force, the first option should be training
locals. Local farmers will have the opportunity to earn extra income from their
set-aside land and shops and businesses in the area will benefit from the extra
prosperity a concentrated workforce brings. The local council will benefit from an
increase in revenue, which in turn will benefit the community.
Generally, public attitude towards green forms of energy is favourable. Even
better if a sense of pride can be instilled into local people about being a part of a
promising alternative to fossil fuels.
It should be mentioned that a full life cycle analysis would provide a formal and
perhaps more thorough analysis on sustainability.
10.2 - Economic issues (MB)

Having had the comfort of North Sea oil since the seventies, supplies are starting to
dwindle as the oil fields pass peak production. Oil companies have to drill in
politically unstable territories, something that President Bush has found so
alarming, that he has urged America to lose its dependency on foreign oil90.
Producing bio-ethanol in the UK not only helps strengthen security of supply but
could also propel the UK as world leaders in a technology largely in its infancy with
the potential to export knowledge. Being one of the first bio-ethanol plants in the
UK would stimulate further plants and there could be a potential for export.
On a local scale, businesses should prosper, with local cafes and shops noticing
increased sales especially during construction. Rural unemployment can be found
in many areas especially amongst younger generations and the prospect of full time
jobs and training will help stimulate a local economy. Also the rural rail service
90
BBC news 1st February 2006
131
Chapter 10 MB & WT
may become more economically viable avoiding the planned cuts in these services
by the government91.
The inevitable tax breaks will dent government revenues but this is necessary to
stimulate growth of new technologies. However as more and more research is
carried out and more bio-ethanol plants come online, the cost will decrease and
the need for tax relief will decrease. Perhaps some form of capping should be put
in place. Also as the cost of oil increases, as is the general trend, bio-ethanol
production will become more economically viable on its own.
The sun is starting to set on North sea oil
91
The Times article march 9th 2006
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Chapter 10 MB & WT
10.3 - Resource Efficiency (WT)

Land Use
It has been decided that the plant will be located in the UK in the Killingholme
area as this is near two large fuel refineries where the bio-ethanol will be blended
with petrol. This decision not only reduces transportation costs, as the plant will be
located close to its intended market, but will also help minimise the environmental
damage associated with the transportation. If possible, the plant would be built on
brownfield land next to a refinery to minimise environmental damage from
construction. The ethanol produced could also be transported to the refineries by
pipeline to eliminate the need for fuel tankers.
Energy Efficiency
Lagging will be added to all vessels operating at above ambient temperature to
reduce heating requirements, and therefore reduce the plants total energy needs.
The electricity needed to power the plant will be produced on site as part of the
steam generation process, which is a more efficient use of energy than obtaining
electrical power from the national grid.
Resource Efficiency
It is important to maximise the resource efficiency, as this will lower the overall
waste and therefore operating costs. Reducing the non-product output will also
reduce the amount of waste that has to be dealt with. The waste products from
the feedstock will be used to partially fuel the plant boilers reducing the use of
natural gas. Bio-ethanol blended with petrol will help extend the life of oil supplies
reducing the reliance on imports, therefore having a positive effect on the UKs
resources.
10.4 - Environmental Protection (WT)
Climate Change
133
Chapter 10 MB & WT
For bio-ethanol to be a useful transportation fuel it must have a positive net energy
balance (the amount of energy needed to produce the fuel must be less than the
energy released when the fuel is burnt). Many studies into the net energy balance
of bio-ethanol arrive at different conclusions from drawing different system
boundaries.
The total energy requirement of the plant boilers was estimated in chapter 6 as
being 300.22GJ/hr. The boilers provide the heat needed to generate all the steam
and electricity used by the plant and so this energy requirement can be taken as
the plants total energy use. Estimating all other energy requirements (from
transportation and farm vehicles) in the production of bio-ethanol as 10% of the
plants energy requirement, the energy needed to produce one kilogram of bioethanol can be found.
1.1 (300.22 10 9 )
Ethanol production energy requirement =
= 19.00MJ/kg
22000 0.79
The calorific value of ethanol is 30MJ/kg92, and so the fuel has a net positive
energy balance.
Furthermore, for bio-ethanol to have an environmental advantage over fossil fuels,
the net amount of carbon dioxide liberated from the production and combustion of
the fuel should be significantly less than that for the petrol which it will replace.
Although the production process is not carbon neutral, resulting from the use of
fossil fuels in the plant boilers, large amounts of carbon dioxide will be absorbed
by the growing feedstock. This will result in lower net carbon dioxide emissions per
unit energy than petrol.
Contributions to carbon dioxide emissions (see appendix for calculations):
Assuming petrol to have a chemical formula of C8H18, complete combustion
of one litre results in 2.276kg of carbon dioxide. In comparison, the
complete combustion of one litre of ethanol results in only 1.511kg of
carbon dioxide although ethanol has a lower gross calorific value than petrol
(30MJ/kg and 45MJ/kg respectively93).
92
93
The plant requires 49165 kg/hr of starch and the amount of carbon dioxide
absorbed by growing wheat to produce this starch is 3.642kg per litre of
ethanol.
The plant boilers require 881kg/hr of natural gas. Assuming natural gas is
composed mainly of methane, this gives a boiler carbon dioxide emission of
2500kg/hr or approximately 0.114kg of carbon dioxide per litre of ethanol.
The fermenter produces 0.910kg of carbon dioxide per litre of ethanol.

Assuming the carbon content of the fermenter by-products is eventually
http://www.kayelaby.npl.co.uk/chemistry/3_11/3_11_4.html
134
Chapter 10 MB & WT
released as carbon dioxide, this will contribute a further 1.111kg of carbon

dioxide per litre of ethanol.
By estimating the number of trucks needed to bring wheat to the plant, the
distance they have to travel and the fuel economy, the amount of carbon
dioxide they produce is estimated at 0.213 kg per litre of ethanol. The same
amount again will be assumed for the contribution from farming and plant
vehicles giving a total of 0.426kg of carbon dioxide per litre of ethanol.
CO2 Source
Wheat Growth
Plant Boilers
Fermentation
By-products
Production Vehicles
Combustion
Total Emissions
Amount Produced (kg CO2/ l ethanol)

-3.642
0.114
0.910
1.111
0.426
1.511
0.430
The use of bio-ethanol therefore only produces an estimated 0.430kg of carbon

dioxide per litre. The calorific value of petrol is 1.5 times greater than that of
ethanol and so 1.5 times the amount of CO2 will be liberated to produce the same
amount of energy. Accounting for this, pure bio-ethanol gives a carbon dioxide
saving of approximately 70% over petrol. Adding this fuel to petrol as a 5% blend for
10% of the UK market would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 0.210Mt per year.
Air Quality
There are several advantages to the use of bio-ethanol over petrol. The oxygen
content of the fuel results in more complete combustion, significantly reducing
vehicle exhaust emissions that contribute to smog, such as carbon monoxide and
particulates94 as well as reducing sulphur dioxide emissions. Ethanol is also an
octane enhancer, eliminating the need for harmful additives such as benzene.
However, carbon monoxide tailpipe emissions are not a significant issue in the UK
as all new cars have catalytic converters which deal with this95. Studies have also
shown that bio-ethanol blends have little effect on NOx emissions96 and could
increase emissions of volatile organic compounds under some conditions. Overall,
the use of bio-ethanol should have a positive effect on air quality.
Water
Large amounts of water are needed by the production plant to provide steam and
for the hydrolysis and fermentation processes. To minimise the environmental
impact of this water requirement, as much of the water used as possible should be
recycled within the plant. Once the plant has been established, it may be possible
to reduce the amount of water used in particular processes. Any water discharged
must first be treated to meet legislation and minimise any environmental impact.
94
95
96
http://www.greenfuels.org/ethanol/envbenefits.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/ENVIRONMENT/consult/greenfuel/response/03.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/forum/meetings/100904/pdf/aqf14-04.pdf
135
Chapter 10 MB & WT
Feed Stock
The wheat used by the bio-ethanol plant would otherwise be used for food.
However, the wheat used will be grown on set-aside land in addition to existing
wheat crops and so will not affect existing consumers of the product. Not all of the
crop will be used to produce starch and some of the waste material will be used as
a fuel for the plant boilers. However, some of the waste should be ploughed back
into the land to reduce soil erosion and the need for fertilisers. The farming needs
to be carefully managed to minimise potential environmental damage such as
eutrophication from fertilisers and effects of agriculture on wildlife.
136
Chapter 11 : Health & Safety (James Winterburn)

11.1 - Background Information on Safety
The primary piece of legislation to be adhered to is the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974).
This sets out the responsibilities of the employer to the employee, in essence; It shall be
the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health,
safety and welfare at work of all his employees.97 This can be embodied, in an industrial
environment, through properly outlined working procedures and active health and safety
monitoring, often coordinated by a dedicated site SHE (Safety, Health and Environment)
manager.
11.2 - Operational safety

To ensure the safety of plant operatives several procedures (both on a design and
operational level) can be used to both raise awareness of safe working practises and monitor
safety performance.
MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) should exist for every chemical used on
site and operators should be aware of the information. For example Boiler
house energy controllers should be aware of the dangers presented by the
various water treatment chemicals used, ranging from brine to sulphuric
acid.
Correct PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) should be worn at all times,
initiatives should be in place to inform workers of requirements, this can be
as simple as signposting mandatory high-visibility areas.
All chemical storage tanks should be properly bunded to prevent loss of
containment from occurring and putting employees and the environment at
risk.
Ethanol Storage tanks should be positioned away from main plant items and
sufficiently spaced to minimise the risk fire spreading.
11.3 - HAZOP
A HAZOP or hazard and operability study provides a framework for assessing a
whole production plant one major plant item at a time. This allows for potential
hazards arising from operation that has deviated from design point to be found and
a plant profile created. The study can improve not only safety but also operational
productivity, carrying out HAZOP at the design stage allows potential hazards to be
rectified before construction has begun, reducing capital investment.
97
Item 2(1) from the Health and Safety at work act 1974.
137
Chapter 11 J Winterburn
Fig-11.1
Figure 11.1 shows a schematic of the distillation column showing flows and pumps,
a HAZOP analysis has been conducted for this plant item using the guide words
MORE, LESS and NO, two potential hazards have been identified under each
keyword. Similar analysis is appreciable to the other main processes, hydrolysis,
fermentation, pervaperation and steam generation. Figure 11.2 shows the full
HAZOP analysis.
Deviation
Cause
MORE-steam to reboiler
Valve or control system failure
Consequences Large vapour flow in column
Deviation
Cause
MORE-distillate flow
Control system failure, increased demand
Increased condenser heat load, not all
Consequences distillate condensed
Hazards
Liquid entrainment and column flooding
Hazards
Column overheating
Deviation
LESS-steam to reboiler
Deviation
LESS-reflux
Cause
Valve or control system failure
Consequences Reduced vapour flow in column
Cause
Valve, pump or control system failure
Consequences Inadequate rectifying
Hazards
Condensation of vapour forming vacuum
Hazards
Off spec product can affect processes

downstream
Deviation
NO-feed to Column
Deviation
NO-bottoms flow
Cause
Pump failure
Consequences Less liquid in column

Hazards
Reboiler overheating
Cause
Pump failure
Consequences More liquid in column, no feed preheat

Hazards
Reboiler overheating, column flooding
Fig-11.2 HAZOP Analysis for Ethanol-Water Separation.

As can be seen three of the hazards identified are triggered caused by the failure
of a pump. This allows for backup pumps to be incorporated into the design of the
column and its control system, ensuring continuous safe production is possible.
138
Chapter 12 : Conclusion (Whole Group)

The report has successfully outlined a proposal for a bio-ethanol production plant
with a capacity of 17 tonnes of ethanol per hour at a purity of 99.8%, using wheat
as the feedstock.
A potential location for the plant is Killingholme, Lincolnshire; primarily due to its
location near to two oil refineries. It also has a high unemployment rate and is near
to a number of good retail facilities and its location in a heavily industrialised area
means a good service infrastructure is already in place.
Such a project can bring many benefits to the local area including employment and
training opportunities as well as a boost to the local economy. However it is
important that support is generated and key allies made such as the fuel retailers
and more importantly the local residents. It has been proposed that a full
stakeholder analysis is undertaken to highlight those affected by the project.
The fuel produced by the plant will have a positive effect on climate change. The
energy released from burning the fuel is significantly less than that required to
produce it. Its use will also result in an estimated 70% reduction in carbon dioxide
emissions over the petrol it will replace. Ethanol fuel blends will help improve air
quality by reducing the emissions of components of smog and harmful additives.
An economic analysis has shown this product to be viable under a number of
market conditions; high and low government tax, oil prices and feedstock costs.
The product will yield large profits with the current government subsidy on bioethanol fuel tax, and a cash-flow analysis shows that the pay back period would be
5 years from project initiation under these conditions.
Considering its benefits, this plant is an environmentally and economically viable
means for producing bio-ethanol for the UK market. Further development of this
proposal would require more accurate costing of the Main Plant Items, using up to
date quotes. It would also be necessary to construct a fully integrated flowsheet
using a commercial software package and carry out a detailed analysis of resource
use, with a view to maximising resource efficiency.
139
Bibliography
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Wheat: Chemistry & Utilisation, Technomic Publishing Company, H.j. Cornell &
A.W. Hoveling, ISBN 1566763487
Wheat: Production, Properties and Quality, Chapman & Hall 1994, ISBN
0751401811
http://www.westfalia-separator.com/en/index.htm
Conversion Factors / Conversion Tables / Conversion Charts (available online at
http://www.duncanrogers.com/tools/conversion.php?Pa=240000&bar=2.4&kpc
m2=2.447&psi=34.809)
Centrifugation Basics http://abacus.bates.edu/~ganderso/biology/resources/centrifugation.html
http://www.cooknaturally.com/DetailLotInfo.html
Hopper Design notes, George G Chase, University of Akron
Take the Best Separate the Rest (Starch from Wheat) booklet, GEA
Mechanical Separation Division
Handbook on Bio-ethanol: Production and Utilization (Applied Energy
Technology S.) 1996
Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering; McGraw Hill; McCabe, Smith, Harriott;
ISBN 0071181733
http://www.shieldscompany.com/products/bullet.asp - Accessed 17-02-06
PRA4 Spec. sheet available at
http://www.alvanblanch.co.uk/Rotary%20Cleaner.pdf
Eureka Brochure available at http://www.showes.com/product_pdfs/S.
Howes Eureka Scourer Brochure.pdf
Hydrator brochure available at http://www.satake.co.uk/pdf/Hydrator.pdf
Simplify Production with the patented UMS Discmill System [pdf] Available at
http://www.ums.dk
GEA Starch from Wheat brochure Available at http://www.westfaliaseparator.com/downloads/brochures/wsi-staerke.pdf
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Handbook of Cereal Science and Technology Karen Kulp Marcel Dekker, 2000
http://employees.csbsju.edu/hjakubowski/classes/ch112/carbohydrates/starch
glyco.gif
Novozymes
http://www.novozymes.com/cgibin/bvisapi.dll/biotimes/one_article.jsp?id=34551&lang=en
London South Bank University Enzyme Technology
http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/biology/enztech/reactors.html
Process Heating
http://www.processheating.com/CDA/Archives/be226053d9268010VgnVCM100000f932a8c0____
Handbook of Chemistry and Physics 70th Edition CRC Press, 1989 p D-233
http://www.glacierbay.com/Heatprop.asp
http://www.basf.com/urethanechemicals/spray/applications-html/applicationhot-warm-tank.htm
Chemical Engineering Volume 1 - J.M. Coulson, J.F. Richardson Butterworth
Heinemann, 1996
Process Heat Transfer G.F. Hewitt, G.L. Shires, T.R. Bott CRC Press, 1994
London South Bank University Enzyme Technology
BRENDA Enzyme Database - http://www.brenda.uni-koeln.de
Chapter 4 (MB)
Uhl and Gray Mixing: theory and practice vol. 1
Uhl and Gray Mixing: theory and practice vol. 2
Heat Transfer; Alan J Chapman
Heat Transfer; J. P. Holman
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Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook 1997

Process Heat Transfer; G F Hewitt, G L Shires, T R Bott
Coulson and Richardson's Chemical Engineering: Fluid Flow, Heat Transfer and
Mass Transfer v. 1
Coulson and Richardson's Chemical Engineering: Chemical Engineering Design v.
6
Coulson and Richardson's Chemical Engineering: Chemical and Biochemical
Reactors and Process Control v. 3
Handbook on Bio-ethanol: Production and Utilization (Applied Energy
Technology S.) 1996
Bioautomation, 2004, vol. 1, pp. 1-15: Functional state modelling of
Saccharomyces Cerevisiae cultivations;
www.clbme.bas.bg/bioautomation/1_1.1.pdf
Recovery of Ethanol from fermentation broth by pervaporation: Economical
evaluation.
Introduction to bio-processing lecture notes by professor Z F Cui
L. D. Schmidt: The engineering of chemical reactions 2005
Chapter 5 (JW)
McCabe, W. Smith, J. Harriott, P. (2001) Unit Operations of Chemical
Engineering, (Sixth Edition): McGraw-Hill.
Holman, J. (1990) Heat Transfer, (Seventh Edition): McGraw-Hill.
Perry, R. Green, D. (1984) Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, (Sixth
Edition): McGraw-Hill.
Coulson, J. Richardson, J. (1991) Chemical Engineering Vol2- Particle
Technology and Separation Processes, (Fourth Edition): Butterworth Heinemann.
Sinnott, R. Coulson, J. Richardson, J. (1991) Chemical Engineering Vol6Chemical Engineering Design, (Fourth Edition): Butterworth Heinemann.
Turton, R et al. (2003) Analysis, Synthesis and Design of Chemical Processes,
(Second Edition): Prentice Hall.
Hill, G. Holman, J. (2000) Chemistry in Context, (Fifth Edition): Nelson
B5 Course lecture notes
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http://www.s-ohe.com/Ethanol_Water_cal.html
http://www.deltatcorp.com/ethanol.html
Chapter 6 (SG)
Used in Report
Articles or Books
Title
E. Boullanger
G.H. Koops and C.A.
Smolders
Hartmut Bruschke
Coulson & Richardsons
Chemical Engineering
Volume 6
Author
Distillerie Agricole et
Industrielle
Pervaportaion in
Biotechnology
Industrial Application of
membrane separation
processes
Coluson and Richardsan
Publisher
Balliere (Paris), 1924
Elsevier (1991)
1995
Websites
Wikipedia
http://www.ucc.ie/ucc/depts/chem
http://www.frtr.gov/matrix/section4/4_54.html
US department of Health Website
www.erkol.com/eng/characteristics.htm
Multimap.com
Petroleum Industry
Brochures
Kuhni (Swiss based pervaporation module construction company)
Azeo-Sep
Used for Research:
Articles or Books
Title
Global potential bioethanol production
from wasted crops and
crop residues
Drastic improvement of
bio-ethanol recovery
using a pervaporation
separation technique
employing a silicone
rubber-coated silicate
membrane
Author
Sevngdo Kim, Bruce E.
Dale
Publisher
Biomass and Bioenergy
(Elsevier (2003))
Toru Ikegami,
Dolkitamoto
Journal of Chemical
technology and
Biotechnology (Feb
2003)
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membranes for water
or ethanol separation

V. Maeda and M.Kai
Elsevier (1991)
Websites:
http://www.emab.biocentrum.dtu.dk/English/Research/Research3.aspx
www.wri.org/wr-98-99/autos2.htm
BBC news
National Statistics Online
Chapter 7 (MW)
The Turbine Steam Consumption Calculator Version 2.1 (2002) Katmar
Software (available online at http://www.katmarsoftware.com/turbine.htm)
http://www3.toshiba.co.jp/power/english/thermal/products/turbines/ind2.ht
m
U.S. Dept of Energy; Energy Tips Steam booklet, Jan 2006-04-23
Siemens Steam Turbines; SST-700 steam turbine for economical production of
heat and power booklet, 2005
Thermodynamics lecture notes Dr P.D. McFadden (Oxford) HT 2005
Chapter 9 (MW)
Biz/ed Gas Prices Report All Gas and Profits? (available online at
http://www.bized.ac.uk/current/mind/2005_6/200306.htm)
UK Offshore Operators Association, Economic Report 2005 (available online at
http://www.oilandgas.org.uk/issues/economic/econ05/index.htm)
HM Revenue & Customs HYDROCARBON OILS: DUTY RATES 22 March 2006
What Price?- Petrol Prices (available online at
http://www.whatprice.co.uk/car/petrol-prices.php)
Chemical Engineering Design Project: A Case Study Approach; Production of
Phthalic Anhydride, M Ray et Al, ISBN 9056991361
Plant Design & Economics for Chemical Engineers (5th Ed); Max S Peters Et Al;
ISBN 0072392665
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Chapter 10 (MB / WT)

Lecture notes on sustainability by Roger Booth
The Times newspaper
http://www.greenfuels.org/ethanol/envbenefits.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/ENVIRONMENT/consult/greenfuel/response/03.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/airquality/forum/meetings/100904/pdf
/aqf14-04.pdf
Chapter 11 (JW)
Kletz. (1992) Hazop and Hazan, IChemE
A7 Safety and risk notes
http://www.hse.gov.uk/
145
Appendix 1 : Physical Properties (James Winterburn)
Substance
Molecular
Boiling Melting Point Density
(C)
(kg/m3)
Weight Point (C)
Ethanol
46.070
-112.0
78.4
1000.00
Water
18.016
0.0
100.0
789.34
Fig A1.1 Physical properties of Ethanol and Water98(density at 20C)
y1 mole fraction of ethanol in vapour
VLE Diagram- Ethanol Water System

1.00
0.90
0.80
0.70
0.60
0.50
0.40
0.30
0.20
0.10
0.00
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
x1 mole fraction of ethanol in liquid
Fig A1.2 Ethanol-Water Vapour-Liquid equilibrium99
98
99
Data from- Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill

http://www.s-ohe.com/Ethanol_Water_cal.html
Appendix 2 : Hopper / Tempering bin design (Michael Wallace)

A2.1 - Introduction to Hopper Design
Hoppers are incredibly important in any process which requires the storage of
granular feedstock or product and they require careful design to ensure effective
operation. This design process has been much improved since the 1960s due to the
work of Andrew W Jenike, in which he developed theory to describe material flow
in storage vessels.
Any hopper must be designed to allow easy loading but more importantly they must
be designed for easy unloading (this is to ensure that no solids are left stuck
within the hopper when it is emptied). There are two distinct types of flow which
can exist, (as depicted in figA2.1).
figA2.1 Hopper flow types

With mass flow all of the material in the hopper is in motion but with funnel flow it
is only a central column which is in motion whilst the rest of the material remains
stagnant. It is possible to obtain a mixture of these two, as shown in diagram [C].
The nature of the flow is determined by the shape of the outlet, figA2.2 shows an
assortment of shapes suited to each flow.
II
Appendix 02 M. Wallace
figA2.2 Outlet designs and corresponding flow types

Both flow types can cause problems, due to abnormal exit of material from the
hopper, therefore the following should be avoided:
RATHOLING The core of the hopper discharges but the sides remain stuck
inside. (figA2.3[a])
BRIDGING Cohesion of the material causes it to remain within the hopper.
(figA2.3[b])
FLUSHING The material exits in a sluggish manner as air enters and releases
layers of material. (figA2.3[c])
figA2.3 Common problems
SLOW FLOW The material does not exit quickly enough for the next stage of
the process.
INCOMPLETE EMPTYING Some material remains stuck inside when all the rest
has been discharged.
III
SEGREGATION Differently sized particles segregate within the hopper.

CONSOLIDATION As material is left within the hopper for a period of time it
compacts and becomes more difficult to remove from the vessel.
CAKING Moisture in the air can cause chemical reactions to occur, and the
particles may become attached to one another.
A2.2 - Mass Flow

Many of these problems can be solved by designing the hopper to be operational in
a mass flow mode. To achieve this, a cone angle of between 0 and 40 is required.
Under most normal circumstances mass flow will be desired as it provides a
consistent flow which allows the stresses on the walls to be easily predictable.
It also means that the first material into the hopper will be the first out and
prevents problems with consolidation but if it is a low head room is required then
the hopper will need to be designed for funnel flow. Ideally they should always be
designed for mass flow.
A2.3 - Hopper Design for Mass Flow

To design a hopper there are four material properties which are required:
INTERNAL FRICTION COEFFICIENT A Jenike Shear Tester is used to determine the
coefficient of shear friction of the material against itself.
WALL FRICTION COEFFICIENT A similar test determines the coefficient of shear of
the material against a wall sample. The coefficient is expressed as an angle
of friction, where the shearing force, F, is related to the normal force,
N(Calculated using eqA2.1 and eqA2.2).
= arctan( )
F = N
(eqA2.1)
where
(eqA2.2)
PERMEABILITY
COMPRESSIBILITY
A2.4 - Stresses
In order to assess the stresses which are present within a hopper we can look at the
equilibrium of forces in an elemental element dz (see figA2.4) in the steady state.
IV
figA2.4 Force balance on a cylindrical hopper

Equation A was solved by Janssen in 1985, when he assumed that the vertical
normal stress is proportional to lateral normal stress (equation B and deduced the
Janssen Equation (equation C). This equation can be plotted as a function of
depth in a silo, which produces the plot in figA2.5.
figA2.5 Vertical normal stress profile

It is worth noting that the pressure at a large depth is only a function of silo
diameter, therefore a common silo design will be tall and thin rather than short
and wide.
This profile is valid for a plain cylindrical silo but to design a hopper it is necessary
to consider the converging section at the base. The calculation for this is complex,
but Chase100 suggests a profile like that shown in figA2.6.
100
VI
figA2.6 Hopper stress field
A2.5 - Outlet design

To design the outlet of a hopper for mass flow operation it is necessary to ensure
that the stress distribution does not allow a stable arch to form and thus stop the
flow. Therefore it is necessary to design based upon the material properties, one of
which is defined as the material flow function (MFF).
figA2.7 MMF for assorted material types

This function is an indication of the stress which would be required to make an
arch collapse and is defined in terms of normal stress and the unconfined yield
stress (stress required to initiate flow in an arch), see figA2.7. Flow will occur for
values which are located above the MMF curve.
The other material properties which are required are the effective angle of
internal friction and the angle of wall friction which can both be determined as
described in section A2.3.
It is now possible to calculate the minimum hopper outlet size. In 1964 A.W.
Jenike proved that there is a constant ratio of compacting stress (due to the
material self weight) to shear stress (internally) regardless of position within a
VII
mass flow hopper. He named this the flow factor (eqA2.3) and published charts
from which values of ff can be determined.
CompactingStress
=
(eqA2.3)
ff =
ApppliedShearStress AS
The chart for a conical outlet hopper is shown in figA2.8.
figA2.8 Design chart for conical outlet hoppers

It is now possible to superimpose a plot of 1/ff onto the MMF curve (figA2.7), the
intersection of these lines is known as the critical applied stress (see figA2.9).
VIII
figA2.9 Determination of CAS

Recall from figA2.7 that it was necessary to be above the MMF curve for flow to
occur, therefore a hopper should be designed to operate above the CAS value
(where 1/ff is above the MMF curve).
figA2.10 Minimum outlet size

The final important design criteria is the rate of discharge from the hopper. For a
conical outlet mass flow hopper being used for coarse particles (>500 microns) the
Johanson equation can be used (eqA2.4 where =mass flow):
Dg
(eqA2.4)
= ( D2 )
4
4 tan( )
A2.6 - Tempering Bin Design

In order to design the tempering bins for the pre-treatment process, it is necessary
to carry out shear tests on the wheat to obtain the friction coefficients and
corresponding angles of friction.
IX
To allow a preliminary design I will use the results from tests on an arbitrary
powder along with the bulk density of wheat.
figA2.11 Experimental Shear Stress data on arbitrary powder

From this data it is possible to calculate the following :
Now use this information along with figA2.13 to determine the other material
properties:
figA2.13 Design Chart

So, the semi-included angle = 29 and the flow factor = 1.75.
1.2
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
figA2.14 CAS value determination

XI
figA.14 can be used to determine the CAS value for the powder, CAS = 0.81 kPa
So the minimum outlet diameter is 20.5cm. It is important to check that this allows
an appropriate rate of discharge:
For the tempering bins we require 27kgs-1 so this is too slow, therefore it is
necessary to increase the included angle slightly, this has the added benefit of
ensuring mass flow. Let =25
Therefore we have a mass flow of 27.37 kgs-1 which is sufficient, it is now

necessary to design the height and radius of the hopper.
Primarily look at the design as a simple cylinder:
XII
Cylinder design curve

7
Radius (m)
0
0
10
12
14
16
18
20
Height (m)
figA2.15 Cylinder height vs. radius curve
XIII
Therefore the final design will have dimensions as shown:
figA2.16 Tempering bin design

XIV
Appendix 3 : Hydrolysis Calculations (William Treharne)

A3.1 - Enzyme Kinetics
The time required for an enzymatic process to reach a specified fractional
conversion of substrate is given by:
vmax t = [ S0 ] X K m ln(1 X )
(eqA3.1)101
= Maximum rate of reaction (kmol/m/s)
vmax
t
[ S0 ]
= Reaction time (s)

= Initial substrate concentration (kmol/m)
X
Km
= Fractional conversion
= Michaelis constant (kmol/m)
The fractional conversion is defined as:
X = 1
[S ]
[ S0 ]
(eqA3.2)
The maximum rate of reaction can be estimated from:

vmax = kcat [ E0 ]
[S ]
[ E0 ]
= Initial enzyme concentration (kmol/m)
kcat
= Turnover number (s-1)
(eqA3.3)
= Instantaneous substrate concentration (kmol/m)
For glucoamylase102:
kcat = 3.2s-1
K m = 59mM
Molecular Weight = 63000
Specific Activity = 11.7 mol/min/mg
For a glucoamylase activity of 150U/kg, the enzyme concentration used in the
saccharification process is:
150 1138
= 2.316 107 M
(1M = 1kmol/m)
[ E0 ] =
6
11.7 10 63000
101
102
BRENDA Enzyme Database - http://www.brenda.uni-koeln.de
XV
Appendix 3 W Treharne
The substrate (starch) mass concentration is 389.27kg/m and has a molecular

weight of approximately 40000. This gives an initial substrate molar concentration
of:
389.27
= 9.7317 103 M
[ S0 ] =
40000
The maximum rate of reaction is therefore:
vmax = 3.2 2.316 107 = 7.411 107 Ms -1
A fractional conversion of 97% therefore takes:
[ S ] X K m ln(1 X ) = 9.732 103 0.97 0.059 ln(1 0.97) = 291900s = 81.1hrs
t= 0
vmax
7.411 107
This time will be reduced by adding pullulanase with the glucoamylase.
Gelatinisation
The fermenter requires over 52000kg/hr of glucose to produce the desired ethanol
output. This value has been rounded up to 53000kg/hr to account for losses and
imperfections in the system. The following spreadsheet was created to calculate
the required starch, water and steam inputs to produce the required glucose:
Glucose Requirement (kg/hr)
Starch Conversion Efficiency (kg glucose/kg starch)
Starch Requirement (kg/hr)
Slurry Starch Composition (w/w)
Water Requirement (kg/hr)
Water Density (kg/m)
Starch Density (kg/m)
Input Flow Rates
Slurry Mass Flow Rate (kg/hr)
Slurry Volume Flow Rate (m/hr)
Jet Cooker
Starch Specific Heat Capacity (J/kg/K)
Water Specific Heat Capacity (J/kg/K)
Slurry Specific Heat Capacity (J/kg/K)
Input Temperature (C)
Output Temperature (C)
Heating Requirement (W)
Steam Latent heat of vaporisation (J/kg)
Steam cooling enthalpy change (J/kg)
Steam flow required (kg/s)
Output Flow Rates
Slurry Mass Flow Rate (kg/hr)
Slurry Volume Flow Rate (m/hr)
53000
1.078
49165.121
0.35
76816.194
1000
1530
125981.315
108.950
1250
4180
3154.5
20
105
9032385.541
2244000
0
4.025
140471.773
123.441
XVI
Slurry Density
1137.970
Gelatinisation Time (min)

Gelatiniser Tube Capacity (m)
5
10.287
Pipe Specification
Pipe Inner Diameter (m)
Pipe Inner Cross-sectional Area (m)
Pipe Length (m)
Average Flow Velocity (m/s)
0.5
0.196
52.390
0.175
The mass flow rate of steam was obtained from the following equation:
(eqA3.4)
Q& = h fg m& s
h fg
= Steam specific enthalpy of vaporisation (kJ/kg)
m& s
= Steam mass flow rate (kg/s)
A3.2 - Vessel Sizes

The liquefaction process takes a total of 2.3 hours to complete and the slurry flow
rate is 123.4m/hr. Therefore the vessel capacity must be:
123.441 2.3 = 283.9m3

For a cylindrical vessel with a height equal to its diameter, this capacity gives a
diameter (rounded up to the nearest 50mm) of:
3
283.9 7.15m
The saccharification process takes a total of 74 hours to complete and 10 vessels

will be used. The slurry flow rate is 123.4m/hr which gives a vessel capacity of:
123.441 74
= 913.5m3
10
For a cylindrical vessel with a height equal to its diameter, this capacity gives a
diameter (rounded up to the nearest 50mm) of:
3
913.5 10.55m
Vessel Heat Transfer Coefficients

Heat transfer coefficients for general heat transfer to or from the fluid in the
vessel (assuming the bulk and wall viscosities are approximately the same) can be
found from:
XVII
Nuv = K Re aa Pr b geometric correction factor

(eqA3.5)103
The Nusselt number based on the vessel diameter is given by:
Nuv =
hDv
k
(eqA3.6)
The Reynolds number based on the agitator speed and diameter is given by:
NDi
2
Re a =
(eqA3.7)
The constants in equation x.5 and recommended vessel geometries are given by
table A3.1
Impeller
Type
Flat Blade
Turbine
45 Axial
Flow
Turbine
Propeller
Flat Blade
Turbine
45 Axial
Flow
Turbine
Propeller
Heat
Transfer
Surface
Vessel Wall
Di / Dv
Li / Dv
N bl
1/3
1/5
0.74
Vessel Wall
1/3
1/5
0.74
2/
3
2/
3
1/
3
1/
3
Vessel Wall
1/3
0.5
Heating Coil
1/3
1/5
0.03
Heating Coil
1/3
1/5
0.03
2/
3
0.6
7
0.6
7
1/
3
1/
3
1/
3
Heating Coil
1/3
0.01
6
0.6
7
0.3
7
Geometric
correction
factor
1
0.841
1
1
0.841
1
Table A3.1 Recommended vessel geometries and heat transfer constants104
Dv
=
=
=
=
=
Di
= impeller diameter (m)
Li
N
N bl
= impeller height (m)
h
k
103
104
heat transfer coefficient (W/m/K)

fluid thermal conductivity (W/m/K)
fluid density (kg/m)
fluid dynamic viscosity (Pa s)
vessel diameter (m)
= impeller rotational speed (revs/s)

= number of impeller blades
Process Heat Transfer G.F. Hewitt, G.L. Shires, T.R. Bott CRC Press, 1994 pp946-947
XVIII
For the liquefaction vessels:

Substrate Density (kg/m)
Specific Heat Capacity (J/kg/K)
Dynamic Viscosity (Pa s)
1137.97
3036.55
4.40E-03
0.61
Impeller Speed (revs/s)

Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
0.1
1.47E+05
21.92
Impeller Type
HT Surface Correction Factor Nu
h (W/m/K)
Flat Blade Turbine
Vessel Wall
1 5.76E+03 4.916E+02
Axial Flow Turbine (45) Vessel Wall
0.841 4.84E+03 4.134E+02
Propeller
Vessel Wall
1 3.89E+03 3.321E+02
Flat Blade Turbine
Helical Coils
Axial Flow Turbine (45) Helical Coils
Propeller
Helical Coils
1 2.43E+02
0.841 2.04E+02
1 1.45E+02
2.073E+01
1.744E+01
1.238E+01
For the saccharification vessels:

1137.97
Specific Heat Capacity (J/kg/K) 3154.55
4.40E-03
0.61
Impeller Speed (revs/s)

Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
0.1
3.20E+05
22.77
Impeller Type
HT Surface Correction Factor Nu
h (W/m/K)
Flat Blade Turbine
Vessel Wall
1 9.81E+03
5.67E+02
Axial Flow Turbine (45) Vessel Wall
0.841 8.25E+03
4.77E+02
Propeller
Vessel Wall
1 6.63E+03
3.83E+02
Flat Blade Turbine
Helical Coils
Axial Flow Turbine (45) Helical Coils
Propeller
Helical Coils
1 4.15E+02
0.841 3.49E+02
1 2.48E+02
2.40E+01
2.02E+01
1.43E+01
XIX
A3.3 - Vessel Heat Loss

The heat loss through the walls of the vessel is given by:
Q& =
Q&
Tin
(Tin To )2L
2(Tin To )rin2
+
1
ln(ro rin ) ln(1 + tl ro )
1 1 (ro rin ) tl
1
+
+
+
+
+ +
kw
kl
ro ho hin
kw
kl ho
rin hin
(eqA3.8)
= Heat loss (W)

= Vessel reaction temperature (C)
To
L
rin
= Temperature of vessel surroundings (C)
ro
= Vessel outer radius (m)
hin
= Inner surface heat transfer coefficient (W/m/K)
ho
= Outer surface heat transfer coefficient (W/m/K)
tl
= Lagging thickness
kw
= Vessel wall thermal conductivity (W/m/K)
kl
= Lagging thermal conductivity (W/m/K)
= Vessel height (m)

= Vessel inner radius (m)
The first term gives heat loss through the curved cylinder sides and the second
term gives the heat loss through the two circular ends. hin can be found from
equation x.1 and ho can be calculated by treating the vessel as a cylinder in cross
flow for which:
Nu = 0.0208 Re 0.814
(eqA3.9)
The Nusselt and Reynolds numbers are based on the vessel total diameter.
XX
For the liquefaction vessels:
Density (kg/m)
Characteristic Length (m)
Velocity (m/s)
Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
Heat Transfer Coefficient (W/m/K)
Vessel Wall Thickness (m)
Vessel Wall Thermal Conductivity (W/m/K)
Lagging Thermal Conductivity (W/m/K)
Tank Inner Radius (m)
Tank Outer Radius (m)
Inside Temperature (C)
Outside Temperature (C)
Substrate Air
1156.5
1.293
3154.5
1004
4.40E-03 1.81E-05
0.61 2.41E-02
7.15
3.0
1.47E+05 1.53E+06
2.28E+01 7.54E-01
4.98E+02 7.60E+00
0.020
16
0.0245
3.573
3.593
95
0
Lagging Thickness (m) Heat Loss (W)

0.00
170151.98
0.01
42312.18
0.02
24179.27
0.03
16935.12
0.04
13036.55
0.05
10600.69
0.06
8934.37
0.07
7722.67
0.08
6801.87
0.09
6078.44
0.10
5495.06
XXI
For the saccharification vessels:
Density (kg/m)
Characteristic Length (m)
Velocity (m/s)
Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
Heat Transfer Coefficient (W/m/K)
Vessel Wall Thickness (m)
Vessel Wall Thermal Conductivity (W/m/K)
Lagging Thermal Conductivity (W/m/K)
Tank Inner Radius (m)
Tank Outer Radius (m)
Inside Temperature (C)
Outside Temperature (C)
Substrate Air
1156.5
1.293
3154.5
1004
4.40E-03 1.81E-05
0.61 2.41E-02
10.55
3.0
3.20E+05 2.26E+06
2.28E+01 7.54E-01
5.67E+02 7.07E+00
0.020
50
0.025
5.275
5.295
60
0
Lagging Thickness (m) Heat Loss (W)

0.00
219614.45
0.01
58083.35
0.02
33485.22
0.03
23532.00
0.04
18145.23
0.05
14768.71
0.06
12454.11
0.07
10768.54
0.08
9486.24
0.09
8477.96
0.10
7664.33
XXII
A3.4 - Vessel Heating Coil

For saturated steam vapour entering the heating coil and leaving as saturated
liquid, the heat transfer rate is given by:
Q& = h fg m& s
h fg
= Steam specific enthalpy of vaporisation (kJ/kg)
m& s
= Steam mass flow rate (kg/s)
(eqA3.10)
Heat transfer through the wall of the heating coil pipe is given by:
Q& =
Ain F (Ts TR )
1 rin ln(ro rin ) rin
+
+
kw
ro ho
hin
Ts
= Steam temperature (C)
TR
Ain
= Vessel reaction temperature (C)

= Pipe inner surface area (m)
rin
= Pipe inner radius (m)
ro
= Pipe outer radius (m)
hin
= Inner surface heat transfer coefficient (W/m/K)
ho
= Outer surface heat transfer coefficient (W/m/K)
kw
F
= Pipe wall thermal conductivity (W/m/K)
(eqA3.11)
= Fouling factor
XXIII
These equations give the following results:

Liquefaction Vessels
Steam Pressure (bar)
4
Steam Temperature (C)
143.63
hfg (J/kg)
2132900
10600.56
Required Mass Flow Rate (kg/s) 0.00497
Reaction Temperature (C)
95
T (K)
48.63
hin (W/m/K)
17000
hout (W/m/K)
20.735
Wall Thickness
0.002
Conductivity (W/m/K)
390
Inner Diameter (m)
0.150
U (W/m/K)
20.708
Fouling Factor
0.5
Area (m)
21.053
Length (m)
44.676
Impeller Diameter (m)
2.382
Coil Diameter (m)
3.000
Coil Turns
4.740
Saccharification Vessels
Steam Pressure (bar)
4
Steam Temperature (C)
143.63
hfg (J/kg)
2132900
14768.69
Required Mass Flow Rate (kg/s) 0.00692
Reaction Temperature (C)
60
T (K)
83.63
hin (W/m/K)
17000
hout (W/m/K)
23.929
Wall Thickness
0.002
Conductivity (W/m/K)
390
Inner Diameter (m)
0.100
U (W/m/K)
23.894
Fouling Factor
0.5
Area (m)
14.782
Length (m)
47.052
Impeller Diameter (m)
3.517
Coil Diameter (m)
4.000
Coil Turns
3.744
XXIV
Appendix 4 : U-Tube Heat Exchanger Design (William Treharne)

A4.1 - Overall Heat Transfer
Tc,in
Th,in
Th,out
Tc,out
FigA4.1 Shell and tube heat exchanger with two tube side passes
The heat transfer rate is given by the following equations:
Q& = m& h ch (Th ,in Th ,out )

Where:
Q&
= Heat transfer rate (W)
m& h
= Hot stream mass flow rate (kg/s)
ch
= Specific heat capacity of hot stream fluid (J/kg/K)
Th ,in
= Hot stream inlet temperature (C)
Th ,out
= Hot stream outlet temperature (C)
Q& = m& c cc (Tc ,out Tc ,in )

Where:
m& c
(eqA4.2)
= Cold stream mass flow rate (kg/s)
cc
= Specific heat capacity of cold stream fluid (J/kg/K)
Tc ,in
= Cold stream inlet temperature (C)
Tc ,out
= Cold stream outlet temperature (C)
Q& = UAFTM
Where:
U
A
F
TM
(eqA4.1)
=
=
=
=
(eqA4.3)
Overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m/K)

Heat transfer area (m)
Fouling factor
Effective temperature difference (K)
Equations A4.1 A4.3 must all be satisfied to give a valid solution.

The effective temperature difference is given by the following equations:
TM = (Th ,in Tc ,in )
(eqA4.4)
XXV
Appendix 04 W. Treharne
P R2 + 1
2 P(( R + 1) R 2 + 1)
ln
2
2 P (( R + 1) + R + 1)
(eqA4.5)105
P=
Tc ,out Tc ,in
Th ,in Tc ,in
(eqA4.6)
R=
Th,in Th,out
Tc ,out Tc ,in
(eqA4.7)
The overall heat transfer coefficient referenced to the inner surface of the tubes is
given by:
1
1 rin ln(ro / rin ) rin
=
+
+
U in hin
kw
ro ho
(eqA4.8)
Where:
= Tube inner surface heat transfer coefficient (W/m/K)
hin
ho
= Tube outer surface heat transfer coefficient (W/m/K)
rin
= Tube inner radius (m)
ro
= Tube outer radius (m)
kw
= Tube wall thermal conductivity (W/m/K)
A4.2 - Tube Side Heat Transfer

On the tube side, the heat transfer coefficient can be determined from:
0.8
VD c
hin Din
= 0.023 in
k
k
106
(eqA4.9)
Where:
Din
V
k
c
105
106
0.4
= Tube inner diameter (m)

=
=
=
=
=
Tube flow velocity (m/s)

Fluid thermal conductivity (W/m/K)
Fluid density (kg/m)
Fluid viscosity (Pa s)
Fluid specific heat capacity (J/kg/K)
XXVI
A4.3 - Shell Side Heat Transfer

On the shell side, the heat transfer coefficient can be determined from:
D m&
ho De
= 0.36 e s
k

107
(eqA4.10)
0.55
1/ 3
c

k
Where:
= Equivalent diameter (m)
De
= Shell side mass flux density (kg/m)
m& s
The equivalent diameter is given by:
De = 4 Flow area Wetted Perimeter
(eqA4.11)
Do
PT
FigA4.2 Square pitch tube arrangement

For the square pitch tube arrangement shown in figure A4.2:
2 D 2
4 PT o
4
De =
Do
(eqA4.12)
Where:
= Tube pitch (m)
PT
= Outer tube diameter (m)
Do
107
XXVII
The shell side mass flux density is given by:

M&
m& s = T
Ss
Where:
= Total shell side mass flow rate (kg/s)
M& T
= Shell cross flow area (m)
Ss
(eqA4.13)
The shell cross flow area is given by:
Ss =
Ds CLb
PT
(eqA4.14)
Where:
Ds = Shell diameter (m)
= Tube clearance (m)
Lb
= Baffle spacing (m)
A4.4 - Baffle Design

An approximation to the number of tubes that will fit in a shell of specified
diameter for a square pitch tube arrangement is given by:
Ds
NT
2
PT
(eqA4.15)
Baffle Window
Ds
Baffle
0.75 Ds
FigA4.3. Segmental baffle with 25% window cut

XXVIII
The baffle area for segmental baffle as shown in figure A4.3 is given by:
2
D
AB = s ( 12 sin 2 )
2
(eqA4.16)
For a 25% baffle cut,
0.25 Ds
= 2.094 rad
+ sin 1
2
0.5 Ds
(egA4.17)
This gives a baffle area of
D
AB = 0.8045 s
2
(eqA4.18)
Therefore the number of holes which need to be drilled in each baffle is given
approximately by:
N H 0.8045 N T
(eqA4.19)
A4.5 - Design Parameters and Constraints

A number of parameters are determined by the desired operation of the heat
exchanger which define certain constraints on the design:
1. The inlet and outlet temperatures of the fluid to be cooled are specified
with a mass flow rate which defines the overall heat transfer requirement of
the heat exchanger.
2. The cooling fluid inlet temperature and heat transfer requirement with a
chosen outlet temperature determines the required cooling fluid mass flow
rate.
3. The physical properties of the two fluids allow the shell side and tube side
heat transfer coefficients to be found for given design dimensions. This
allows the required heat transfer area to be found.
4. Fouling resistances on the tube side of the heat exchanger can increase
rapidly if the flow velocity is below 1 to 2 m/s and erosion may occur if the
velocity is too high. This constrains the flow velocity between two limits.
A4.6 - Design Variables

Tube Diameter
Small tube diameters give a greater heat transfer surface density for a given shell
diameter than larger tubes and reduce the required tube length due to the
increased number of tubes that can be fitted into the shell. However, smaller tube
diameters result in an increased susceptibility to vibrations from the shell side
cross flow and require more cleaning operations per tube sheet. The minimum
outer diameter is limited to approximately 20 mm by tube cleaning practices108.
108
XXIX
Tube Length
Longer tubes generally result in a cheaper exchanger for a given heat transfer
surface area. This is because a longer design results in a smaller shell diameter,
thinner tube sheets, fewer tubes and components, and fewer holes to drill in the
baffles to support the tubes. For best all round performance, the usual tube length
to shell diameter ratio is around 5 to 10109.
Tube Layout and Pitch
The arrangement of tubes and their spacing (pitch) can have a great effect on the
thermohydraulic performance of the heat exchanger. A triangular arrangement
results in robust tube sheets but a square arrangement will simplify some
maintenance operations such as shell side cleaning. It is good practice to have a
tube pitch of at least 1.25 times the outer tube diameter110.
Baffle Spacing
The shell cross baffles are used to direct the flow across the tube bundle but also
mechanically support the tubes against sagging and possible vibration. The most
common baffle type is the segmental baffle in which a segment is removed from a
disc to produce a window. The ratio of baffle cut to baffle spacing is important to
maximise heat transfer. The spacing between baffles should not be less than 1/5 of
the shell inner diameter and should not be so great as to exceed the maximum
unsupported tube length as recommended by the Tubular Exchanger
Manufacturers Association111.
A4.7 - The Effect of Design Variables on the Required Tube Length
Cooling Stream Outlet Temperature
400
25
360
20
340
320
15
300
280
10
260
5
Number Of Tubes
Length (m)/Volume (m3)
380
Length
Volume
Tubes
240
220
200
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
Tc,out (C)
FigA4.4 The effect of cooling stream outlet temperature on exchanger design

109
110
111
XXX
For a fixed shell diameter, tube diameter and pitch, and baffle spacing, increasing
the cooling stream outlet temperature increases the required tube length but
lowers the fluid velocity in the tubes.
1200
350
1000
300
250
800
200
600
150
400
100
200
0
0.01
Number Of Tubes
Tube Diameter and Tube Pitch
Length
Volume
Tubes
50
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
0
0.09
Tube Diameter (m)
450
1000
400
900
350
800
700
300
600
250
500
200
400
150
300
100
200
50
100
0
0.06
0.07
0.08
0.09
0.1
0.11
0.12
0.13
0.14
Number Of Tubes
FigA4.5 The effect of tube diameter on exchanger design
Length
Volume
Tubes
0
0.15
Tube Pitch (m)
FigA4.6 The effect of tube pitch on exchanger design

Keeping the shell diameter, baffle spacing and cooling stream outlet temperature
constant, increasing the tube pitch decreases the number of tubes required but
increases the required tube length which is more economically favourable.
XXXI
Increasing the tube diameter decreases the required length for a fixed tube pitch.
Therefore, a good design would have a tube pitch close to the tube diameter.
Shell Diameter
70
1800
1600
1400
50
1200
40
1000
30
800
600
20
Number Of Tubes
60
Length
Volume
Tubes
400
10
200
3
2.9
2.8
2.7
2.6
2.5
2.4
2.3
2.2
2.1
1.9
1.8
1.7
1.6
1.5
1.4
1.3
1.2
0
1.1
0
Shell Diameter (m)
FigA4.7 The effect of shell diameter on exchanger design

Increasing the shell diameter for a fixed tube diameter and pitch decreases the
required length but increases the number of tubes required significantly. Therefore
to minimise cost, smaller shell diameters are favourable.
55
800
50
700
45
600
40
35
500
30
400
25
300
20
200
15
Length
Volume
Tubes
100
10
5
0.25
Number Of Tubes
Baffle Spacing
0
0.5
0.75
1.25
1.5
1.75
2.25
2.5
2.75
Baffle Spacing (m)
FigA4.8 The effect of baffle spacing on exchanger design

XXXII
Increasing the baffle spacing with all other design variables fixed increases the
cross flow area which decreases the shell side mass flux density reducing the heat
transferred and so the required tube length increases. The smallest possible baffle
spacing is therefore favourable.
A4.8 - Design Calculations

The following tables give possible U-tube heat exchanger designs using 100, 200,
300 and 400 tubes. Designs which do not meet the specified constraints, and
therefore cannot be used, have values coloured in red. The chosen design is shaded
blue.
XXXIII
100 tubes
Hot Stream
Inlet Temperature (C)
Outlet Temperature (C)
Volume Flow Rate (m/hr)
Mass Flow Rate (kg/s)
Viscosity (Pa s)
Required Heat Transfer (W)
95
95
95
95
95
60
60
60
60
60
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97
316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026
3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50
4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07
95
60
1000
1137.97
316.1026
3154.50
4.40E-03
0.61
3.49E+07
Cold Stream
Viscosity (Pa s)
Tm (K)
20
20
20
20
20
40
40
40
40
40
417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
4180
4180
4180
4180
4180
1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759
20
40
417.4653
1000
4180
1.00E-03
0.61
44.49759
Shell And Tube Design

Shell Diameter (m)
Tube Wall Thickness (m)
Tube Pitch (m)
Tube Clearance (m)
Equivalent Diameter (m)
Number Of Tubes
Number Of Tubes On Diameter
Baffle Spacing (m)
0.800
0.038
0.001
0.040
0.050
0.010
0.040
100
15
0.160
0.900
0.043
0.001
0.045
0.056
0.011
0.045
100
15
0.180
1.000
0.048
0.001
0.050
0.063
0.013
0.050
100
15
0.200
1.100
0.053
0.001
0.055
0.069
0.014
0.055
100
15
0.220
1.200
0.058
0.001
0.060
0.075
0.015
0.060
100
15
0.240
1.300
0.063
0.001
0.065
0.081
0.016
0.064
100
15
0.260
Tube Side
Total Pipe Cross Sectional Area (m)
Average Water Velocity (m/s)
Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
Nusselt Number
h in (W/m/K)
0.114
3.661
1.39E+05
6.85E+00
6.48E+02
1.04E+04
0.146
2.859
1.23E+05
6.85E+00
5.87E+02
8.31E+03
0.182
2.294
1.10E+05
6.85E+00
5.38E+02
6.81E+03
0.222
1.882
1.00E+05
6.85E+00
4.97E+02
5.70E+03
0.266
1.571
9.14E+04
6.85E+00
4.62E+02
4.85E+03
0.313
1.332
8.41E+04
6.85E+00
4.33E+02
4.18E+03
Shell Side
Cross Flow Area (m)
Mass Flux Density (kg/m/s)
Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
Nusselt Number
h out (W/m/K)
0.0256
12347.76
1.11E+05
2.28E+01
6.09E+02
9.35E+03
0.0324
9756.254
9.89E+04
2.28E+01
5.70E+02
7.79E+03
0.04
7902.566
8.90E+04
2.28E+01
5.38E+02
6.62E+03
0.0484
6531.046
8.09E+04
2.28E+01
5.11E+02
5.71E+03
0.0576
5487.893
7.42E+04
2.28E+01
4.87E+02
4.99E+03
0.0676
4676.075
6.85E+04
2.28E+01
4.66E+02
4.41E+03
16
16
3.29E+03 2.83E+03
1.1
1.1
2.62E+02 3.05E+02
9.684
10.071
10.76025 10.07125
6.160838 7.909941
53
50
8527
8045
16
2.47E+03
1.1
3.50E+02
10.478
9.525002
9.957103
47
7562
16
2.17E+03
1.1
3.98E+02
10.896
9.079814
12.32283
45
7240
16
1.92E+03
1.1
4.49E+02
11.321
8.708746
15.02711
43
6918
Overall Heat Transfer

Wall Thermal Conductivity (W/m/K)
Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient (W/m/K)
Fouling Factor
Heat Transfer Area Required (m)
Required Shell Length (m)
Tube Length to Shell Diameter Ratio
Shell Volume (m)
Number of Baffles
16
3.86E+03
1.1
2.23E+02
9.328
11.65981
4.688689
58
9332
XXXIV
200 tubes
Hot Stream
Viscosity (Pa s)
95
95
95
95
95
95
60
60
60
60
60
60
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97
316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026
3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50
4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07
Cold Stream
Viscosity (Pa s)
Tm (K)
20
20
20
20
20
20
40
40
40
40
40
40
417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
4180
4180
4180
4180
4180
4180
1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759

Shell Diameter (m)
Tube Pitch (m)
Tube Clearance (m)
Number Of Tubes
Baffle Spacing (m)
0.800
0.026
0.001
0.028
0.035
0.007
0.028
200
0.160
0.900
0.030
0.001
0.032
0.040
0.008
0.032
200
0.180
1.000
0.033
0.001
0.035
0.044
0.009
0.035
200
0.200
1.100
0.037
0.001
0.039
0.049
0.010
0.039
200
0.220
1.200
0.041
0.001
0.043
0.053
0.011
0.042
200
0.240
1.300
0.044
0.001
0.046
0.058
0.012
0.046
200
0.260
Tube Side
Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
Nusselt Number
h in (W/m/K)
0.109
3.825
1.01E+05
6.85E+00
5.00E+02
1.16E+04
0.140
2.972
8.89E+04
6.85E+00
4.52E+02
9.22E+03
0.176
2.375
7.95E+04
6.85E+00
4.13E+02
7.54E+03
0.215
1.942
7.18E+04
6.85E+00
3.81E+02
6.29E+03
0.258
1.617
6.56E+04
6.85E+00
3.54E+02
5.33E+03
0.305
1.368
6.03E+04
6.85E+00
3.31E+02
4.58E+03
Shell Side
Cross Flow Area (m)
Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
Nusselt Number
h out (W/m/K)
0.0256
12347.76
7.87E+04
2.28E+01
5.03E+02
1.09E+04
0.0324
9756.254
6.99E+04
2.28E+01
4.71E+02
9.11E+03
0.04
7902.566
6.29E+04
2.28E+01
4.45E+02
7.74E+03
0.0484
6531.046
5.72E+04
2.28E+01
4.22E+02
6.67E+03
0.0576
5487.893
5.24E+04
2.28E+01
4.02E+02
5.83E+03
0.0676
4676.075
4.84E+04
2.28E+01
3.85E+02
5.15E+03

Fouling Factor
Shell Volume (m)
Number of Baffles
16
4.32E+03
1.1
2.00E+02
6.035
3.033345
7.54331
37
11906
16
16
16
16
16
3.68E+03 3.17E+03 2.76E+03 2.43E+03 2.15E+03
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
2.35E+02 2.72E+02 3.12E+02 3.55E+02 4.01E+02
6.242
6.473
6.720
6.977
7.241
3.970886 5.084094 6.386502 7.891267 9.611214
6.935376 6.47327 6.109352 5.81451 5.57004
34
32
30
29
27
10941
10297
9654
9332
8688
XXXV
300 tubes
Hot Stream
Viscosity (Pa s)
95
95
95
95
95
95
60
60
60
60
60
60
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97
316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026
3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50
4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07
Cold Stream
Viscosity (Pa s)
Tm (K)
20
20
20
20
20
20
40
40
40
40
40
40
417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
4180
4180
4180
4180
4180
4180
1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759

Shell Diameter (m)
Tube Pitch (m)
Tube Clearance (m)
Number Of Tubes
Baffle Spacing (m)
0.800
0.021
0.001
0.023
0.029
0.006
0.023
300
27
0.160
0.900
0.024
0.001
0.026
0.033
0.007
0.026
300
27
0.180
1.000
0.027
0.001
0.029
0.036
0.007
0.029
300
27
0.200
1.100
0.030
0.001
0.032
0.040
0.008
0.032
300
27
0.220
1.200
0.033
0.001
0.035
0.043
0.009
0.034
300
27
0.240
1.300
0.036
0.001
0.038
0.047
0.009
0.037
300
27
0.260
Tube Side
Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
Nusselt Number
h in (W/m/K)
0.105
3.959
8.38E+04
6.85E+00
4.31E+02
1.24E+04
0.136
3.063
7.37E+04
6.85E+00
3.89E+02
9.87E+03
0.171
2.441
6.58E+04
6.85E+00
3.55E+02
8.04E+03
0.210
1.990
5.94E+04
6.85E+00
3.27E+02
6.69E+03
0.252
1.654
5.41E+04
6.85E+00
3.04E+02
5.66E+03
0.299
1.396
4.97E+04
6.85E+00
2.84E+02
4.86E+03
Shell Side
Cross Flow Area (m)
Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
Nusselt Number
h out (W/m/K)
0.0256
12347.76
6.42E+04
2.28E+01
4.50E+02
1.20E+04
0.0324
9756.254
5.71E+04
2.28E+01
4.22E+02
9.98E+03
0.04
7902.566
5.14E+04
2.28E+01
3.98E+02
8.48E+03
0.0484
6531.046
4.67E+04
2.28E+01
3.78E+02
7.31E+03
0.0576
5487.893
4.28E+04
2.28E+01
3.60E+02
6.39E+03
0.0676
4676.075
3.95E+04
2.28E+01
3.44E+02
5.64E+03

Fouling Factor
Shell Volume (m)
Number of Baffles
16
16
16
16
16
4.62E+03 3.94E+03 3.40E+03 2.96E+03 2.60E+03
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.1
1.87E+02 2.19E+02 2.54E+02 2.92E+02 3.32E+02
4.683
4.832
5.003
5.187
5.379
2.354124 3.074272 3.929067 4.928947 6.08407
5.854226 5.36939 5.002643 4.715049 4.482916
29
26
25
23
22
13998
12550
12067
11102
10619
16
2.30E+03
1.1
3.75E+02
5.578
7.404337
4.291076
21
10136
XXXVI
400 tubes
Hot Stream
Viscosity (Pa s)
95
95
95
95
95
95
60
60
60
60
60
60
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97 1137.97
316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026 316.1026
3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50 3154.50
4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03 4.40E-03
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07 3.49E+07
Cold Stream
Viscosity (Pa s)
Tm (K)
20
20
20
20
20
20
40
40
40
40
40
40
417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653 417.4653
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
1000
4180
4180
4180
4180
4180
4180
1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03 1.00E-03
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
0.61
44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759 44.49759

Shell Diameter (m)
Tube Pitch (m)
Tube Clearance (m)
Number Of Tubes
Baffle Spacing (m)
0.800
0.018
0.001
0.020
0.025
0.005
0.020
400
31
0.160
0.900
0.021
0.001
0.023
0.028
0.006
0.022
400
31
0.180
1.000
0.023
0.001
0.025
0.031
0.006
0.025
400
31
0.200
1.100
0.026
0.001
0.028
0.034
0.007
0.027
400
31
0.220
1.200
0.028
0.001
0.030
0.038
0.008
0.030
400
31
0.240
1.300
0.031
0.001
0.033
0.041
0.008
0.032
400
31
0.260
Tube Side
Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
Nusselt Number
h in (W/m/K)
0.102
4.077
7.36E+04
6.85E+00
3.89E+02
1.31E+04
0.133
3.144
6.46E+04
6.85E+00
3.50E+02
1.04E+04
0.167
2.498
5.76E+04
6.85E+00
3.19E+02
8.45E+03
0.205
2.032
5.20E+04
6.85E+00
2.94E+02
7.02E+03
0.248
1.685
4.73E+04
6.85E+00
2.73E+02
5.93E+03
0.294
1.420
4.34E+04
6.85E+00
2.55E+02
5.08E+03
Shell Side
Cross Flow Area (m)
Reynolds Number
Prandtl Number
Nusselt Number
h out (W/m/K)
0.0256
12347.76
5.56E+04
2.28E+01
4.16E+02
1.28E+04
0.0324
9756.254
4.94E+04
2.28E+01
3.90E+02
1.06E+04
0.04
7902.566
4.45E+04
2.28E+01
3.68E+02
9.04E+03
0.0484
6531.046
4.05E+04
2.28E+01
3.49E+02
7.80E+03
0.0576
5487.893
3.71E+04
2.28E+01
3.33E+02
6.82E+03
0.0676
4676.075
3.42E+04
2.28E+01
3.18E+02
6.02E+03

Fouling Factor
Shell Volume (m)
Number of Baffles
16
4.86E+03
1.1
1.78E+02
3.915
1.967673
4.8932
24
15446
16
4.14E+03
1.1
2.08E+02
4.032
2.564843
4.479642
22
14159
16
3.57E+03
1.1
2.42E+02
4.168
3.273517
4.167972
20
12872
16
3.11E+03
1.1
2.77E+02
4.317
4.102384
3.924356
19
12228
16
2.73E+03
1.1
3.16E+02
4.474
5.059897
3.728276
18
11584
16
2.42E+03
1.1
3.56E+02
4.637
6.154301
3.566636
17
10941
XXXVII
Appendix 5 : Monod Kinetics for batch growth (Michael Braisher)
XXXVIII
Spreadsheet created to model yeast growth and product concentrations.
XXXIX
Appendix 6 : Heat exchanger design (Michael Braisher)

Heat exchangers are analysed using a black box method and well-documented
empirical relationships. There are two basic flow patterns; co or counter current.
As the names suggest, in co-current arrangement, the hot and cold streams flow in
the same direction whereas in counter-current arrangement, the flow directions of
the two streams oppose. It can be shown that counter-current design requires a
smaller heat exchange area and therefore a smaller overall heat exchanger.
The overall design equation for heat exchanger analysis is:

Q = UAT
In this equation, Q is the heat transfer required, U is the overall heat transfer
coefficient, A the heat transfer area and T is the temperature driving force. The
inverse of U is the sum of the individual resistances to heat transfer:
1/Uin = 1/hi + (rin/ro)(1/ho) + rinln(ro/rin)/2kw
As the thermal resistance of the wall is negligible (i.e. kw is large and ln(ro/rin) 0)
and it is thin compared with the inner tube diameter (i.e. rin/ro 1) then :
1/U = 1/hi + 1/ho
The heat transfer coefficients between the fluid inside the tube to the tube wall
and from the outer tube wall to the fluid surrounding the tubes, hi and ho
respectively, need to be found. This is done through empirical correlations.
XL
Appendix 06 M. Braisher
The remaining analysis has been broken into discrete stages to form a recipe for
heat exchanger design in the hope of making the analysis easier to follow
I. The first step is to calculate the heating or cooling required. This is
either known outright or can be found from an enthalpy balance across
the stream to be cooled or heated. It is possible to apply the same
equation to find the mass flow rate required for the cooling stream;
Q = mCpT
II. Knowing the diameter and therefore the cross-sectional area (CSA), the
number of tubes and feed flow rate, m, it is now possible to calculate
the velocity of the flow through the pipes (see equation below). The
number of tubes should be varied until an acceptable velocity is given
(around 2-3 ms-1).
V = m/(water x total CSA of all pipes)
III. It is now possible to calculate Reynolds number for the flow in the
pipe, knowing the velocity through the pipe:
Re = waterDV/(water)
IV. Prandtl number can also be calculated:
Pr = Cp/kwater
V. Now a relevant correlation must be selected to calculate the heat
transfer coefficients. See under each section for relevant correlation.
VI. To calculate the heat transfer coefficient from the tube wall to the
fluid flowing over the tubes, the analysis is similar to steps I-V. above.
For the shell and tube heat exchanger, an enthalpy balance can be
done for the cooling water flowing over the tubes (see step I.) giving
the mass flow rate of the cooling water. Specifying the diameter of the
shell and therefore knowing the CSA, it is possible to calculate the
velocity of the water over the tubes by subtracting the total CSA of all
the tubes from the shell CSA and then finding the velocity. The usual
Re and Pr can be calculated and another empirical correlation used to
evaluate ho. See the relevant sections in the text for the relations.
VII. Having obtained both heat transfer coefficients, it is now possible to
calculate the overall heat transfer coefficient:
1/U = 1/hinner + 1/houter
VIII. The temperature driving force for a standard shell and tube heat
exchanger is given by the log mean temperature difference. However,
in this case, a simple single pass design will result in a very long heat
XLI
exchanger. A better design is to have U tubes inside the shell

resulting in a more compact unit. For this layout, the temperature
difference is given by:
T = (Thi-Tci)
= P(R2+1)1/2/ln{[2 P(R+1-(R2+1)1/2)]/ [2 P(R+1+(R2+1)1/2)]}
P = (Tco-Tci)/(Thi-Tci)
R = (Thi-Tho)/(Tco-Tci)
IX. From the overall design equation given above, it is possible to calculate
the surface area required for cooling. As we have already specified
many dimensions, the actual surface area can be calculated and the
variables can be altered until the actual surface area just exceeds the
required surface area.
Points to note
The analysis so far has not allowed for fouling on the inner and
outer tube walls. Good design practice such as keeping the flow
velocities in the 2-3ms-1 range and keeping the substrate flow
around the outside of the tubes for easy cleaning helps retain
fouling at a minimum. However it is still wise to build a factor
into the overall heat transfer coefficient, say, by multiplying by a
factor of 0.9.
Baffles are included in heat exchangers and are simply circular
plates with a segment cut off. Although the above analysis has not
included the effect of baffles, adding them in increases the heat
transfer so the method employed above is a worst-case scenario.
The above analysis has focused on the design of a shell and U tube
heat exchanger. However, this analysis has also been followed for
fermenter cooling to give the specifications for cooling baffles
inside the fermenter. The relevant correlation is given in section
in section 4.
XLII
feed stream Ti
feed stream To
cooling stream Ti
cooling stream To
delta theta lm
pipe diameter (inches)
velocity of feed stream
No. of pipes required
Re inside pipe
Pr inside pipe
Nu inside pipe
h inside pipe
U
length of pipes
surface area of each pipe
Re outside pipe
Pr outside pipe
Nu outside pipe
h outside pipe
feed flow rate m^3/second
Diameter of shell
CSA of shell
Surface area for water to flow
through
velocity of cooling water
enthalpy balance across feed water
mass flow rate of cooling water
required
characteristic length for outside pipe
85
30
20
30
26.39686
1
3.597455
350
91375.35
6.852459
462.0933
11097.52
5880.966
8
0.638372
8306.85
6.852459
97.86062
15891.73
0.116
0.72
0.40715
0.052455
2.211412
26668400
638
0.003756
total SA required
SA we have
209.8463
223.4301
P
R
top
bottom
bottom
bottom
Theta new
0.153846
5.5
0.860026
1.860026
0.139974
2.58689
21.60961
Spreadsheet created for heat exchanger design.
XLIII
Appendix 7 : Heat exchanger schematic (Michael Braisher)
XLIV
Appendix 8 : Fermenter schematic & Design (Michael Braisher)
XLV
tank side
diameter of impeller
10
rotational speed of impeller rps

Reynolds no
Prandtl no
Nu no
h
pipe diameter inches
Q
delta theta
0.116666667
11666666.67
6.852459016
6661.733426
406.365739
1
14000000
5
design matching
U
Area required
385.4717398
7263.82692
no of pipes
length of each pipe
total surface area
600
160
7660.459527
displaced volume
48.64391799
Motor power kW
turbine
propeller
tube side
pipe diameter inches
mass flow rate of cooling
water
Q
velocity of water
delta theta
Reynolds no
Prandtl no
Nu no
h
1
669.8565
14000000
2.203298
5
55963.76
6.852459
312.1706
7497.009
174.6759259
31.75925926
Spreadsheet created for design of fermenter cooling baffles.

total volume required
height of cylindrical section (# radii)
Radius (m)
height of cylindrical section
overall height
surface area
SA-to-volume ratio
motor speed rpm
motor speed rps
motor speed rad/s
velocity of fluid near wall
Reynold's no
Prandtl no
Nusselt no for water
Grashof no
heat transfer coefficient h water
GrPr
Nusselt no for air
heat transfer coefficient h air
overall heat transfer coefficient U
heat loss
2700
2700
2700
2700
2700
2700
2700
0.5
9.031412956
8.019028
6.856172
6.165678
5.689434
5.332883
5.051671
4.515706478
8.019028
13.71234
18.49703
22.75773
26.66442
30.31003
13.54711943
16.03806
20.56852
24.66271
28.44717
31.9973
35.3617
1537.490795
1414.137
1329.094
1313.724
1322
1340.187
1362.915
0.569441035
0.523754
0.492257
0.486565
0.489629
0.496365
0.504783
0.016666667
0.016667
0.016667
0.016667
0.016667
0.016667
0.016667
0.104719755
0.10472
0.10472
0.10472
0.10472
0.10472
0.10472
0.945767353
0.839751
0.717977
0.645668
0.595796
0.558458
0.52901
5437761.333
4286987
3133807
2534372
2157977
1895976
1701292
6.852459016
6.852459
6.852459
6.852459
6.852459
6.852459
6.852459
12145.14009
10041.26
7814.913
6594.209
5798.343
5227.966
4793.906
1.00693E+13
7.05E+12
4.41E+12
3.2E+12
2.52E+12
2.07E+12
1.76E+12
410.1537317
381.9146
347.65
326.1983
310.8384
298.9995
289.4372
6.89993E+13
4.83E+13
3.02E+13
2.2E+13
1.72E+13
1.42E+13
1.21E+13
5332.018241
4734.32
4047.787
3640.129
3358.961
3148.459
2982.435
7.114149261
7.114149
7.114149
7.114149
7.114149
7.114149
7.114149
6.992857587
6.984053
6.971488
6.962306
6.954971
6.948815
6.943484
107514.5417
98764.05
92657.65
91465.5
91944.68
93127.09
94633.81
Spreadsheet created for heat loss from the fermenter.

XLVI
Appendix 9 : Stress analysis (Michael Braisher)
Points to note
The above analysis gives a worst case scenario based upon simple theory. It can be
seen that where the cylindrical shell meets the hemisphere, there is a difference in
stress (see figure above). This leads to unequal circumferential strains which
would cause bending. This would cause problems with the welding so the two
thicknesses would be different in order to cause equal circumferential strains. Also
depending on the support of the structure, there will be stress concentrations at
various points around the vessel. This has not been analysed and would be
required perhaps using finite elements.
XLVII
Appendix 10 : Heat and Mass Balance (James Winterburn)

A10.1 - Column diagram:
A10.2 - Mass Balance:

Assumptions: P = 1 bar, bottoms product is pure water at saturation
temperature TB = 100C, i.e. no ethanol in bottoms.
Basis: 113.1 te/hr of feed @ TF=88C (saturated liquid).
Overall balance:
Ethanol Balance:
F = D+B
FX F = D X D + B X B
X B = 0 D =
XF
0.15
FD=
113.1 = 18.85te / hr
XD
0 .9
XLVIII
Appendix 10 J. Winterburn
Overall balance:
B=FD
B = 113.1 18.85 = 94.25te / hr
A10.3 - Heat Balance:

Overall:
H F + QB = H D + H B + QC
Around Condenser to obtain QC: (Assuming heat losses from system are small i.e.
column and pipework well lagged).
L
= 3.85
D
L = RD = 3.85 18.85 = 72.57te / hr
Reflux Ratio defined as:
R=
Mass balance around condenser: V = L + D

V = 72.57 + 18.85 + 91.42te / hr
Heat balance around condenser: H V = H D + H L + QC
QC = H V H D H L
Assuming total condensation occurs in the condenser, reasonable as there are no
non-condensables present
H V = latent _ heat + sensible _ heat

Latent heats of vaporization:
Ethanol @ 78.0C: 838 kJ/kg
Water @ 78.0C: 2640.4 kJ/kg
Specific heat capacity:
Ethanol:
CP = 2.46 kJ/kg K
XLIX
Water:
CP = 4.20 kJ/kg K
Bottoms (assuming pure water): CPB = 4.20 kJ/kg K
Feed (15% ethanol by mass):
CPF = (0.15 2.46) + (0.85 4.2) = 3.9 kJ/kg K

Distillate (90% ethanol by mass):
CPD = (0.9 2.46) + (0.1 4.2) = 2.63 kJ/kg K

Boiling point of distillate (90% ethanol by mass): TB = 78.0C
HV = 91 .42 1000 [(0.1 2640 + 0.9 838) + (78 88) 2.63)] = 90 .68 MJ / hr
Enthalpy of distillate and reflux are both zero as both streams are at the base
temperature of 78.0C.
QC = H V = 90.68MJ / hr 25189kW
This heat is removed by cooling water. Fixing the temperature rise of cooling water
at 70.0C gives:
Cooling water flow:
m=
m=
QC
CT
25189
3600 310te / hr
4.2 1000 70
Reboiler heat load is found from the heat balance for the whole system (neglecting
heat loss from column).
QB = H D + H B + QC H F
0 + (94250 4.2 (100 88) + 90.68 10 6 (113100 3.9 (25 88))

3600
QB 34272kW
QB =
The heat required at the reboiler is supplied by site steam saturation temperature
at 4 bar i.e. hfg =2132 kJ/kg.
mS =
34272 3600
58te / hr
2132
This is a large steam requirement.
Appendix 11 : Flow Parameter (James Winterburn)
FlV
L g
=
G l
0 .5
91306 1.632
=
131950 767
0.5
0.032
L and G are the maximum liquid and gas flow rates, found at the top of the
column, determined from the mass balance and Aspen results.
LI
Appendix 12 : Surface Tension Calculation (James Winterburn)

Surface Tension of Pure Ethanol
1
4
= [P ]( L G )
Relationship:
Where [P] is parachor, the value of which is calculated by summing the

contributions from the different structural groups present in the molecule, and
densities have units of mol/cm3.
Ethanol C2H5OH contains the following groups112.
Group
Parachor
CH3
55.5
CH2
OH
40.0
29.8
Hence:
[P ] = 55.5 + 40.0 + 29.8 = 125.3
In this case L >> G (767kg/m3 >>1.632 kg/m3) hence the G term may be
neglected. Liquid phase density calculated at 78 C by interpolation of values from
data tables at 10 and 40 C. Vapour phase density calculated using ideal gas law.
Substituting numerical values the surface tension of ethanol is found:
0.739
o = 16.45dyn / cm
46.07
Note 105 dyn = 1N hence dyn/cm is equivalent to mN/m.
1
o 4 = 125.3
Surface Tension of Binary 10% Water 90% Ethanol mixture (top conditions):
Relationship113:
1
4
mix
1
4
w
= w + o
1
4
o
2
( x V ) q
q
q V 3
log w = log w w (x w Vw + x oVo )1q + 0.44 o o w Vw 3
1 w
T q
x o Vo
o = 1 w
Where o is the surface tension of the pure organic component and w that of the
pure water component of the mixture. V represents molar volume and x mole
112
Parachor values from Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 6th Edition, McGraw-Hill
Method of Tamura, Kurata and Odani from Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 6th Edition,
McGraw-Hill
113
LII
fraction of each component. The constant q depends on the size and type of the
organic component of the mixture. In this case the number of carbon atoms
present in the ethanol molecule gives q=2.
Water:
w = 71.40dyn / cm
Vw = 1.004 18.0152 = 18.09cm 3 / mol
x w = 0.221
Ethanol:
o = 16.45dyn / cm
46.07
= 62.31cm 3 / mol
0.739
x o = 0.779
Vo =
w log10
w2
0.882
= log10 [6.627 10 3 ] +
[258.55 492.02] 2.79
1 w
351
From this value a quadratic equation for w is obtained.
1000 w2 + 1.623 w 1.623 = 0 w = 0.0395

o = 1 0.0395 = 0.9605
Finally the surface tension is found, as expected this is close to the surface tension
of pure ethanol as the mole fraction of water in the mixture is small.
1
mix = (0.0395 71.40 4 + 0.9605 16.45 4 )4

mix = 17.63dyn / cm
LIII
Appendix 13 : McCabe-Thiele Construction (James Winterburn)

Taking Emv=0.77 the following three constructions were used to find that 13 stages
are required for the required ethanol content in the distillate stream to be
achieved.
LIV
LV
Appendix 14 : Feed Preheat Heat Exchanger (James Winterburn)

Specification:
Parameter
Flow (kg/hr)
Tin (C)
Tout (C)
Ethanol Mass
Fraction
Feed
113100
20
88
Bottoms
94250
100
-
0.15
~0
Specific Heat Capacity:

Feed-
C PF = (0.15 2.46) + (0.85 4.2) = 3.939kJ / kg
Bottoms-
CPB = (1.687 10 6 2.46) + (0.999 4.2) 4.2kJ / kg
Enthalpy Balance (assuming heat capacities constant over temperature range):
Q = F&B C PB (TinB ToutB ) = F&F C PF (TinF ToutF )

Q = 113100 3.989 (88 20) = 30.29GJ / hr
ToutB = 23.5 o C
Using a counter-flow arrangement to minimise surface area required for heat
exchange.
Tlm =
T1 T2 12 3.5
=
= 6.899
12
T
ln
ln 1
3
.
5
T2
Hence UA can be found for the exchanger:
Q
30.29 10 9
UA =
=
= 1219581 .0W / K
Tlm 6.899 3600
Taking a high U value of 1500 W/m2K114 gives a required surface area of 813.054
m2.
114
Value from Coulson & Richardsons Chemical Engineering-Vol 6 Chemical Engineering Design
LVI
Appendix 15 : Profit & Loss Analysis Spreadsheet (Michael Wallace)

69,875,000
Sales
Variable Costs
Raw Materials
Wheat
(feedstock)
-31,847,200
Utilities
Fuel
-3,031,913
Water
-1,335,600
Electricity
0
-36,214,713
Fixed Costs
Labour /
Supervision
Personnel
-1,800,000
-720,000
Maintenance
-1,948,000
Insurance
-1,461,000
Local Taxes
-487,000
-6,416,000
Depreciation
Net
Interest
Pre-tax profit
Tax
-4,139,500
2,029,167
23,104,787
-6,931,436
Net Profit
16,173,351
Dividends
-4,043,338
Profit Reserves
12,130,013
LVII
Appendix 16 : Cash-flow Analysis Spreadsheet (Michael Wallace)
Year (n)
Ccce
24,900,353
24,900,353
Cwc
1,705,229
Sales
COMd
69,875,000
42,630,713
69,875,000
42,630,713
69,875,000
42,630,713
69,875,000
42,630,713
69,875,000
42,630,713
69,875,000
42,630,713
69,875,000
42,630,713
69,875,000
42,630,713
10
69,875,000
42,630,713
69,875,000
42,630,713
69,875,000
42,630,713
11
12
1,705,229
4,139,500
4,139,500
4,139,500
4,139,500
4,139,500
4,139,500
4,139,500
4,139,500
4,139,500
4,139,500
4,139,500
Tax
51,505,934
Total
CF
CF
DCF
DCF
24,900,353
24,900,353
24,900,353
22,636,684
9,415,136
16,123,923
13,325,556
9,415,136
17,829,151
13,395,305
24,900,353
47,537,037
34,211,481
20,816,176
9,415,136
17,829,151
12,177,550
-8,638,626
1,981,520
9,415,136
17,829,151
11,070,500
2,431,874
19,810,671
9,415,136
17,829,151
10,064,091
12,495,965
37,639,822
9,415,136
17,829,151
9,149,174
21,645,139
55,468,973
9,415,136
17,829,151
8,317,431
29,962,569
73,298,124
9,415,136
17,829,151
7,561,300
37,523,870
91,127,275
9,415,136
17,829,151
6,873,910
44,397,780
108,956,426
9,415,136
17,829,151
6,249,009
50,646,788
126,785,577
9,415,136
19,534,380
6,224,255
56,871,044
146,319,956
NPV =
CTCI =
Total
-24,900,353
-49,800,705
-33,676,782
-15,847,631
56,871,044
(= Ccce + Cwc)
LEGEND
CTCI
n
Total capital investment, TCI = Ccce + Cwc, asssuming no royalties must be paid for process.
year since beginning of construction
Ccce
Capital Cost Estimate
Cwc
Working Capital
Sales
Revenue from sale of product
COMd
Cost of Manufacturing without depreciation
Depreciation
CF
Cash Flow for that year = Sales - Cland - Ccce - Cstartup - Cwc - COMd - Tax
DCF
i
NPV
Discounted cash flow for that year = CF/(1+i)n

Required rate of return.
here i =
0.1
Net present value = the sum of DCF for all years.
LVIII
Appendix 17 : Carbon Dioxide Use (William Treharne)

A17.1 - Combustion of Petrol
Petrol has a density of 737kg/m3
Assuming petrol is composed of 100% octane, its complete combustion is given by
the following reaction
RMM:
C8H18
114
12.5 O2
32
8 CO2
44
9 H 2O
18
Combustion of 1kg of C8H18 produces
8 44
= 3.088kg CO2
114
Therefore, the combustion of 1 litre of petrol produces approximately
3.088 0.737 = 2.276kg CO2
A17.2 - Combustion of Ethanol

Ethanol has a density of 790kg/m3
The complete combustion of ethanol is given by the following reaction
RMM:
C2H5OH
46
3 O2
32
2 CO2
44
3 H 2O
18
Combustion of 1kg of C2H5OH produces
2 44
= 1.913kg CO2
46
Therefore, the combustion of 1 litre of ethanol produces approximately
1.913 0.790 = 1.511kg CO2

A17.3 - Carbon Dioxide Captured by Wheat
The chemical formula of starch is (C6H10O5)n. Its carbon mass fraction is therefore
LIX
6 12
= 0.444
(6 12) + (10 1) + (5 16)
The amount of carbon dioxide captured by wheat to produce 1kg of starch is
therefore
0.444
44
= 1.630kg CO2
12
The plant requires 49165 kg/hr of starch to produce 22000 l/hr of ethanol. The
amount of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere to grow the starch to
produce 1 litre of ethanol is therefore
1.630 49165
= 3.642kg CO2
22000
A17.4 - Fermentation
The fermentation reaction is given by
C6H12O6 + 0.188NH3 0.59CH1.737N0.2O0.451 + 0.432C3H8O3 + 1.54CO2 + 1.3C2H5OH
+ 0.36H2O
The fermenter requires 53000kg/hr of glucose. This process therefore releases
53000
1.54 44
= 19952kg/hr CO2 = 0.910kg CO2 /l Ethanol
180
The carbon contained in the by-products will eventually be released as carbon

dioxide and accounts for a further
53000
(0.59 + 0.432 3) 12 44
= 24434kg/hr CO2 = 1.111kg CO2 /l Ethanol

180
12
A17.5 - Transportation
Depending on the conversion efficiency, the plant requires approximately 60-100
tonnes of wheat per hour to produce the required ethanol output. Assuming for the
worst case, a truck can hold 10 tonnes, the farms are 100 miles from the plant, a
truck has a fuel economy of 10 miles per gallon and has an average speed of
50mph, the amount of diesel required by the trucks is
100 100 2 100
4.55 = 1820 l/hr

10
50
10
LX
Assuming diesel is composed of 100% cetane (C16H34) and its density is 0.827kg/l115,
the contribution to carbon dioxide emissions of transportation on producing 1 litre
of ethanol is
1820 0.827
16 12 44
1
= 0.213kg CO2
226
12 22000
Carbon Dioxide Saving Compared to Petrol

If 1 litre of ethanol replaces 0.67 litres of petrol (to account for the difference in
calorific value), the annual UK carbon dioxide saving as a result of the plant will be
2.276
0.43 22000 24 365 = 0.210Mt CO2
1.5
115
http://www.fast-tek.com/TM104.pdf
LXI
Appendix 18 : Production scale Figure of Merit Table (MB & MW)

Mix (%)
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
Total available
UK market (l)
1,625,000,000
1,625,000,000
1,625,000,000
1,625,000,000
1,625,000,000
1,625,000,000
1,625,000,000
1,625,000,000
3,250,000,000
3,250,000,000
3,250,000,000
3,250,000,000
3,250,000,000
3,250,000,000
3,250,000,000
3,250,000,000
%age of UK
set-aside used
6
12
16
22
26
52
78
104
12
22
32
42
52
104
154
206
Produce for
% market
5
10
15
20
25
50
75
100
5
10
15
20
25
50
75
100
Cost of feedstock
(farmgate)
15,910,260
31,820,520
47,730,778
63,640,906
79,551,164
159,102,328
238,653,492
318,204,524
31,820,520
63,640,906
95,461,424
127,281,810
159,102,328
318,204,524
477,306,852
636,409,046
Pre profit
pump price
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.91
0.91
0.91
0.91
0.91
0.91
0.91
0.91
litres of
bio-ethanol / year
81,250,000
162,500,000
243,750,000
325,000,000
406,250,000
812,500,000
1,218,750,000
1,625,000,000
162,500,000
325,000,000
487,500,000
650,000,000
812,500,000
1,625,000,000
2,437,500,000
3,250,000,000
Wheat required
(tonnes)
241,816
483,632
725,448
967,262
1,209,078
2,418,156
3,627,234
4,836,310
483,632
967,262
1,450,894
1,934,524
2,418,156
4,836,310
7,254,466
9,672,620
Production cost
22,928,750
45,857,500
68,786,250
91,715,000
114,643,750
229,287,500
343,931,250
458,575,000
45,857,500
91,715,000
137,572,500
183,430,000
229,287,500
458,575,000
687,862,500
917,150,000
Total gross
cost / litre
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
0.48
Profit / litre
bio-ethanol
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
0.10
Pump price
0.93
0.93
0.93
0.93
0.93
0.93
0.93
0.93
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.92
0.92
Area of farmland
required (ha)
31,244
62,486
93,728
124,970
156,212
312,424
468,636
624,848
62,486
124,970
187,456
249,940
312,424
624,848
937,270
1,249,694
Net
Cost / litre
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
0.76
Annual Profit
8,125,000
16,250,000
24,375,000
32,500,000
40,625,000
81,250,000
121,875,000
162,500,000
16,250,000
32,500,000
48,750,000
65,000,000
81,250,000
162,500,000
243,750,000
325,000,000
LXII
Appendix 18 MB + MW
Daily Production Rate

(l)
(t)
222,603
176
445,205
351
667,808
527
890,411
703
1,113,014
878
2,226,027
1,756
3,339,041
2,635
4,452,055
3,513
445,205
351
890,411
703
1,335,616
1,054
1,780,822
1,405
2,226,027
1,756
4,452,055
3,513
6,678,082
5,269
8,904,110
7,025
Hourly Production Rate

(l)
(t)
9,275
7
18,550
15
27,825
22
37,100
29
46,376
37
92,751
73
139,127
110
185,502
146
18,550
15
37,100
29
55,651
44
74,201
59
92,751
73
185,502
146
278,253
220
371,005
293
Wheat required
per week (t)
4,650
9,301
13,951
18,601
23,252
46,503
69,755
93,006
9,301
18,601
27,902
37,202
46,503
93,006
139,509
186,012
Weekly Production Rate

(l)
(t)
1,562,500
1,233
3,125,000
2,466
4,687,500
3,698
6,250,000
4,931
7,812,500
6,164
15,625,000
12,328
23,437,500
18,492
31,250,000
24,656
3,125,000
2,466
6,250,000
4,931
9,375,000
7,397
12,500,000
9,863
15,625,000
12,328
31,250,000
24,656
46,875,000
36,984
62,500,000
49,313
LXIII
Appendix 19 : Mini-Project Report (Whole Group)

Bio-ethanol Mini-Project Report
Introduction to biofuels
This report aims to give an insight into biofuels and in particular bio-ethanol and
biodiesel. But what is a biofuel?
Biofuel is any fuel that derives from biomass recently living organisms or their
metabolic byproducts, such as manure from cows. It is a renewable energy source,
unlike other natural resources. The carbon in biofuels was recently extracted from
atmospheric carbon dioxide by growing plants, so burning it does not result in a net
increase of carbon dioxide.1
Bio-ethanol is produced from an energy crop such as sugar cane or corn from which
sugar is extracted and fermented to produce the fuel. In the context of biodiesel,
energy crops or waste cooking oils are reacted with alcohol to produce alkyl esters
(the fuel itself). These fuels can then be used to fuel cars either by mixing with oil
derived fuels or neat.
Recent weather events have highlighted the issue of global warming and the need to
search for alternatives to oil especially as oil is in finite supply. Both biodiesel and
bio-ethanol are tried and tested with Brazil running many of its cars on bio-ethanol.
These are just some of the benefits of using biofuels.
Production of Bio-ethanol
To produce ethanol from biomass there are three main production stages: extraction
or production of sugars from the feedstock, fermentation where the sugars are used
to produce ethanol, and recovery where the ethanol is separated from other byproducts.
The structural framework of plant cell walls is made up of lignin, cellulose and
hemicellulose. Hydrolysis breaks down the long cellulose chains into glucose, a six
carbon sugar molecule, and hemicellulose into a number of five carbon sugar
molecules2. There are a number of ways to hydrolyse lignocellulosic materials
including enzymes and dilute or concentrated acid solutions3. Sugars can be
extracted from some feedstocks such as sugar beet using diffusion processes rather
than breaking down plant cell components. Waste products can be used for animal
feed or, if suitable, as a fuel for plant boilers3.
The most widely used method for fermenting the sugars is adding yeast that is
heated with the sugar solution. However, conventional yeasts do not readily convert
the five carbon sugar molecules resulting from hydrolysis of hemicellulose. These
can account for a significant proportion of the feedstock. This can be overcome using
specially bred yeasts or alternatively through the use of particular bacterium which
feed preferentially on C5 sugars4.
LXIV
Appendix 19 Whole Group
After the fermentation process, the ethanol must be separated from its solution and
other by-products using a distillation column.
Production of Biodiesel
Biodiesel and bio-ethanol may sound similar by name but they are produced by very
different methods and with different feedstocks. Bio-ethanol production generally
begins with the processing of a biomass such as wheat or sugar beet. This
processing is required to extract the sugar which is then fermented to produce a
weak ethanol solution. This is then distilled to obtain the fuel.
On the other hand biodiesel production uses vegetable oil that has already been
extracted from an oil crop. In some cases recycled cooking oil is even used! This is
then reacted with 12% alcohol and a catalyst to produce a weak alcohol that can then
be distilled.
Both processes have similar production costs with ethanol tending to be slightly
cheaper depending of feedstock used.
Fig. 1.1.: Byproducts

LXV
Another advantage of biofuel production is that each process has some useful
byproducts. For example the biodiesel process produces fertiliser and glycerine, see
Fig 1.15, which has many industrial uses. Similarly if wheat is used in the bio-ethanol
process then the waste husks can be burned and combined with waste heat from the
fermentation to produce steam and generate electricity. 6
Feedstocks and yields
There are a wide variety of feedstocks that can be converted to bio-ethanol. The
feedstock used dictates the exact nature of the process; for example corn has to be
either dry or wet milled before hydrolysis whereas sugar beet requires no hydrolysis
as the sugars are already present in the crop.
In the UK it is most viable to produce bio-ethanol from wheat or sugar beet due to the
availability of the crops. Table 1.1 compares the costs and yields of each crop. Land,
in terms of the yield of crop per hectare, is an important consideration because the
land used could have alternatively been used for foodstuffs for both human and
animal consumption.
Yield of
Crop
Yield of
Bio-ethanol
t/ha
l/ha
7.74
53.2
2600
5746
Crop
Wheat
Sugar Beet
Conversion
Efficiency
GJ Bioethanol/GJ
Feedstock
0.55
0.136
Feedstock
Cost
Feedstock
Cost
/GJ
Feedstock
/GJ Bioethanol
5.88
5.88
10.69
43.24
Feedstock
Cost
/tonne of
Bioethanol
429
1735
Feedstock
Cost
p/litre of
Bioethanol
33.8
136.9
Table 1.1.: Comparison of feedstocks for bio-ethanol production7
Petrol vs Bio-ethanol
In 2004, 32.3 million cars were on the road, and 80% of these were held by private
individuals8. And in 2002, 27.9 billion litres of petrol were consumed8. From this we
can understand the serious implications on the environment, if petrol is used. The
demand for oil in the years to come is illustrated in the graph below, figure 1.2.
Figure 1.2.: Graph to show the share of transport in total oil consumption.9
LXVI
From the evidence above we can see that bio-ethanol is a good alternative.
Although at first bio-ethanol may seem a more expensive fuel relative to petrol, but
we need to appreciate that this much less damaging to the environment. From the
graph below, we can see the difference in price. We can make the assumption that
10% of all the people that have cars will choose to use petrol with bio-ethanol in it.
Product Cost (p/l)
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
Bioethanol (Wheat)
Bioethanol (Sugar Beet)
Petrol - Unleaded
Petrol - Diesel
Fig. 1.3.: Graph to compare the pump price of bio-ethanol and petrol7.
Conclusion
Our discussion so far has lead us to say that to produce bio-ethanol in the UK the
two most appropriate methods are by wheat or sugar beet. In figure 1.5, the two
different process routes are shown. For sustainability reasons, the plant should be
located close to where the feedstocks are produced and the oil refinery to which the
bio-ethanol will be sent. This will minimise the distance both the feedstock and
product are transported, reducing both cost and emissions of greenhouse gases.
Other sustainability issues have been discussed above
LXVII
Figure 1.4: Flow diagrams to show the how bio-ethanol is produced when sugar beet
is the feed stock, and when wheat is the feed stock.
LXVIII

References
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuels 23rd October 2005

http://www.uyseg.org/greener_industry/pages/ethanol/ethanol7PM2.htm
23rd October 2005
http://www.esru.strath.ac.uk/EandE/Web_sites/0203/biofuels/what_bioethanol.htm 23rd October 2005
http://www.uyseg.org/greener_industry/pages/ethanol/ethanol8PM3.htm
23rd October 2005
http://www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/fuelfactsheets/Production.PDF
24th
October 2005
http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents/page/dft_roads_024054-16.hcsp
24th October 2005

International Resource Costs of Biodiesel and Bio-ethanol. AEA Technology
2002.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/ 24th October 2005
http://www.bp.com/ 23rd October 2005
Report Compiled By:

Michael Braisher (Keble)
Sanampreet Gill (Balliol)
William Treharne (Balliol)
Michael Wallace (Keble)
James Winterburn (Pembroke)
LXIX

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Design Proposal:

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Chapter 2 : Pre-treatment of wheat (Michael Wallace) ................................4

Chapter 3 : Hydrolysis (William Treharne).............................................. 19

Chapter 4 : Fermentation (Michael Braisher) .......................................... 39

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Chapter 6 : Dehydration (Sanampreet Gill) ............................................. 76

Chapter 7 : Steam Raising (Michael Wallace & James Winterburn)...............102

Chapter 8 : Plant Location (Sanampreet Gill) .........................................112

Chapter 9 : Economics (Michael Wallace) ..............................................122

Chapter 10 : Sustainability (Michael Braisher & William Treharne) ..............129

Chapter 11 : Health & Safety (James Winterburn) ...................................137

Chapter 12 : Conclusion (Whole Group) ................................................139

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Tables & Figures

Fig 2.1 Wheat prices 2004- 2005

Fig 3.1 Chemical Structure of Starch

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Fig 5.1 Column Design Specification

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Fig 7.1 Simplified Rankine cycle diagram

Fig 8.1 Location of Coryton Refinery

Fig A2.1 Hopper flow analysis

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Introduction - Whole Group

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Chapter 1 : Introduction (Whole Group)

Fig1.1- Comparison of feedstock for bio-ethanol production (see Appendix 18)

Introduction - Whole Group

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

1.4 - Scale of Production

Fig1.2- Proposed production route

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

FULL SIZE A3 PULL OUT FLOW SHEET TO GO IN HERE

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Chapter 2 : Pre-treatment of wheat (Michael Wallace)

fig2.1 Wheat Prices 2004-2005 (+2006)2

Graph plotted using data from Farmers Weekly Interactive (www.fwi.co.uk)

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Fig2.2 Structure of a grain of wheat

fig2.3 Magnetic Separator

fig2.4 Mechanical Separator

How Wheat becomes Flour (www.wheatmania.com) Accessed 17-02-06

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

Some lighter materials will also be extracted at this stage.

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

fig2.8 Mixing worm and tempering bins

fig2.9 Tempering bin design

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

2.3 - Milling processes

fig2.10 First break

fig2.11 Reducing rolls

fig2.12 Corrugated Plate5

http://www.ums.dk/Index.html Accessed 17-02-06

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant

2.4 - Use of waste bran

fig2.13 Simplified Alkali process diagram

Calorific Value of feed wheat Bran (available online at www.cal2k.com)

Design Proposal : Bio-ethanol Production Plant