Ethanol Production
Ethanol (C2H5OH) is currently produced from feedstock of energy crops using glucose derived from the plant sugar, starch, and cellulose. Biomass feedstock examples may be sugar cane, corn and switch grass. The glucose is transformed by the fermentation process to split the glucose molecules into ethanol and CO2. Depending on the type of feedstock, addition of enzymes may be required to help free the glucose molecules. Next, the ethanol is concentrated using conventional distillation and then may be further concentrated through a molecular sieve system. The stillage is evaporated and dried to sell as fertilizer or high protein grain. The benefit of using ethanol as a fuel is that it is renewable over its lifecycle. Ethanol begins its lifecycle as carbon stored in biomass, which is converted to ethanol and then burned as fuel that emits water and CO2. Photosynthesis converts the carbon back into biomass.
Teledyne systems provide efficient, effective and reliable support, data storage and reporting for the milling process and source emissions.
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