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Format No. EIL 1641-1924 Rev. 1 Copyright EIL – All rights reserved
DOCUMENT No.
Feasibility Report on
Ligno-Cellulosic Biomass to
B033-000-03-41-RP-01
2G Ethanol, MRPL Rev. 1
COPYRIGHT
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any form for any purpose by any party without prior written permission from EIL.
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commercial purpose should be addressed as given below:
HOD (R&D)
Engineers India Limited,
EIL Office Complex,
Sector-16,
Gurgaon-122001,
India.
Telephone: 0124-3803501
EIL reserves the right to initiate appropriate legal action against any unauthorized use of
its intellectual property by any entity.
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DOCUMENT No.
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Page 1 of 111
CONTENTS
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1.1 Introduction 8
1.2 Background for Feasibility Study Report 8
1.3 EOI Received 9
1.4 Basic Study Parameters
1.4.1 Ethanol plant capacity 9
1.4.2 Objective of Study 10
1.4.3 Product Specification 10
1.4.4 Feed Specification 11
1.5 Technology Assessment 12
1.5.1 Lignocellulosic Biomass 11
1.5.2 Process for Ethanol Generation from 12
Lignocellulosic Biomass
1.5.3 EOI’s Information & Technical Review 14
1.5.3.1 Technology – A 14
1.5.3.2 Technology – B 16
1.5.3.3 Technology – C 17
1.5.3.4 Technology – D 17
1.5.4 Technology Analysis 25
1.5.5 Areas of technology requiring detailed assessment 27
1.6 Capital Cost Estimation 28
1.7 Environment Impact 30
1.8 Project Schedule 31
1.9 Preliminary Plot Plan 31
1.10 Social Benefit 31
1.11 Way Forward 31
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2. INTRODUCTION
2.0 Introduction 33
3. SCOPE OF WORK
3.0 Scope of Work 36
4. DESIGN BASIS OF STUDY
6. TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
Plant
6.4.1.7 Features 67
6.4.2 Technology B 68
6.4.2.1 Process Description 68
6.4.2.2 Byproducts and Effluents 71
6.4.2.3 Overall Material Balance of Plant 73
6.4.2.4 Waste Water Treatment 74
6.4.2.5 Features 75
6.4.3 Technology C 75
6.4.3.1 Process Description 75
6.4.3.2 Features 78
6.4.4 Technology D 78
6.4.4.1 Process Description 79
6.4.4.2 Outflow Streams from the Process Plant 81
6.4.4.3 Overall Material Balance of Plant 82
6.4.4.4 Features 83
6.5 Technology Analysis 88
6.5.1 Areas of technology requiring detailed assessment 90
7. UTILITIES AND OFFSITES
7.1 Utilities 92
7.1.1 Raw water system 92
7.1.2 Cooling water system 93
7.1.3 DM water and Soft water system 93
7.1.4 Compressed air system 93
7.1.5 Steam, power and BFW system 93
7.2 Offsite facilities 94
7.2.1 Storage and Transfer System 94
7.3 Flare Systems 95
8. PROJECT SCHEDULE & PROJECT EXECUTION METHODOLOGY
9. ENVIRONMENT CONSIDERATIONS
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ANNEXURES
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List of Figures
Fig. No. Title Page No.
1.1 Over all material balance for Technology – A. 15
1.2 Over all material balance for Technology-B 16
1.3 Over all material balance for Technology-D 18
6.1 Schematic diagram of plant cell walls 47
6.2 Schematic diagram of Plant Component 48
6.3 Technologies for Ethanol Generation from Lignocellulosic Biomass 49
6.4 Technological routes for Ethanol Generation from 50
Lignocellulosic Biomass
6.5 Schematics of biomass to bio-ethanol technology 51
6.6 Process diagram of Technology A 57
6.7 Over all material balance of Technology A 66
6.8 Process schematic for Technology B 69
6.9 Simplified scheme of byproduct and effluent streams of Technology B 72
6.10 Over all material balance of Technology B 73
6.11 Typical stillage / waste water treatments configuration 74
6.12 Schematic diagram for Technology D 76
6.13 Flow diagram for Technology D 77
6.14 Technology D outline 79
6.15 Over all material balance of Technology D 83
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List of Tables
Table No. Title Page No.
1.1 Ethanol requirement in future for 5%, 10% and 20% blending 9
in petrol (In Million Lt.)
1.2 Product specification for fuel grade ethanol 10
1.3 Typical composition of some ligno-cellulosic bio-mass residues 11
1.4 Composition of feedstock 12
1.5 Technology comparison 20
1.6 Cost of feed, product and utilities 28
1.7 Cost estimate for biomass to Ethanol Complex (power Import) 30
1.8 Cost estimate for biomass to Ethanol Complex (power generation) 30
4.1 Product specification for fuel grade ethanol 38
4.2 Typical composition of some ligno-cellulosic bio-mass residues 39
4.3 Composition of feedstock 39
4.4 Price of Feed, Product and utilities 40
5.1 Material balance for Technology A 43
5.2 Material balance for Technology B 44
5.3 Material balance for Technology D 44
6.1 Comparison of the different pretreatment processes 52
6.2 Comparison of different options for 2nd stage hydrolysis 53
6.3 List of the processes in ISBL 68
6.4 Comparison of technology 85
7.1 Summary of estimated utility requirement 92
7.2 Storage details 94
7.3 By product details for 100 KLPD ethanol plant 95
9.1 Standards for Emissions from Boilers Using Agriculture Waste As Fuel 100
9.2 National ambient air quality standards 101
10.1 Cost of feed, product and utilities 104
10.2 Cost estimate for biomass to Ethanol Complex (power Import) 106
10.3 Cost estimate for biomass to Ethanol Complex (power generation) 106
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SECTION - 1
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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1.1 Introduction
MRPL is examining the feasibility of setting up a Ligno-cellulosic ethanol production plant to
produce 60 KL per day of 2G ethanol using domestic agro based lignocellulosic feedstock in
Karnataka state. MRPL has published Expression of interest (EOI) to identify Licensors/
technology providers (called as “Bidders”) with requisite competence, experience,
infrastructure & finance, for setting up and operation and maintenance of Ligno-Cellulosic
Ethanol production Plant in Karnataka state, India in collaboration with MRPL by using
domestic surplus Agri based lignocellulosic feedstock. EIL has been selected to prepare a Pre-
feasibility study report (PFR) on ligno-cellulosic biomass to 2G-ethanol including the capital
cost estimation for select technologies based on the responses received for the EOI from the
bidders.
To ascertain the feedstock availability in Karnataka, MRPL engaged M/s PRESPL for carrying
out the Biomass assessment study and Indian Institute of Science for validating the study. The
plant capacity (net surplus bio mass availability after meeting fodder requirements) and the type
of feed stock has been derived based on this study.
1.2 Background for Pre-Feasibility Study Report
Bio-fuels are lucrative alternative energy option as they are clean and have low sulfur content
thereby having positive environmental impact. Therefore need of the hour is development of
second generation biofuels using surplus agricultural residues and waste that can be harnessed
as ligno-cellulosic bio-fuel source. Same is clearly embodied in the National Bio fuel policy
(NBP) 2009.
The main reasons for the enhanced development of bio-ethanol are its use as a favorable and
near carbon neutral renewable fuel, thus reducing CO2 emissions and associated climate change.
Whether first, second, or third generation feedstock is used, fermentation produces an alcohol-
lean broth only, as such unusable in industrial and fuel applications. The ethanol must hence be
purified. Fractional distillation can concentrate ethanol to 95.6 vol% (89.5mol %),
corresponding to the azeotropic composition with a boiling point of 78.2∘C. Remaining moisture
is captured in dehydration column to produce anhydrous fuel grade ethanol.
The practice of blending ethanol started in India in 2001. Government of India mandated
blending of 5% ethanol with petrol in 9 States and 4 Union Territories in the year 2003 and
subsequently mandated 5% blending of ethanol with petrol on an all-India basis in November
2006 (in 20 States and 8 Union Territories except a few North East states and Jammu &
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Kashmir). Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, on 1 September, 2015, has asked OMCs to
target 10% blending of ethanol in petrol in as many States as possible. Table 1.1 shows the
ethanol requirement in future for 5%, 10% and 20% blending in petrol.
Table 1.1: Ethanol requirement for 5%, 10% and 20% blending (In Million Lt.)
Ethanol Requirement
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out for 60 KLPD plant capacity based on the revised inputs received from the licensors as well
as in-house inputs. Relevant data as necessary has been provided by the licensors.
1.4.2 Objective of Study
The objective of the feasibility study is the technology assessment of all licensors based on
offers received for 100 KLPD plant and cost estimation with ± 30% accuracy for the licensor
who have provided relevant data for a 60 KLPD plant. The preliminary plot plan (table top) as
well as the project schedule with project execution methodology is also envisaged as the
objective.
1.4.3 Product Specification:
The quality and standard as per Indian specifications (IS15464:2004) of anhydrous ethanol for
use in automotive fuel is as listed below.
S. No Parameters Value
1 Relative density at 15.6/15.6 °C, Max 0.7961
5 Alkalinity Nil
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The biomass assessment study carried out by M/s PRESPL concluded the following:
The net surplus biomass available is only adequate for setting up a 60 KLPD 2G ethanol
plant.
Maize/Corn cobs as the primary feed stock and rice straw as alternate feed stock.
The composition of the feedstock is provided in the table.
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1. Physical or chemical pretreatment of the plant fibers to expose the cellulose and reduce
its crystallinity,
2. Hydrolysis of the cellulose polymer, with enzymes or acids, to convert it into simple
sugars (glucose),
3. Microbial fermentation of these simple sugars to ethanol and
4. Distillation and dehydration to produce 99.5% pure alcohol.
Pretreatment:
The pretreatment process converts most of the hemicellulose carbohydrates in the feedstock to
soluble sugars (xylose, mannose, arabinose and glucose) by hydrolysis reactions. Acetyl groups
in the hemicellulose are liberated as acetic acid. The breakdown of biomass in pretreatment
facilitates downstream enzymatic hydrolysis by disrupting cell wall structures, driving some
lignin into solution, and reducing cellulose crystallinity and chain length. The nature and extent
of such changes are highly dependent on the pretreatment chemistry and reaction severity
(defined by residence time, temperature, and catalyst loading).
Hydrolysis:
Hydrolysis process generates fermentable monomeric sugars from hemicellulose and cellulose
content of lignocellulosic biomass. This can be accomplished by two different processes,
namely,
1. Acid hydrolysis
2. Enzymatic hydrolysis.
In acid hydrolysis, mineral acids such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid and
nitric acid are widely employed for the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass.
In enzymatic hydrolysis step cellulose is converted to glucose using cellulase enzymes. This
process is known as enzymatic saccharification or enzymatic hydrolysis. A cellulase enzyme
preparation is a mixture of enzymes (catalytic proteins) that work together to break down
cellulose fibers into cellobiose and soluble gluco-oligomers and ultimately into glucose
monomers. The resulting glucose and other sugars hydrolyzed from hemicellulose during
pretreatment are co-fermented to ethanol.
For higher conversion and lower metallurgy enzymatic hydrolysis is favorable over acid
hydrolysis.
Fermentation:
Fermentation is the biological process to convert the hexoses and pentoses into ethanol by a
variety of microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast, or fungi.
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When using enzymatic hydrolysis, different integration methods of hydrolysis and fermentation
steps are proposed. These are separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), separate hydrolysis
and co-fermentation (SHCF) and simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) are
other possible alternatives.
Distillation and Purification:
From fermented mash, fuel grade ethanol is produced through distillation and adsorption via
molecular sieve. Desired separation specification of 99.5%vol ethanol cannot be achieved by
distillation alone because of the non-ideal solution behavior of the water-ethanol mixture. An
azeotrope is observed when the mixture reaches 95.5% mole purity of ethanol. 95.5 % alcohol
is passed through molecular sieve to produce fuel grade ethanol.
1.5.3 EOI’s Information & Technical Review
The EOIs response received from various technology licensors for the 2G ethanol production
from ligno cellulosic biomass are reviewed. The comparison of all technology licensors have
done based on 100 KLPD Plant capacity.
1.5.3.1 Technology – A
Overall material balance: As per information available from technology provider the overall
material balance is given below for various feedstock provided by them.
A) Feed: Bagasse
ISBL OSBL
Mill Loss = 7.6 TPD
TPD
CO2 = 137.74 TPD
FO$= 0.25 TPD
Bagasse = 385 TPD Fuel
TA# = 1.7 TPD
Chemical* Grade
Lignin = 155 TPD
Ethanol
Enzyme =3.73 TPD BioCNG = 40.2 TPD
Plant TPD
Rejects = 17.74 TPD
Yeast = 0.03 TPD
Sulphur = 4.2 TPD
EtOH = 80 TPD
*Chemicals:
Mixed Acid : 9.63 TPD Nutrients : 5.05 TPD
Molasses : 21.17 TPD Other Chemicals : 19.25 TPD
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ISBL OSBL
* Chemicals:
Mixed Acid : 12.78 TPD Nutrients : 4.26 TPD
Molasses : 17.04 TPD Other Chemicals : 19.17 TPD
#
TA = Technical Alcohol $
FO = Fusel Oil
Features:
Developed indigenous 2G Ethanol technology in 2009
Bio-ethanol % conversion for per ton of dry biomass is of rice straw and bagasse is
19% and 21 % respectively.
Process can be operated with multiple feedstocks (such as rice straw, bagasse, cotton
straw, wheat straw etc.) but not with mixed feed.
Feed size for the process is 25-40 mm.
Major byproducts from technology A are Bio-CNG (9%), Liquefied CO2 (10.5%),
Technical Alcohol (4%), Fusel Oil (0.6%), Lignin (47%)
Enzyme and yeast consumption for per ton of dry biomass conversion is 8.7 kg and 0.7
kg respectively.
Total conversion time from biomass to bio ethanol is 100-120 hour.
Approximately 100% water re-cycle via effluent treatment plant in ISBL. However,
some water effluent is there from utilities.
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Lignin rich cake is separated from solid liquid separation & used as a boiler fuel along
with primary fuel.
Turndown capacity for the proposed plant of capacity 100 KLPD is about 70 % of
maximum capacity
Licensor has Experience on 1st generation ethanol production technology as a global
equipment supplier.
Licensor has strength to provide fully integrated end to end scheme for bio-ethanol
plant including OSBL.
1.5.3.2 Technology – B
Overall material balance: As per information available from technology provider the overall
material balance is given below.
ISBL OSBL
* Chemicals:
Antifoam : 0.0792 TPD Sodium Hydroxide (100%) : 4.8 TPD
Urea : 1.97 TPD
Misc.
Propagation Media: 165.6 TPD; Air: 434.4 TPD ; Steam: 969.6 TPD; Process Water : 585.6 TPD
Features:
Commercial Scale Bio Ethanol plant has started in 2013.
Bio-ethanol % conversion for per ton of dry biomass is almost 16.5%.
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Process can be operated with multiple feedstocks (such as rice straw, bagasse, cotton
straw, wheat straw etc.) but not with mixed feed.
Major byproducts are Liquefied CO2, Concentrated stillage and surplus power.
Claim unique steam explosion process as pretreatment of biomass.
Total conversion time from biomass to bio ethanol is 120 hour.
Lignin and concentrated stillage can be sold for off-site uses in energy generation or
cogeneration facility can be set up on clients’ requirements.
A 2G ethanol technology with experience and learning at commercial scale
470,000 TPA (Dry Biomass) started in September- 2014.
Sustained supply of enzymes with equity partner.
No fine size reduction is required.
Technology – C
Features:
Has novel technology based on Supercritical hydrolysis of water.
Super-critical reactor has modular design, i.e. reactor capacity can be increased or
decreased by joining or removing extra reactor tubes.
Bio-ethanol % conversion for per ton of dry biomass is 24.4 %.
Total conversion time from biomass to bio ethanol is 12-24 hours.
The technology produces soluble sugars which can be directly fermented.
No requirement of enzyme for this process.
Time for biomass conversion to sugars: 2-90 minutes
Low reactor volumes
Backed by global companies.
1.5.3.5 Technology – D
Overall material balance: As per information available from technology provider the overall
material balance for two feeds (Bagasse and Rice Straw) are given below.
A) Feed : Bagasse
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ISBL OSBL
* Chemicals:
Nitric Acid (100%) : 3.8 TPD NaOH (100%) : 4.5 TPD
Others Salts : 1.7 TPD
ISBL OSBL
* Chemicals:
Nitric Acid (100%) : 4.3 TPD NaOH (100%) : 5.2 TPD
Others Salts : 1.9 TPD $
FO = Fusel Oil
Features:
Bio-ethanol % conversion for one ton of dry biomass is of rice straw and bagasse is
21.3 % and 24.5 % respectively.
Process can be operated with multiple feedstocks (such as rice straw, bagasse, cotton
straw, wheat straw etc.) but not with mixed feed.
Feed size for the process is 200-1000 microns.
Major byproducts are Liquefied CO2 and lignin (17 %).
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1.12
1.24 kg/hr
Quantity Yeast kg/hr USD 50/ton EtOH
Yeast (Chemicals & other
Demand 2,016 – consumables)
Cost 2,232- 2,480
2240
(Rs/hr)
(Rs/hr)
Sodium
Nitric Acid Mixed 400
Hydroxide 200 kg/hr
(60%) Acids
530 Kg/ Hr
kg/hr
(100%)
Chemicals Sodium
Quantity
Hydroxide 800 800
(Acid, Chemicals Antifoam 3.3 kg/hr
Kg/hr kg/hr
Base and (100%)
other )
Molasses 6.9 MT/hr
Other Salts, 880
(for yeast 710 kg/hr (Propagation media)
kg/hr
incubation)
Solvent
Nutrients 210 Urea 82.1 kg/hr
180 kg/hr
Quantity kg/hr
Process water 71 -87 m3/ hr 24 m3/ hr
Steam 29-31.2 MT/hr 41 MT/ hr (32% HP @ 25 barg,
68% MP @ 10 barg)
5.3-6 MWh (3.5-4 MWh Core + 1.8-2
Electricity ~3.5 MWh (ISBL)
MWh for add on Bio-CNG & Liq CO2)
Cooling
Utilities 2600-2800 m3/hr ISBL, 2500 m3/hr CPP 810 m3/ hr for ISBL
Water
Chilling
Water 647 m3/hr
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Water re-cycling/ Treatment 100% using ETP 100% using ETP based on ZLD
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B Lignin
y
Surplus Power ~ 6 MWh
p
Yeild r
o Bio CNG 1.88 MT/hr 1.71 MT/hr
d
u Solid Waste 2.3 MT/hr 0.69 MT/hr
c
t Fusel Oil 12.5 kg/hr 16.7 kg/hr
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Process Air
Plant Air / IA 331 Nm3/hr
8 Acre for ISBL
Land foot *Area excluded raw material
25-40 Acres
print Area and ethanol storage
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Multiple
Wheat Straw, Rice straw,Cotton
Compatibility to Feed Agnostic
feeds stalk, Bagasse and crop residue
variable resource
feed biomass
Mix Feeds Not allowed
License Fee
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Mixed Feed Stock Dependence: The technology providers participated in EOI do not provide
this option.
Conversion efficiency: Technology A, C and D process compared to Technology B require
less feed stock. The feed stock for first two licensors is ½ to 2/3 of Technology B. For 100
KLPD ethanol plant, Technology C need 325 TPD dry biomass. Conversion efficiency for
Technology C is 24.5%. Conversion efficiency of Technology D is 21.5 – 24.7 % and for
Technology A it is 19 – 21 %. Technology B has 16.5 % conversion efficiency.
Biomass Size Reduction: Technology C required fine grinding (< 120 micron) and
Technology A need coarse grinding ( 25 to 40 mm) for feed, whereas Technology D is in
between ( 0.2 – 1.0 mm). Energy consumed in milling for Technology C is more than
Technology A. Moreover grinding machinery for Technology C is complex compared to
Technology A. Licensor of technology B has not mentioned about the milling of feed.
However it has to be confirmed with the licensor during detailed feasibility study.
Conversion time: Conversion time for Technology C is estimated 12 – 24 hr while that of
Technology D is about 24 hours. Technology A, B take five times, i.e. 120 hr. This indicates
Technology C and D process need less time than other two.
Bio CNG: Technology A and D produces Bio CNG from biomass extracted after distillation.
Formed Bio CNG is treated to remove CO2 and impurities. Purified Bio CNG can be sold in
the market. Generation of BioCNG for both the technologies is in the same order. (1.5 – 1.9
MT/hr)
Enzyme requirement: Technology C uses non enzymatic route, hence for process
requirement of enzyme is not envisaged. Technology D process claim enzyme consumption
around 41 – 47 kg/hr for the process. Technology D uses about 1/3 of the Technology A
requirement (154 – 155 kg/hr) and 1/5 of Technology B requirement (249 kg/hr). Although
Technology D uses less amount of enzyme, the total cost of enzymes don’t defer in large
extent.
Yeast requirement: Technology A and B use co–fermentation method for the production of
ethanol. Technology C and D use separate C5 & C6 fermentation to produce ethanol. Yeast
required for Technology B is four times of Technology A. Technology D does not require
continuous dose of yeast.
Steam requirement: Requirement of steam for technology B and D are in the same order (~
20 MT/hr). Technology A needs 1.5 times that of B.
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Electricity requirement: Power requirement for all licensors except C are in the same order
(5 – 6 MWh) whereas only Technology C needs 9.0 MWh power.
Process Air: Technology B and A have provided process air requirement. Technology B
needs 4480 Nm3/hr, which is 4.7 times of Technology A requirement (850 – 950 Nm3/hr).
Land Requirement: Technology D and B recommend near about same area for ISBL.
Technology D and B recommend 8 acre and 7.5 – 10 acre respectively for ISBL. Technology
A and C have provided land requirement for total complex (ISBL & OSBL). Technology A
requires 33 - 35 acre considering two days feed storage whereas Technology C recommend
25 – 40 acre depending on different feed storage scenarios.
Technology Maturity: Technology B has got commercial plant experience. Technology A
has set up a demo unit for 12 TPD. Technology D has commissioned 10 TPD demonstration
unit whereas Technology C has a working demonstration unit of capacity 3 TPD.
Power Generation: All the technology provides uses lignin in boiler to generate steam and
electricity. Technology D generates steam by burning the lignin produced from their process.
The generated steam is used for power generation and subsequently in the process.
Technology B claims to generate power by burning lignin and concentrated stillage.
Technology A recommends to burn lignin with secondary fuel and generate electricity.
Effluent Treatment: Technology providers A, B and D participated in EOI, talked about
effluent treatment and recommend using it. Technology A, B and D recommend to use ETP.
However Technology A and B provided ETP load of 45 m3/hr and 136 m3/hr respectively.
Water Recycle: All technology provider claims about 100% water recycle (ISBL) in their
process. Technology A, B and D claims 100 % water recycle through ETP unit. Technology
C claim 98% water recycles to process.
Turn down Capacity: Technology B and A allow turn down capacity of 25-30% and 70%
respectively.
Water Requirement: The water requirement for technology B is 90 m3/hr for a capacity of
60KLPD.71-87 m3/hr and 110-116 m3/hr of process water is required for technology A and B
respectively for 100 KLPD plant capacity.
1.5.5 Areas of technology requiring detailed assessment
The following areas requiring detailed assessment are:
Commercial scale operation of 2G Ethanol Process:
The commercial scale plant experience is available for one technology licensor.
And others have demo or pilot scale experience.
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Land cost of 1crore/acre is considered for the costing as provided by the client. Licence fee of
6.3 MM€ and BDEP Fee of 2-3 MM€ taken for costing as provided by the licensor.
It is assumed that Corn cobs of required size is available. No milling equipment cost is
considered in the estimation.
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Key Assumptions
The basic assumptions made for working out the capital cost estimate are as under:
Cost estimate is valid as of 2nd Quarter 2017 price basis
No provision has been made for any future escalation
No provision has been made for any exchange rate variation.
It has been assumed that the project would be implemented on EPCM mode of
execution.
All costs are reflected in INR and all foreign costs have been converted into
equivalent INR using exchange rate of 1USD=Rs. 64.12, 1EURO=Rs.72.18
Exclusions
Following costs have been excluded from the Project cost estimate:
Scope changes
Any survey
Piling
Site development works except roads, drains and boundary wall
Any cost towards dismantling of existing facilities, hot work in existing facilities
if any, removal of unforeseen underground obstructions , any hook up with
existing facilities
Facilities outside the battery limit of the plant
Cost towards statuary clearances.
Any Dispatch facilities for products.
Railway Siding , Township , Rehabilitation cost if any
Any cost (for Feed, Fuel, Utilities, Catalyst & Chemicals, etc.) towards
commissioning / stabilization of the plant or off spec production.
Cost provision for fire-proofing
Capital cost estimate for the identified scope, works out for two case i.e
Power cost as import case : Power import cost is taken as Rs. 6.85/KWH
as provided by the client
Power cost as generation case : Power is generated with 5 MWH STG and
secondary fuel is provided in boiler for
additional steam generation.
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The calculated values for the two cases are tabulated below:
Table 1.7: Cost estimate for biomass to Ethanol Complex (Power Import case)
Foreign
Indigenous Component Total Cost
Description Component
Ic Rs. In Lakhs
Fc
Technology B 100 77 758 99 859 75
Table 1.8: Cost estimate for biomass to Ethanol Complex (Power Generation case)
Foreign
Indigenous Component Total Cost
Description Component
Ic Rs. In Lakhs
Fc
Technology B 100 78 865 95 966 74
Validity of cost estimate is as of 2nd Quarter 2017 price basis. The accuracy level of the cost
estimates is ±30%. This accuracy level has been arrived at based on the technical information
received from licensor, detailing done with the in- house data available in EIL.
Based on capital cost, operating cost and sales revenue, IRR has been worked out.
IRR of 12% pretax on total capital works out for ethanol price of around Rs 122.5/Litre, Rs
120.5/Litre for the power import and generation cases respectively.
However the judicious call may be taken by the project proponent at the time of investment
decision with regard to desirable return from the project considering suitable financial
instruments.
This can be verified by the financial consultant based on the exact provision as applicable for
such projects.
Refer Annexure I for detailed cost estimation.
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Ash is the solid effluent generated from boiler. Around 3.28 MT/hr of ash is generated in the
boiler.The liquid effluents generated is 34.2 MT/hr and can be treated in ETP.21 MT/hr of
gaseous effluents is generated and is vented to the atmosphere.
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SECTION - 2
INTRODUCTION
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2.0 Introduction
The reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission has become a major target in efforts to suppress
global warming. Bio-ethanol is considered as an important renewable fuel to partly replace
fossil-derived fuels. Governments around the world have recognized the role that biofuels will
play in a renewable fuels portfolio and have introduced minimum targets for their
implementation in the future. Ligno-cellulosic biomass is seen as an attractive feedstock for
renewable fuels, particularly ethanol.
The Indian economy is growing at a rate of approximately 7 -7.5 percent results the demand for
energy growing at rapid rates to drive this high economic growth. The World Energy Outlook
(WEO) report of the International Energy Agency (IEA) projects that India’s primary energy
demand will increase from 750 Mtoe to 1258-1647 Mtoe between 2011 and 2035 i.e., it will
most likely more than double over these 25 years. The oil demand in India will reach more than
8 million barrels per day in 2035, whereas the current domestic production of crude oil has been
more or less stagnant over the years. The balance is met through imports of crude petroleum
products that cost the country with valuable foreign exchange. Volatile oil prices and the
uncertainty about sustained oil supplies have lead India to search for alternatives, particularly
for substituting petroleum products, to promote energy security. Biofuels are considered among
the most promising alternative options, as they can be produced locally and can be substituted
for diesel and petrol to meet the transportation sector’s requirements. India, like many other
countries, is setting targets for the substitution of petroleum products by biofuels.
Globally, countries have been setting varying targets, ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent for
the transport of fuel products to be provided from renewable sources, to be met at various times
within the period 2010–2030. Developing countries such as India have multiple constraints
benefits in promoting biofuels, such as promoting energy security, rural development and the
reclamation of degraded lands as well as coping with the challenges of land and water scarcity
and improving food security.
In developing economies, food-related feedstock (first generation feedstock) like corn, sugar
etc. is preferably replaced by non food raw materials (second and third generation feedstock),
such as wheat straw, rice straw, bagasse, cotton stalk bamboo etc. Ethanol for use as bio-fuel is
produced by fermentation where certain species of yeast or bacteria metabolize sugars in
oxygen-lean conditions to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide. The main reasons for the
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enhanced development of bio-ethanol are its use as a favorable and near carbon neutral
renewable fuel, thus reducing CO2 emissions and associated climate change.
Whether first, second, or third generation feedstock is used, fermentation produces an alcohol-
lean broth only, as such unusable in industrial and fuel applications. The ethanol must hence be
purified. Fractional distillation can concentrate ethanol to 95.6 vol% (89.5mol %),
corresponding to the azeotropic composition with a boiling point of 78.2 ∘C. Remaining moister
is capture in dehydration column to produce anhydrous fuel grade ethanol.
MRPL is examining the feasibility of setting up Ligno-cellulosic Ethanol production plant in
Karnataka state, India. MRPL has published EOI to identify Technology Providers/ Licensors
which have commercially utilized or prototype technology which is already producing ethanol
from Ligno-Cellulosic Biomass and are interested in setting up and/ or operating Integrated
Ligno-Cellulosic Ethanol Production Plant in India by using domestic agri-based Ligno-
Cellulosic feedstock. MRPL is looking for a Plant with capacity to produce ethanol in the range
of 50 KL to 150 KL per day however exact capacity will depend upon the optimum plant sizing,
biomass availability, economic movement of Ethanol for blending, taxes and other factors. EIL
has been selected to prepare a feasibility report on Ligno-cellulosic biomass to 2G-ethanol.
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SECTION - 3
SCOPE OF WORK
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The feasibility report shall reflect upon the following broad aspects:
Project cost, with an accuracy of ± 30%, will be provided based on the inputs
received by MRPL against the published EOI. The project cost estimation was
limited to 2 cases (additional cases shall be done if required by MRPL). The case
shall be finalized in consultation with MRPL. The technical assessment was carried
out for all the cases.
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SECTION - 4
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S. No Parameters Value
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Bagasse 42 25 20 13
Corn stover 38 26 19 17
Corncob 45 35 15 5
Rice Straw 32 24 18 26
Rice Husk 36 20 20 24
Wheat straw 35 32 21 12
Sweet sorghum 45 27 21 7
Nut Shell 30 30 30 10
Maize Straw 36 28 29 7
Cotton Straw 42 12 15 31
Switch grass 40 30 12 18
Hardwood 40 40 18 2
Pine 44 26 29 1
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SECTION - 5
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
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Raw CO2 gas from fermenters is washed through foam trap designed to reduce the potential
hazard of foam carry over contaminating the CO2 recovery equipment. The CO2 gas is passed
through low pressure scrubber for removal of water soluble impurities in a counter current flow
scheme. The clean gas is compressed to approximate 19 bar(g) pressure at the discharge and
passed through high pressure scrubber to remove heavier impurities from the feed gas and
finally passed through deodorizers that removes odor causing impurities using activated
carbon. Dried, clean and purified CO2 gas at pressure of approx. 18 bar(g) is liquefied in a CO2
liquefaction system operating on ammonia refrigerant.
5.2 Material Balance
Summarized material balance for both technologies are as given below:
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Enzyme TPD 6
Yeast TPD 0.0624
Misc. TPD 2155
FO TPD 0.96
Product
Ethanol TPD 78.72
CO2 TPD 504
lignin TPD 386.4
Conc. Stillage TPD 331.2
Waste TPD 13.68
Trash/Dust TPD 6
MP Condensate TPD 518
Effluent TPD 806.5
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SECTION - 6
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
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as extensive upright growth, but also raises its recalcitrance to degradation due to the interaction
and cross-linking of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin as shown in Fig. 6.2.
6.1.1 Cellulose
Cellulose is a polysaccharide composed of linear glucan chains that are linked together by β-
1,4-glycosidic bonds with cellobiose residues as the repeating unit at different degrees of
polymerization depending on resources, and packed into micro-fibrils which are held together
by intra-molecular hydrogen bonds as well as intermolecular van-der Waals forces. Hydrogen
bonds hold the long cellulose chains tightly together in a crystalline structure rendering the
cellulose insoluble to hydrolysis. The crystalline cellulose must be subjected to some
preliminary chemical or mechanical degradation before it can be broken down into glucose.
6.1.2 Hemicelluloses
Hemicellulose consists of short, highly branched
chains of sugars. It contains pentoses, five-carbon
sugars such as xylose and arabinose, hexoses, six-
carbon sugars such as glucose, galactose, and
mannose, and small amounts of other chemicals.
Hemicelluloses chains are more easily broken
down to form their simple monomeric sugars than
is cellulose because of their highly amorphous and
branched structure. Since pentose sugars comprise
a high percentage of the available sugars in plants,
the ability to recover and ferment them into
ethanol is important for the efficiency and
Fig 6.2: Schematic diagram of
economics of the process. The exact sugar
Plant Component
composition of hemicelluloses can vary depending
on the type of plant.
6.1.3 Lignin
Although lignin is a non-sugar-based polymer and cannot be used as feedstock for ethanol
production via microbial fermentation, it exerts a significant impact on the economic
performance of the corresponding bioconversion processes, since most inhibitors of microbial
growth and fermentation come from this compound during the pretreatment that is needed to
render cellulose amenable to enzymatic attack. Meanwhile, as the most abundant component in
biomass after cellulose, lignin yields more energy when burned and can be used for power
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Lignin is a byproduct of this process, and this can be used as a boiler fuel or processed into
specialty chemicals. Hydrolysis and fermentation can be conducted simultaneously in one stage
but simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) is yet to be implemented
commercially, significant advances are being made in this area.
Both the biochemical and thermo chemical pathways require sophisticated processing steps that
have higher operating costs and need significant capital investment compared with grain-based
ethanol processes.
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In the pretreatment process, small amounts of cellulose and most of hemicellulose is hydrolyzed to sugar
monomers. The pretreated biomass is then subjected to filtration to separate liquids
(hemicellulose hydrolysate) and solid (lignin & cellulose). The liquid is sent to a xylose
(pentose) fermentation column for ethanol production. Solids are subjected to hydrolysis (also
called second stage hydrolysis). This process is mainly accomplished by enzymatic methods
using cellulases. Mild acid hydrolysis using sulfuric and hydrochloric acids is an alternative
procedure. The hydrolyzed sugars such as can be readily fermented to ethanol using various
strains of yeast.
6.3.1 Pretreatment
The usefulness of cellulose as a feedstock has been limited by its rigid structure and difficulty
to breakdown into simple sugars. Pretreatment is necessary to accomplish the following:
Break the lignin-hemicellulose-cellulose complex.
Disrupt/loosen-up the crystalline structure of cellulose.
Increase the porosity of the biomass.
These changes in lignocellulosic materials make it easier for enzymatic saccharification
(hydrolysis), results in higher fermentable sugars levels and will have a significant impact on
the overall process. Cost effective pretreatments are needed to liberate the cellulose from the
lignin/hemicellulose matrix and reduce its crystallinity i.e an ideal pretreatment process should
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have yield high levels of pentoses and the hydrolysates will not have any inhibitory substances.
Pretreatment, involves delignification of the feedstock in order to make cellulose more
accessible in the hydrolysis step, using physical, physicochemical, chemical and biological
treatment. For this step there are several types of processes, with different yields and distinct
effects on the biomass, which in turn have implications on the subsequent steps. Most used
methods for pretreatment is listed in Table 6.1. Pretreatment is a costly separation, accounting
for upto 33% of the total cost the economy needs to be improved, and the release of microbial
and chemical contamination that possibly reduces the overall yield needs further attention.
Table 6.1: Comparison of the different pretreatment processes
Reaction Xylose
Process Description
time yield
Physical
Vapour explosion Crushed biomass is treated with vapour (saturated, 160°-
260°C) followed by a rapid decompression. 1-10 min 45%-65%
Chemical
Acid hydrolysis Uses concentrated or diluted sulphuric,
hydrochloric or nitric acids, 2-10 min 75%-90%
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6.3.2 Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis process generates fermentable monomeric sugars from hemicellulose and cellulose
content of lignocellulosic biomass. This can be accomplished by two different processes,
namely,
1. Acid hydrolysis
2. Enzymatic hydrolysis.
Acid hydrolysis
Mineral acids such as sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid are
widely employed for the hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. The sulfuric acid-based
hydrolysis process is operated under two different conditions
Process that uses high sulfuric acid concentration that operates at a lower temperature.
Process that uses low sulfuric acid concentration and operates at a higher temperature.
Enzymatic hydrolysis
These enzymes are commonly referred to as endoglucanase, exoglucanase and cellobiase,
respectively. The exoglucanases attack the non reducing end of cellulose to form the cellobiose
units. Finally, cellobiase converts cellobiose into D-glucose. The factors affecting activity of
cellulases include enzyme source and the concentration of enzyme. The yield of fermentable
sugar levels obtained from pretreated biomass increases as the enzyme load increases and
cellulose load decreases. A comparison of the different hydrolysis processes is presented in
Table 6.2. For higher conversion and lower metallurgy enzymatic hydrolysis is more favorable
over acid hydrolysis.
40° C
Concentrated Acid 30%-70% H2SO4 2-6 h 90%
6.3.3 Fermentation
Fermentation is the biological process to convert the hexoses and pentoses into ethanol by a
variety of microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast or fungi.
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Yeast commonly used for first generation ethanol production, cannot metabolize xylose. Other
yeasts ferment xylose and other pentoses into ethanol. Genetically engineered fungi that
produce large volumes of cellulase, xylanase and hemicellulase enzymes are also used. These
could convert agricultural residues (e.g., corn stover, straw, and sugar cane bagasse) and energy
crops (e.g., switch grass) into fermentable sugars.
When using enzymatic hydrolysis, different integration methods of hydrolysis and fermentation
steps are proposed. In the separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), the liberated cellulose is
treated in a different reactor for hydrolysis and subsequent fermentation than the hydrolyzed
hemicellulose and lignin. Separate hydrolysis and co-fermentation (SHCF) and simultaneous
saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) are other possible alternatives.
6.3.4 Distillation and Purification
The water-rich feed stream of the distillation & purification unit, contains ethanol in the range
of 3–6 vol %, which is low in comparison with 12 to 15 vol% obtained from 1st generation
feedstock. Due to the higher water content of the broth, additional distillation efforts are
required. Distillation & purification unit consists of 2 process operations:
1. Binary distillation
2. Adsorption via molecular sieve
Desired separation specification of 99.5 vol% ethanol cannot be achieved by distillation alone
because of the non-ideal solution behavior of the water-ethanol mixture. An azeotrope is
observed when the mixture reaches 95.5% mole purity of ethanol. This is a common
phenomenon that occurs when one attempts to separate a polar substance from an alcohol group
utilizing relative volatilities, because in high alcohol concentrations, the attractive forces of the
alcohol group tend to overpower phase change mechanisms of the mixed polar molecule that is
governed by entropy. Equilibrium stage operations are no longer effective after it meets an
azeotrope, and hence sets a limit on the purity achievable using phase change mechanisms.
Hence adsorption via molecular sieve is required for achieving the desired product
specification.
6.4 Technology Assessment
The following technology licensors has shown their interest to putting up 2G bioethanol plant
in Karnataka for MRPL.
1. Praj Industries Limited
2. Beta renewables, S.p.A
3. Renmatix, Inc.
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4. DBT-ICT
This section presents the brief details of all technology licensers along with their USPs (Unique
Selling Point) such as process description, technical features, critical equipments, product yield,
by products etc.
6.4.1 Technology A
Technology A has executed 1 TPD pilot plant to produce bio-ethanol from ligno-cellulosic
biomass is in operation since 2009 to till date consistently. A 12 TPD integrated smart bio
refinery demonstration plant in operation since March 2017 in Pune, Maharashtra .Technology
A has divided their technology in different sections which are listed below and shown in fig.
6.6
1. Biomass Preparation Section
A. Biomass Storage
B. Biomass Handling & Milling
2. Main Process Plant
A. Pretreatment
B. Enzymatic Hydrolysis
C. Co‐Fermentation
D. Distillation
E. Dehydration
3. Utilities & Auxiliaries
A. Boiler
B. Turbine
C. Water Treatment Plant
D. Chemical Storage
E. Cooling Tower
F. Air Compressor
G. Product Storage
H. Enzyme Storage
4. Residue Handling Section
A. Solid Liquid Separation
B. Whole Stillage Storage Section
C. Waste water treatment plant
5. Off‐Site Packages
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Fermentation Section:
The sugar rich slurry from hydrolysis reactor is then cooled to 32 – 34 oC and fed to the
fermenter. Pre-fermenters are provided for yeast propagation and different nutrients are added
as per the required dosages. The pre-fermentor volume is transferred to main fermentor for
fermentation process.
Distillation Section:
Once the desired alcohol is achieved, fermented wash is transferred from fermentor to beer
well and from beer well to distillation section. CO2 evolved during fermentation can be sent
to liquefied CO2 plant. The fermented mash from the co-fermentation section is distilled and
dehydrated to get Fuel grade ethanol.
Split distillation consists of stripping section with following distillation columns.
Degasifying Column: The primary function of degasifying column is to remove non
condensable gases and low boiling impurities from the fermented mash. Preheated
fermented mash is fed to degassifying column.
Split Mash Column: The primary function of mash column is to strip off ethanol from
fermented mash. Split mash column helps in reduction of overall steam consumption
in distillation section.
Rectification section consist rectifier cum exhaust column. The primary function of this
column is to concentrate the ethanol. Ethanol is enriched at the top and is drawn out as hydrous
ethanol and is fed to dehydration plant for further concentration.
Dehydration Section:
The process drives the rectified feed through a system of molsieve beds. To allow for
molsieve bed regeneration in continuous operation, twin beds are provided of which one is in
dehydration mode while the other is in regenerating mode. Depending on feed and product
specifications, the dehydration regeneration exchange takes place based on set time cycle. As
the regeneration process releases the adsorbed water together with ethanol content, it is
recycled back to system for reprocessing.
The feed is pumped to evaporator column after preheating in feed pre-heater. The overhead
vapor of evaporator column is superheated to the required operating temperature and circulated
to sieve bed one. After passing through the molsieve, the vapor is condensed, cooled and sent
to storage.
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The regeneration operation forces the release of the moisture from the molsieve, making the
sieve bed 2 ready for the next cycle. The whole stillage generated in distillation shall be
pumped to bio-methanation.
6.4.1.3 Utilities & Auxiliaries
Boiler and Turbine Section:
The solid fuel fired boiler package is envisaged for steam requirements of plant. The high
pressure steam generated in the boiler will be expanded in extraction ‐condensing turbine to
generate electric power. The steam from turbine extraction will be supplied to the process
plant through steam distribution network. The condensate recovered from process plant will
be returned back to the boiler package.
The boiler package comprises the complete boiler system (combustion system, water tube
boiler, super‐heaters, evaporators, economizers, air pre‐heaters), the boiler feed water system
(pressurized de‐aerator tank, boiler feed water pump, chemical dosing systems), fuel and
ash handling system, pollution control system, chimney and balanced draft system,
electrical and instrumentation system for fully automatic operation of the boiler package.
There are following two options for the primary fuel and supplementary fuel of the boiler:
(i) Using wet biomass cake discharged from the process.
(ii) Using dried biomass cake and recovery of moisture as condensate
In first option, the wet biomass cake is blended with supplementary fuel such as rice husk
in appropriate percentage. This well blended mixture will be supplied to boiler as fuel.
In second option, the wet biomass cake will be dried in suitable type of biomass dryer.
The dried biomass will be supplied to boiler as fuel and supplementary fuel rice husk will be
supplied. The moisture evaporated from biomass cake in the dryer can be condensed back
and water from wet biomass cake can be recovered.
The proposed boiler package will have following features:
Highest possible thermal efficiency
Fully automatic operation of the boiler
Online‐real time efficiency monitoring system
Fully mechanized fuel and ash handling system
Lowest downtime for cleaning and maintenance
High circulation ratio
Steam Turbine Package:
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The high pressure steam generated in the boiler will be expanded in extraction ‐ condensing
turbine to generate electric power. The complete and efficient turbine package will be supplied
for efficient power generation from the system. The steam turbo‐generator will be installed
in a separate powerhouse, along with the entire auxiliary equipment and systems.
The turbine control shall be located in the control room, located adjacent to the turbo‐
generator, whereas important indicating instruments shall be provided near the turbine in the
local gauge board.
Water Treatment Plant:
Basic Filtration:
Raw water is pumped from the raw water tank to the self cleaning filter unit for removal of
suspended solids and turbid matter. Prior to chlorine (sodium hypo‐chlorite shall be added for
dis‐infection purpose) this chlorinated, dis‐infected & filtered water is further passed
through an activated carbon filter (ACF).
ACF unit consists of activated carbon media which ensures removal of organic matter &
excess chlorine, the quality of water at the outlet of ACF unit shall be TSS < 5 ppm &
residual chlorine as nil. This filtered water is directed to the process water storage tank and
further transferred to process use. U.V. sterilizer is also installed post ACF unit to eliminate
organic matter. Part of the filtered water is further passed through an ultra‐filtration system
details of which are explained below
Ultra-filtration System:
Ultra‐filtration (UF) is the physical removal of particles and microbiological contaminants
from an aqueous solution using a membrane filter with pore sizes less than 0.04 micron. It
does not remove dissolved ions and small molecules. Membranes may be made from several
polymers including polyacrylonitrile (PAN), poly ether sulfone (PES) and polyvinylidene
fluoride (PVDF). Membrane has durability, ease of manufacturing, resistance to pH
extremes and tolerance to a wide range of chemical cleaning agents. Membranes typically
have a pore size of 0.03 µ (microns), which is effective barrier for bacteria, viruses and
cysts.
Membranes are supplied as flat sheet, spiral wound or hollow fiber modules. Flat sheet
membrane systems are contained in bulky structures and generally operated at low flux rates.
Spiral wound modules are operated in continuous cross flow mode similar to reverse osmosis
membranes. They do not perform a filtrate backwash cycle to lift foulants from the membrane
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Raw CO2 gas from fermenters is washed through a high capacity stainless steel foam
trap designed to reduce the potential hazard of fermenters foam carry over contaminating the
CO2 recovery equipment. Water spray nozzles are used for rinse‐ down in the advent that
foam is detected. Water exits the foam trap through a seal drain. The raw CO2 gas is sent
through a CO2 gas booster blower. The booster draws feed CO2 gas from the fermenters and
increases its pressure to overcome recovery piping and equipment pressure losses and
deliver elevated suction pressure to the main CO2 compressor. The booster is equipped
with a variable frequency drive that is automatically modulated to maintain a constant CO2
fermentation pressure even with changing CO2 production rates.
CO2 purification section:
In this section, CO2 gas is passed through low pressure CO2 gas scrubber. It is designed to
perform with a high efficiency removal of water soluble impurities due to use of water
scrubbing through structured packing. The scrubber operates with very high alcohol removal
efficiency.
During operation a continuous feed of water automatically adjusted to be proportional to the
CO2 collection rate is evenly distributed over structured packing. Counter current to the water
flow is the flow of impure CO2. The water is collected in the sump and drained. At the top
of the tower the entrained moisture is removed from the CO2 in the demister pad / mist
eliminator and the CO2 exits the tower.
After low pressure water CO2 scrubber, the clean gas is continuously fed to CO2 gas
compressor at constant pressure and this specially designed non‐lubricated, two stages gas
compressor compress the gas to approximate 19 bar (g) pressure at the discharge. The two
stage compressor is complete with first stage and second stage cooling with cooling tower
water and automatic drains with provision of manual checks for drains.
CO2 gas compressed at approximate 19 bar (g) then passes through high pressure water gas
scrubber again to remove heavier impurities from the feed gas, to bring down the impurities
load on the downstream purification system in the plant. After the high pressure water gas
scrubber, the CO2 gas is passed through dual tower deodorizers. The deodorizer removes odor
causing impurities from the high pressure gas. The dual towers are filled with special
activated carbon. CO2 is deodorized in the on‐line tower while the media in the parallel tower
is regenerated with steam at 3.5 bar (g) and followed by natural cooling. After each cycle, this
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regenerated parallel tower is changed to process and the other tower goes for regeneration by
steam.
Clean CO2 gas is passed through high pressure pre-cooler. The cooled CO2 gas from pre-
cooler then passes through dual tower dryer filled with molecular sieves. This dryer is
designed for removal of moisture prior to liquefaction of CO2. The dryer has two tower
systems with tower alteration as well as regeneration. It is completely automatic and
regeneration is conducted every cycle. The CO2 feed gas is then passed through a fine filter to
remove any particulate matter.
CO2 Liquefaction Section:
Dried, clean and purified CO2 gas at pressure of 18 bar(g) is liquefied in a CO2 liquefaction
system operating on ammonia refrigerant. CO2 gas is liquefied at - 27 °C in a flooded CO2
condenser. The liquefaction system runs on automatic mode for continuous service. Liquid
CO2 from liquefying system is further purified by removing the non‐condensable gases like
O2, N2, etc., via stripping technology and passed through stripper section based on liquid CO2
being stripped through CO2 reboiler using refrigerant from liquefying system. High purity
liquid CO2 is transferred to NOx removal towers to finally remove the product liquid CO2
from the impurities like NO, NO2 to make the final product liquid CO2 as high purity food
grade quality. Finally this high purity product goes to the liquid CO2 storage tank for
distribution / supplying high purity food grade liquid CO2 consumers through road tankers.
Bio-methanation:
Anaerobic Bio-methanation System:
Anaerobic bio-methanation system uses a bio-digester, to convert organic matter into useful
energy in the form of biogas. The biological process of conversion takes place in controlled
atmosphere ensuring maximum conversion efficiency and production of biogas.
Following are the salient features of the system before entering to the bio-digester, thin stillage
and wet washing purge effluent from is received into a suitably designed equalization tank to
equalize waste water characteristic.
Temperature Control:
Waste water is pumped to bio-digester, via thin stillage cooler which is designed to maintain
the waste water temperature at 38-40oC, with the help of cooling water.
pH Control:
Waste water pH is adjusted to 6.5 ‐ 7.0 by recycling part of the treated effluent.
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Mixing in Bio-digester:
Mixing is done by re‐circulation of biomass using mixing system & further enhanced by gas
propagation. Efficient mixing helps microorganisms to reach fresh food in favorable living
condition & convert organic matter into methane & carbon dioxide. Various sample points are
provided on the shell of bio-digester to measure the concentration of sludge in the bio-digester.
Drain points are provided to drain the excess sludge from bio-digester.
Hydraulic Retention Time (HRT) & Solid Retention Time (SRT):
Bio-digester is designed for adequate hydraulic retention time, which is required for
achieving design parameters while reducing the effects of shock loads & making the process
sturdy. The digested effluent from bio-digester flows to a parallel plate clarifier via degassing
pond. The entrapped gases in the digested effluent are released in degassing pond. The sludge
is settled in the parallel plate clarifier, which is recycled to increase solid retention time in the
bio-digester. The supernatant liquid from clarifier is sent for further treatment. Excess biomass
& sludge is removed from the bottom of bio-digester periodically to avoid excess built up of
solids inside the digester. The biogas produced in bio-digester is collected from top of the bio-
digester & flows to the gasholder. The gas holder acts as intermediate gas storage & pressure
control device. The biogas is transferred to the boiler house by using biogas blowers. Partly
Biogas is transferred to Bio‐CNG plant. The flare unit is provided for excess gas burning.
6.4.1.6 Overall Material Balance of Plant
Technology A has provided material balance data for the 100KLPD ethanol plant for two
feedstocks.
1. Bagasse
2. Rice straw
Dry feed required for bagasse based plant is 385 TPD while for rice based plant, it is 421 TPD.
Material balance for both feed is shown in fig 6.7.
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A) Feed: Bagasse
ISBL OSBL
Mill Loss = 7.6 TPD
TPD
CO2 = 137.74 TPD
FO$= 0.25 TPD
Bagasse = 385 TPD Fuel
TA# = 1.7 TPD
Chemical* Grade
Lignin = 155 TPD
Ethanol
Enzyme =3.73 TPD BioCNG = 40.2 TPD
Plant TPD
Rejects = 17.74 TPD
Yeast = 0.03 TPD
Sulphur = 4.2 TPD
EtOH = 79.44 TPD
* Chemicals:
Mixed Acid : 9.63 TPD Molasses : 21.17 TPD
Nutrients : 5.05 TPD Other Chemicals : 19.25 TPD
ISBL OSBL
Mill Loss = 8.4 TPD
TPD
CO2 = 130.5 TPD
FO$ = 0.26 TPD
Rice Str = 421 TPD Fuel
TA# = 1.7 TPD
Chemical* Grade
Lignin = 199.8 TPD
Ethanol
Enzyme =3.70 TPD BioCNG = 37.7 TPD
Plant TPD
Rejects = 16.4 TPD
Yeast = 0.03 TPD
Sulphur = 3.8 TPD
EtOH = 79.44 TPD
* Chemicals:
Mixed Acid : 12.78 TPD Molasses : 17.04 TPD
Nutrients : 4.26 TPD Other Chemicals : 19.17 TPD
#
TA = Technical Alcohol
$
FO = Fusel Oil
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6.4.1.7 Features
Developed indigenous 2G Ethanol technology in 2009
Bio-ethanol percentage conversion for per ton of dry biomass is of rice straw and
bagasse is 19% and 21% respectively.
Process can be operated with multiple feedstocks (such as rice straw, bagasse, cotton
straw, wheat straw etc.) but not with mixed feed.
Feed size for the process is 25-40 mm.
Major byproducts from technology A are Bio-CNG (9%), liquefied CO2 (10.5%),
Technical Alcohol (4%), Fusel Oil (0.6%), Lignin (47%) and surplus power.
Enzyme and yeast consumption for per ton of dry biomass conversion is 8.7 kg and 0.7
kg respectively.
Total conversion time from biomass to bio ethanol is 100-120 hour.
Approximately 100% water re-cycle via effluent treatment plant in ISBL. However,
some water effluent is there from utilities.
Lignin rich cake is separated from solid liquid separation & used as a boiler fuel along
with secondary fuel.
Turndown capacity for the proposed plant of capacity 100KLPD is about 70 % of
maximum capacity.
Licensor Experience on 1st generation ethanol production technology as a global
equipment supplier.
Licensor Has strength to provide fully integrated end to end scheme for bio-ethanol
plant including OSBL.
Technology employs Co-fermentation.
6.4.2 Technology B
Technology B is providing technology for the second generation bio-ethanol production. The
process technology produces fermentable sugars from cellulosic biomasses for the production
of ethanol.
Technology B offers the following benefits:
Proprietary technology without addition of chemicals, that allows high recovery of C5
and C6 sugars (high yield), low sugar degradation and therefore low inhibitor
generation.
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Low residence time in the enzymatic hydrolysis step, because of a unique and
proprietary, patent-pending viscosity reduction step.
Highly efficient use of enzyme applied to a high solid content stream.
Simultaneous fermentation of C5 and C6 sugars.
6.4.2.1 Process Description
The main process steps for ethanol production from lignocellulosic feedstocks for technology
B are:
1. Biomass pretreatment to disrupt the lignocellulosic matrix and solubilize C5 and
C6 sugars.
2. Hydrolysis to reduce the cellulose and hemicellulose into fermentable sugars.
3. Fermentation of sugars to ethanol.
4. Solid separation, ethanol recovery and dehydration.
The technology is designed to enable pretreatment process to produce pretreated material that
facilitates enzymatic and microbial activity as shown in fig 6.9. Technology claims to limit
formation of degradation products that could inhibit the performance of hydrolytic enzymes or
fermentative microorganisms. Plant is designed for flexible operation with different feedstocks.
Table 6.3: List of the processes in ISBL
5 MO propagation ISBL
6 Beer column ISBL
7 Rectifier column ISBL
8 Ethanol Dehydration ISBL
9 Daily Ethanol storage ISBL
10 Lignin separation ISBL
11 CIP system ISBL
12 Chemicals storage ISBL
13 CO2 scrubber ISBL
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a complete mixing and adequate retention time for the first enzymatic liquefaction of complex
cellulose and hemicellulose, leading to simpler oligomer chains necessary for an efficient
downstream conversion to ethanol. This step will ensure continuous flow of the material into
the fermenters.
Fermentation and CO2 Scrubber:
The mash exiting from the hydrolysis reactors will be cooled and then sent to the simultaneous
saccharification and fermentation (SSF) section. The simultaneous saccharification of both
cellulose to glucose and hemicellulose to pentose and the co-fermentation of both glucose and
pentose will be realized by using special yeast. The SSF offers reduction of the capital costs
due to the combination of hydrolysis and fermentation into a single reactor. In the fermentation,
sugars will be converted to ethanol and carbon dioxide by the action of the yeasts. The
fermentation process employs a system of tanks, all of equal size, to allow the fermentation
process to be operated in a batch mode. The fermentation process generates heat, which is
removed by circulating the fermenting mash through external heat exchangers. From
fermentation, the beer is pumped to the beer well, a holding tank that allows beer to be
continuously fed to the distillation sections.
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water stream comes from the bottom of the rectifier column is pumped to the process
condensation tank and then treated to reuse it back in the process.
The rectifier top mixture is in azeotrope condition and cannot be further purified using standard
distillation. The final removal of water/ethanol mixture to produce fuel grade ethanol is
achieved by a molecular sieve dehydration system. The molecular sieves work on the principle
of selective adsorption in the vapor phase. In this case, water is adsorbed on the sieve bed
material while ethanol passes through the bed. The adsorbed water is removed during a
regeneration step and is routed back to the distillation system. Fuel ethanol is pumped to the
daily/off spec tanks opportunely sized for the production at design rate. The production rate of
the ethanol from the distillation/dehydration system will be monitored with in-line instruments,
while moisture content will be monitored with laboratory equipment.
The ethanol from dehydration section is fed into the ethanol daily tank/off spec tank in order
to control the quality of the product before sending it into the product storage section.
Lignin Separation:
The bottom of the beer stripper column containing solids (stillage) is fed to a separation system
in order to separate clarified stillage from high lignin stream. The purpose of the system is to
obtain the high lignin stream with a residual moisture content of about 60%. Technology B has
developed two distinct technical options for this process step, namely filtration and centrifugal
decanters.
The selection is site-specific and can be assessed as part of detailed site-specific feasibility
study. Centrifugal decanters for lignin dewatering are uses centrifugal force to separates solid
particles from water. Through openings situated at the bottom of the equipment it is possible to
separate the clarified stillage stream from the solids (lignin) which, are then transported to the
outlet.
CIP System and Chemical Storage:
In order to keep the process microbiologically clean and to remove residues from heat
exchanger equipment and tanks, a Clean-In-Place (CIP) system will be provided. The cleaning
process will use condensate from the process, thereby minimizing fresh water usage. Caustic
will be used as a cleaning agent for sanitizing and dissolving most of the residues. Chemicals
such as antifoam, caustic soda, urea solution, enzymes are stored in suitable tanks and dosed to
the plant.
6.4.2.2 Byproducts and Effluents
The byproducts of technology B process are:
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1. The lignin-rich stream is the high-solid stream resulting from the lignin separation
section. While lignin has potentially higher value applications that are under
development, it can be also used for energy generation. It can be sold as a fuel or used
in a purposely designed CHP (combined heat and power unit) on-site for generation of
steam and electricity.
2. Clarified stillage is the high-liquid stream resulting from the lignin separation section.
Stillage is a by-product which can be returned to agricultural fields in the proximity of
the plant for nutrient recycling. In other scenarios, this clarified stillage can be sent to
an outside waste water treatment facility for disposal. In most cases however the
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clarified stillage will need to be further processed on-site thus generating streams of
valuable byproducts and effluents. The most appropriate choice is site-specific as it
depends on markets for the co-products and the cost for disposal of any remaining
effluents.
3. The process produces CO2 as a fermentation by-product. The technology includes the
equipment required to collect gaseous streams containing CO2 and process them through
a scrubber unit prior to being vented to the atmosphere. Rather than venting CO2 rich
stream, it is possible to further clean it into commercial-grade CO2 which can be then
liquefied and stored for sale. The viability of this option will depend on the size and
location of the plant as well as the local market for CO2 as an industrial gas.
In addition to the water effluents, the plant will also generate:
Ashes from the boiler (in case a CHP unit is used on-site to generate energy from
the high lignin stream). In certain instances ashes can be recycled to agricultural
fields for nutrient recovery; in others, however, ashes will need to be disposed
off.
It is important to emphasize that the nature and specific characteristics of
byproducts and effluents is highly dependent on the design basis and
configuration choices which, in turn, are influenced by a number of
considerations such as location, local value of by-products and cost of disposal
of effluents, etc.
6.4.2.3 Overall Material Balance of Plant
ISBL OSBL
Misc.
Propagation Media: 165.6 TPD; Air: 434.4 TPD ; Steam: 969.6 TPD; Process Water : 585.6 TPD
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As outlined in the fig. 6.11, stillage coming from the beer column is processed through a
dewatering section (centrifugal decanter), where a high solid content stream (lignin stream) is
separated. The clarified stillage then goes through a stillage concentration section where a
second high solid stream (concentrated stillage) is recovered.
This stillage concentration section is composed of two separate units:
Evaporation Unit:
The stillage evaporation unit is a multiple effect evaporator designed to produce a concentrated
stillage with a total solid content of about 50% by weight. The subsequent concentrated stillage
stream can be valorized used as a fuel. Most of the condensate from evaporation unit is recycled
to the process, thus lowering the consumption of fresh water.
A Membrane Unit: A portion of the condensate from the evaporation section may be
supplementary treated by membrane unit in order to increase the quality of the water for a
further recycle to the process and/or meet local regulation for water discharge.
The membrane unit will also generate a high COD effluent stream (Membrane Retentate) which
will typically be disposed a wastewater treatment plant based on the local/site regulations.
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6.4.2.5 Features
Commercial scale bio ethanol plant has set up in 2013 bio-ethanol % conversion for per
ton of dry biomass is 16.5%.
Process can be operated with multiple feedstocks (such as rice straw, bagasse, cotton
straw, wheat straw etc.) but not with mixed feed.
Major byproducts are liquefied CO2, concentrated stillage and surplus power.
Claim unique steam explosion process as pretreatment of biomass.
Total conversion time from biomass to bio ethanol is 120 hour.
100% water re-cycle via effluent treatment plant from ISBL.
Lignin and concentrated stillage can be sold for off-site uses in energy generation or
cogeneration facility can be set up on clients’ requirements.
A 2G ethanol technology with experience and learning at commercial scale
1st commercial scale bio ethanol plant started in 2013.
470,000 TPA (dry biomass) started in 2014.
Sustained supply of enzymes with equity partner.
No fine size reduction is required.
6.4.4 Technology C
Technology C also has the process converting ligno-cellulosic biomass to bio-ethanol.
In the first step biomass undergoes size reduction as necessary, and is then conveyed to a storage
silo. The stored solids are then slurried with water and pumped and heated to reaction
temperature, and then fed to the fractionation reactor. Auto-hydrolysis with hot compressed
water enhances cellulose accessibility by first solubilising hemicelluloses and auto-catalytically
hydrolyzing mainly the xylan content of the hemicelluloses to oligosaccharides and a
monomeric five-carbon (C5) sugar. During this step, biomass particles are slurried with water,
pre-heated to reaction temperature, auto-hydrolyzed in a reactor, and pulverized by steam
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explosion, using equipment adapted from the pulp and paper industry. The residual solids in the
reaction effluent, cellulose and lignin, are recovered from hemicellulose oligomer solution.
The second stage of the process uses super critical water to solubilise the cellulose from the first
step, and then hydrolyze it to glucose and its oligomers. Here the preheated solids from the
hemi-hydrolysis step are slurried with water to achieve desire solids content. The slurry is then
pumped and mixed with super critical water, brought to reaction temperature rapidly, and fed
to the tubular super critical reactor. The cellulose is solubilised to obtain a solution of
oligosaccharides and a monomeric six-carbon (C6) sugars. The reaction mixtures then rapidly
cooled and heat is recovered to provide thermal energy required in the subsequent processes.
Lastly, the solubilised C6 sugar is separated from the remaining solids, primarily lignin.
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Although having a similar mechanism as the first step hydrolysis of hemicellulose, hydrolyzing
cellulose is significantly more difficult due to two primary factors:
A. The water insoluble crystalline structure formed by abundant intra and inter hydrogen
bonds between each cellulose polymer chain make them very resistant to deconstruction
B. The other components present in biomass, such as hemicelluloses, lignin and cellulose
together and provide rigidity to the structure, protecting cellulose from hydrolysis and
deconstruction.
SOLID/LIQUID
SEPERATION
HEMIHYDROLYSIS
WATER SUPERCRITICAL
SOLID/LIQUID
HYDROLYSIS
SEPERATION
WATER
HH SLURRY SH SLURRY
C5 SUGARS
C6 SUGARS
BIOMASS
LIGNIN
Fig. 6.13: Flow diagram for Technology C
Super critical water has the properties significantly different from water at ambient conditions,
and has been successfully used to facilitate various chemical reactions and Technology C super
critical hydrolysis technology draws upon these unique properties.
After the two hydrolysis reactions described above, both C5 and C6 oligosaccharides streams
are optionally refined to produce final monomeric sugars using very small quantities of dilute
acid. Additionally further refining can be done by fermentation where sugar is consumed. In
this step, the sugars are concentrated by evaporation using waste heat from the process.
The co-product lignin is an irregular heterogeneous polymer and is used for its fuel value. The
refined C5 and C6 sugars from refining are mixed and fed to fermentation plant for biological
conversion by yeast into ethanol. The ethanol is distilled to an anhydride form, and after
denaturing, anhydrous ethanol emerges. Two by-products are produces during the sugar
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fermentation to cellulosic ethanol. One is high protein material that is harvested from the spent
yeast organism. A second by-product is composed of carbohydrates that are not converted by
the fermentation organisms. Both by-products can potentially be converted into high-protein
portion could have higher value as feed local livestock operations.
The sugars will be fermented via that consume both the C6 and C5 sugars.
Water is recovered at various locations of the process. This water is collected, treated on site
and returned as process water. Water treatment consists of typical waste water aerobic digestion
coupled with reverse osmosis filtration. Total process water recovery is on the order of 98%.
digestion coupled with reverse osmosis filtration. Total process water recovery is on the order
of 98%.
6.4.4.2 Features
Has novel technology based on supercritical hydrolysis of water.
Super-critical reactor has modular design, i.e. reactor capacity can be increased or
decreased by joining or removing extra reactor tubes.
Bio-ethanol % conversion for per ton of dry biomass is 24.4 %.
Total conversion time from biomass to bio ethanol is 12-24 hours.
The technology produces soluble sugars which can be directly fermented.
No requirment of enzyme in the process.
Time for biomass conversion to sugars: 2-90 minutes.
Low reactor volumes.
Backed by global companies.
6.4.5 Technology D
Cellulosic ethanol technology developed by technology D achieves conversion at high speed
(total process within 24h). The technology is also feedstock agnostic and has been successfully
used with various agricultural feedstock such as rice straw, cotton stalk, corn, bagasse etc.
Technology was implemented as a phase 1 pilot plant of 1 TPD dry biomass. After having run
for six months and the required process optimization, the same plant is being scaled up to 10
TPD in phase 2 and has started operation from April 2016.
Conceptually, the typical process for conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol route
via enzymatic hydrolysis comprises 5 main steps:
1. Biomass size reduction
2. Pre-treatment
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3. Enzyme Hydrolysis
4. Fermentation
5. Purification & Separation of alcohol
BIOMASS
Size Reduction
Makeup Makeup
Alkali Acid
Alkaline Acid
Reactors Reactors
Alkali Acid
Recovery Recovery
Lignin to
Re - Use
such as acid, alkali, hydrothermal, steam explosion of biomass leave the residual solid mass that
is de-lignified for enzymatic hydrolysis to fermentable sugars.
Processing the biomass in a 10-15% flowing slurry form and separation of the biomass
components into substantially homogeneous fractions of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin has
advantages like:
It results in proving good mixing conditions and this helps in increasing all the reaction
rates and hence provides lower processing limits.
The chemicals and enzymes are recycled thereby not only providing considerable
flexibility to the production process with changing feedstocks, the net chemical enzyme
costs are significantly lowered.
The separated biomass fractions allow for more cost effective treatments to further
products i.e. glucose, xylose and lignin for their next step conversions.
The overall processing time from size reduction to fermentation & distillation is lowered
to less than a day compared to several days involved in other technologies.
Biomass Fractionation in the Technology D has been designed as a continuous but flexible
operation with the ability to switch between single step and two step sequence adjustable alkali
and acid treatments. The process and system has been designed such that all reaction parameters
can be closely controlled using DCS and SCADA and in a way that no furfural derivatives are
formed and sugar yields are high.
Enzymatic Hydrolysis:
Fractionation of biomass into cellulose and hemicellulose streams by the Technology D process
uses enzymatic hydrolysis that consumes much lower enzymes per kilogram of fermentable
sugars produces. Technology D has three distinct features in this step:
a) Toxics produced: No toxic furfural derivatives produced in the technology on account
of mild and controlled reaction conditions.
b) Inhibitions from substrates and products: Continuous processing overcomes the
inhibitions and makes the reaction rates very rapid.
c) Enzyme deactivation from irreversible adsorption on solid residue: Absence of lignin
or any un-hydrolysable solid matter prevents enzyme deactivation.
Since the system allows for continuous recycle and reuse of the enzyme added, the effective
dosage becomes less than 1 unit/g cellulose residue. Further, the high enzyme dosage, use of
suspension concentration of solids, high quality of separated cellulose, and continuous reaction
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to separate soluble sugars from insoluble cellulose, all factors together reduce the enzyme
reaction time to 2 hours.
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ISBL OSBL
* Chemicals:
Nitric Acid (100%) : 3.8 TPD
NaOH (100%) : 4.5 TPD
Others Salts : 1.7 TPD
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ISBL OSBL
* Chemicals:
Nitric Acid (100%) : 4.3 TPD
NaOH (100%) : 5.2 TPD
Others Salts : 1.9 TPD
$
FO = Fusel Oil
6.4.5.4 Features:
Bio-ethanol % conversion for one ton of dry biomass is of rice straw and bagasse is 21.3
% and 24.5 % respectively.
Process can be operated with multiple feedstocks (such as rice straw, bagasse, cotton
straw, wheat straw etc.) but not with mixed feed.
Feed size for the process is 200-1000 microns.
Major byproducts are liquefied CO2 and lignin (17 %).
Enzyme consumption for one ton of dry biomass conversion is 3 kg.
Total conversion time from biomass to bio ethanol is 24 hour.
Turndown capacity for the proposed plant of capacity 100KLPD is about 25% of
maximum capacity.
Pretreatment is based in both acidic & basic media.
Having a demo plant of 10TPD.
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A comparison of all the four technology licensors are provided in the table below.
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Quantity Yeast 1.24 kg/hr 1.12 kg/hr USD 50/ton EtOH Yeast strains part of the technology
2,232- 2,480 2,016 – 2240 5.3 kg/hr (Chemicals & other package. No separate cost. No regular
Yeast Cost
Demand (Rs/hr) (Rs/hr) consumables) supply required with master bank
Supplier provision in proposed plant
Sodium Nitric
Nitric acid Mixed 293 265 255
530 kg/hr 400 kg/hr Hydroxide 200 kg/hr Acid
(60%) Acids kg /hr kg /hr kg/hr
(100%) (60%)
Chemicals
Sodium NaOH
Quantity (Acid, 216 195 188
Hydroxide Chemicals 800 kg/hr 800 kg/hr Antifoam 3.3 kg/hr (100%)
Base and other kg/hr kg/hr kg/hr
(100%)
)
Molasses Other
Propagation
Other salts (for yeast 710 kg/hr 880 kg/hr 6.9 MT/hr Salts, Rs. 77 kg/hr 70 kg/hr 67 kg/hr
media
incubation) 100/kg
Nutrients Urea (50%
180 kg/hr 210 kg/hr 82.1 kg/hr
Quantity sol in water)
Process water 71 -87 m3/ hr 24 m3/hr
~ 41 MT/ hr (32% HP @ 25 barg, 68% MP @ 10
Steam 29-31.2 MT/hr 20 MT/ hr @ 8 barg
barg)
5.3-6 MWh (3.5-4 MWh Core + 1.8-2
Electricity ~ 3.5 MWh (ISBL) 9.0 MWh 4.7 MWh
MWh for add on Bio-CNG & Liq CO2)
Utilities Cooling Water 2600-2800 m3/hr ISBL, 2500 m3/hr CPP 810 m3/ hr for ISBL 1000 m3/hr ISBL, 2500 m3/hr CPP
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Water re-cycling/ Treatment 100% using ETP 100% using ETP for ZLD 98 % 100% using ETP
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requirement (154 – 155 kg/hr) and 1/5 of Technology B requirement (249 kg/hr). Although
Technology D uses less amount of enzyme, the total cost of enzymes don’t defer in large
extent. From the cost point of view, enzyme requirement for all these processes are near about
same. Cost of enzyme for Technology D is 20,500 – 23, 500 INR/hr, which is nearly half –
fold of B ( 45,152 – 49,667 INR/hr). Whereas for Technology A and C this values are 32,340
– 40,000 INR/hr and 27,900 INR/hr.
Yeast requirement: Technology A and B use co–fermentation method for the production of
ethanol. Technology C and D use separate C5 & C6 fermentation to produce ethanol. Yeast
required for Technology B is four times of Technology A. Technology D does not require
continuous dose of yeast.
Steam requirement: Requirement of steam for technology B and D are in the same order (~
20 MT/hr). Technology A needs 1.5 times that of B.
Electricity requirement: Power requirement for all licensers except C are in the same order
(5 – 6 MWh)where as only Technology C needs 9.0 MWh power.
Process Air: Technology B and A have provided process air requirement. Technology B
needs 4480 Nm3/hr, which is 4.7 times of Technology A requirement (850 – 950 Nm3/hr).
Land Requirement: Technology D and B recommend near about same area for ISBL.
Technology D and B recommend 8 acre and 7.5 – 10 acre respectively for ISBL. Technology
A and C have provided land requirement for total complex (ISBL & OSBL). Technology A
recommend 33 - 35 acre considering two days feed storage whereas Technology C
recommend 25 – 40 acre depending on different feed storage scenarios.
Technology Maturity: Technology B Licensor has commercial plant experience.
Technology A has set up a demo unit for 12 TPD and is under operation. Technology D has
commissioned 10 TPD demonstration unit whereas Technology C has a working
demonstration unit of capacity 3 TPD.
Power Generation: All the technology provides uses lignin in boiler to generate steam and
electricity. Technology D generates steam by burning the lignin produced from their process.
The generated steam is used for power generation and subsequently in the process.
Technology B claims to generate power by burning lignin and concentrated stillage.
Technology A recommends to burn lignin with secondary fuel and generate electricity.
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SECTION - 7
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7.1 Utilities
The utility consumption and the facilities required have been done based on estimation of
utility consumption of the process units based on the following.
Licensor Data
In-house data as applicable
Table 7.1: Summary of estimated utility requirement
Quantity
Utility
Technology B
Raw Water (m3/hr) 90
810
Cooling water (m3/hr) in Process
Chilling water (m3/hr) 390
Cooling Tower Capacity(m3/hr)
Process 1 X 1000
CPP 1 X 600
DM Water (m3/hr) 25
Compressed Air (m3/hr) 2 X 400
Power (MW) 5
Steam (TPH) 21
The following are the utility systems required for ethanol generation plant.
The raw water storage is envisaged for 15 days and the supplies from the water reservoir will
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be pumped to the various consumers in the ethanol plant to meets its process and other
requirements. The requirement of fresh water for plant is around 90 m3/hr.Treated water shall
be used as follows:
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The storage facilities are envisaged for biomass feed, supplementary fuel, by product and
product ethanol. The storage for raw material and supplementary fuel are envisaged for two
days where as storage for ethanol is envisaged for 15 days. Storage capacity is based on the
process unit feed / products rates, criticality of operation, turnaround schedules, and emergency
operation. Offsite facilities are divided into following sections:
Raw material storage
Supplementary fuel storage
Finished product storage
By product storage
Table 7.2: Storage details
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Units Technology B
By product
Quantity
Solid Waste 7.68
Vent 285.6
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SECTION -8
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Enclosed in Annexure II
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SECTION -9
ENVIRONMENT
CONSIDERATIONS
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The design of the Project will be on a minimum pollution basis and include all the features
required to ensure that control of all forms of pollution will comply with regulatory &
governmental requirements.
The design approach built into the FEED to avoid/minimise emissions to the air is as follows:
Fugitive emissions from valves will be avoided or minimised by selection of suitable valve
packing, seals etc.
Fugitive emissions from pumps will be minimised by use of dual seals or seal-less pumps
when handling high vapour pressure and hazardous material
Fugitive emissions from flanged connections will be reduced by minimising the number of
flanged connections in high pressure service.
Asbestos will be replaced with safer materials wherever possible, within the scope of this
PROJECT.
Only non-Ozone Depleting Substances will be used within this PROJECT.
Stack emissions from boiler will meet the standards specified in Table 9.1
The HSE Philosophy requires that the level of fugitive emissions emitted during operation of
the plant should be determined by analysis or estimation. The estimated levels will then be
monitored regularly for VOCs and HC. The philosophy requires monitoring of ambient air
quality to ensure that the levels of various pollutants are within the limits. The limits that will
be met is given in Table9. 2
The PROJECT is designed to minimise emissions and the production of waste. The solid waste
that is produced during construction phase will be segregated to allow for safe disposal and
preferably recycle/reuse. Such wastes includes; sieves, activated carbon filters and ion exchange
resins, as well as oily sludge, sanitary sludge, maintenance wastes and spent batteries.
The solid waste that is produced during operation phase will be mostly used for combustion in
boiler and left out portion will be either sold as manure for agricultural fields or to brick and
cement industries.
Any waste that must be disposed of off-site, shall be disposed of by an appropriately authorised
organisation recognised by Central Pollution Control Board/State Pollution Control Board.
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During the operation phase, the treated waste water will be recycled using RO based recycle
plant. Backwash/ regeneration effluent generated from recycle plant shall be stored in the
recycle plant and then pumped for use as horticulture water, fire water make-up and for ash
quenching.
Table 9.1: Standards for Emissions from Boilers Using Agriculture Waste As Fuel
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* Annual Arithmetic mean of minimum 104 measurements in a year taken twice a Week 24 hours at uniform interval.
**4 hourly/8 hourly values should be met 98% of the time in a year. However, 2% of the time, it may exceed but not on two consecutive days.
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SECTION 10
PROJECT COST ESTIMATION
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Land cost of 1crore/acre is considered for the costing as provided by the client. Licence fee of
6.3 MM€ and BDEP Fee of 2-3 MM€ taken for costing as provided by the licensor.
It is assumed that Corn cobs of required size is available. No milling equipment cost is
considered in the estimation.
Gantry system with 300KL day tank with 1 bay and two arms is considered for costing.
Key Assumptions
The basic assumptions made for working out the capital cost estimate are as under:
Cost estimate is valid as of 2nd Quarter 2017 price basis
No provision has been made for any future escalation
No provision has been made for any exchange rate variation.
It has been assumed that the project would be implemented on EPCM mode of
execution.
All costs are reflected in INR and all foreign costs have been converted into
equivalent INR using exchange rate of 1USD=Rs. 64.12, 1EURO=Rs.70.47
Exclusions
Following costs have been excluded from the Project cost estimate:
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Scope changes
Any survey
Piling
Site development works except roads, drains and boundary wall
Any cost towards dismantling of existing facilities, hot work in existing facilities
if any, removal of unforeseen underground obstructions , any hook up with
existing facilities
Facilities outside the battery limit of the plant
Cost towards statuary clearances.
Any Dispatch facilities for products.
Railway Siding , Township , Rehabilitation cost if any
Any cost (for Feed, Fuel, Utilities, Catalyst & Chemicals, etc.) towards
commissioning / stabilization of the plant or off spec production.
Requirement of any high capacity crane
Capital cost estimate for the identified scope, works out for two case i.e
Power cost as import case : Power import cost is taken as Rs. 6.85/KWH
as provided by the client
Power cost as generation case : Power is generated with 5 MWH STG and
secondary fuel is provided in boiler for
additional steam generation.
Note: Total power requirement (ISBL + OSBL) for the proposed plant is 5 MWH, based on the
ISBL requirement provided by the licensor and power calculated for OSBL. It is assumed that
the provided ISBL power quantity is meeting all the ISBL power requirements. Secondary fuel
requirement for the power generation case is based on boiler efficiency assumption.
The calculated values for the two cases are tabulated below:
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Table 10.2: Cost estimate for biomass to Ethanol Complex (Power Import case)
Foreign
Indigenous Component Total Cost
Description Component
Ic Rs. In Lakhs
Fc
Technology B 100 77 758 99 859 75
Table 10.3: Cost estimate for biomass to Ethanol Complex (Power Generation case)
Foreign
Indigenous Component Total Cost
Description Component
Ic Rs. In Lakhs
Fc
Technology B 100 78 865 95 966 74
Validity of cost estimate is as of 2nd Quarter 2017 price basis. The accuracy level of the cost
estimates is ±30%. This accuracy level has been arrived at based on the technical information
received from licensor, detailing done with the in- house data available in EIL.
Based on capital cost, operating cost and sales revenue, IRR has been worked out.
IRR of 12% pretax on total capital works out for ethanol price of around Rs 122.5/Litre, Rs
120.5/Litre for the power import and generation cases respectively.
This can be verified by the financial consultant based on the exact provision as applicable for
such projects.
Refer Annexure I for detailed cost estimation.
Refer Annexure V for the licensor data on which the capital cost estimation has been worked
out.
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SECTION 11
PRELIMINARY PLOT PLAN
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Process units: The process facilities are designed adhering to maintenance, safety and quality
standards considering constructability, economics and operations in to account.
Feed storage and manure: Two days of storage is considered biomass and secondary fuel for
use in boiler along with manure storage.
Product Storage: 15 days storage is considered for ethanol product storage.
Secondary process/treatment: It contains effluent water treatment section for treating various
effluents generated in the ethanol production process.
Utility Block: It contains compressor, cooling tower, chiller, DM plant, softening unit, plant
air package etc.
DG Set and Diesel Storage Area: It contains DG set and storage area for power back up.
Cooling tower and CWTP: It contains cooling tower and treatment plant.
Feed water storage and Power House: It contains boiler/ steam turbine system and raw water
storage tanks.
Control room, Administration and Laboratory: The area for laboratory, administrative
building, control room, canteen are included in plot plan.
Flare unit: No Flare unit is envisaged in the process unit.
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SECTION 12
WAY FORWARD
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IRR of 12% pretax on total capital works out for ethanol price of around Rs 122.5/Litre, Rs
120.5/Litre for the power import and generation cases respectively.
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References:
EOI Data of following four licensor
1. M/s Praj Industries Ltd.
2. M/s Beta Renewables, S.p.A
3. M/s Renmatix
4. DBT – ICT
5. In house Data
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