Ethanol Production

Ethanol Production
I.Manikkavasagan
Assistant Professor
Department of Food Safety and Quality Assurance
College of Food and Dairy Technology
Koduveli, Chennai – 600 052
• In 1906 when the Industrial Alcohol Act was passed, the
production of industrial alcohol, ethanol, became
commercially feasible on a large scale.
• This act allowed the sale of tax-free alcohol, if alcohol has
first denatured to avoid its use in various Alcohol
beverages.
• There are various uses of alcohol such as,
1. Ethanol is used as an organic solvent in many different
products as Emulsified Paints, Perfumes, Markers Inks,
varnishes, Soaps, and other Products like explosives.
2. The most popular use of ethanol is as motor fuel and fuel
additive (gasohol).
3. Its renewable nature; makes it useful for fueling clean
environmentally friendly Compartments.
4. Ethanol is used as a potent food preservative in homes.
5. Ethanol is used in making Antiseptic Soap and Cosmetics as it is
effective against bacteria, fungi, and many viruses, but is not
much effective against bacterial spores.
6. Ethanol is routinely consumed in different forms around the
World like Beer, Wine, Gin, Whisky, etc. Beer is the most popular
Ethanol Beverage in the World.
7. Ethanol plays an important role in making Drugs and
Pharmaceuticals.
8. Ethanol is used in the preparation of essences and flavorings
9. Ethanol is used as the fluid in thermometers.
10. Ethanol is used in preserving biological specimens.
The Chemical Process of Ethanol Fermentation:
• Ethanol fermentation is a biological process in which sugars are
utilized to produce ethanol and carbon dioxide as metabolic
waste products.
• This process is a complicate sequence of transformations carried
out by yeast cells that converts glucose to CO2 and alcohol.
C6H12O6 (glucose) → 2 C2H5OH (ethanol) + 2 CO2 (carbon
dioxide)
• Before fermentation, one glucose molecule is converted into two
pyruvate molecules by glycolysis.
• Under aerobic condition, some species of yeast (e.g.,
Kluyveromyces spp) will oxidize pyruvate completely to carbon
dioxide and water which is termed as cellular respiration.
• These species of yeast will produce ethanol only under anaerobic
condition.
• So ethanol fermentation is classified as anaerobic process.
• However, many yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's
yeast), Schizosaccharomyces pombe (fission yeast) will produce
ethanol even under aerobic conditions.
Microorganisms
• All yeasts are not suitable for brewing.
• Choice of yeast for the alcohol production depends upon the
composition of the medium, particularly the type of carbohydrate
used in the medium.
• Following table describes various raw materials used in medium with
specific strain of yeast.
• Fermentation strain should contain several properties like,
1. They must grow rapidly.
2. They should tolerate high concentrations of sugar.
3. They must be able to produce abundant amounts of alcohol
4. They must be resistant to the produced high concentrations
of alcohol.
• This process is used in the production of alcoholic beverages,
ethanol fuel, as well as in the rising of bread dough.
Media
• The media for the commercial production includes: Blackstrap
Molasses / Corn (Blackstrap molasses has greater use)
• Potatoes Grains
• Wood Wastes, Sulfite waste liquor, Whey
• For the molasses fermentation, to keep final sugar
concentration between 10 -18% molasses must be diluted
with water.
• Concentrations greater than 20% are not employed as they
could be detrimental to yeast.
• The pH of the medium is set between 4.8 to5 with the help
of sulfuric acids or lactic acids.
• Some starchy media like corn, rye and barley can be utilized
but initial starch hydrolysis is necessary.
• This can be done by squashing with barley malt, by mixing
with dilute acids or by utilizing amylolytic enzymes of fungi
like Aspergillus and Rhizopus.
Fermentation:
• When ethanol fermentation is going on in large reactors,
temperature should be between 21 - 27oC.
• But as heat gets evolved it raises the temperature up to 30oC,
which bring down by cooling coils.
• Fermentation continues for 2-3 days, but exact time period is
based on the substrate utilized and temperature.
• At the end, fermentation broth contains 6 -9 percent alcohol
by volume.
• This alcohol yield reflects 90 -98% theoretical conversion of
substrate sugar to alcohol.
• So yields should not be confused with "proof" as proofing
means alcohol concentration designation and it will be twice
the percentage in volume of ethanol as dissolved in water e.g.
70% ethanol is 140 proof.
Product Recovery:
• Ethanol is separated from fermentation broth in continuous
stills.
• Ethanol of 95% concentration is obtained by successive
distillations.
• To obtain 100% or absolute alcohol, special distillation
technique is requires.
• For that 5% water is removed by forming an azeotropic
mixture of benzene, water & ethanol, which then is distilled
with increasing temperature.
• This procedure removes first the azeotropic benzene-
ethanol- water mixture, and then benzene-ethanol mixture,
so that absolute ethanol remains.

Ethanol Production

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