New technology optimizes ethanol production

The search for greater energy efficiency in ethanol production has led mills to rethink how they integrate their industrial stages. In the United States, this movement is already occurring on a commercial scale, according to an assessment by Carlos Wilson Zanchini, executive manager of Whitefox Technologies. At Western Plains Energy, the implementation of Whitefox ICE XL technology shows how membrane dehydration can be incorporated directly into the corn ethanol production system. The advancement is not limited to replacing a conventional thermal stage, but proposes the integration of distillation, dehydration, and evaporation as a single energy system. By reducing the thermal load required in the dehydration phase, the process directly impacts steam consumption and contributes to greater stability of the distillation columns. There are also effects on the thermal balance of the evaporation systems, which favors the overall performance of the plant and reduces energy losses ...