Kelvion Supports Sustainability Goals for Bioethanol Plant

Producing Bioethanol

The bioethanol producer, based in Eastern Germany, uses a varying blend of milled grain as raw material to produce bioethanol. The grain is diluted with water and sugar is released in two stages, leading to saccharification, which breaks down the sugar further.

The mix of raw material varies because animal feed is one of the by-products of bioethanol production. As the bioethanol producer supplies a customer base with different preferences, the raw material mix has to be tailored to meet specific composition requirements for animal feed.

This constant diversity in the raw material mix means that a special blend of enzymes has to be used to maintain the correct viscosity required for reliable heat exchange. This ensures that the bioethanol production process remains adaptable and consistently efficient, meeting the diverse feed composition requirements of the bioethanol producer's customers.

A key part of the process is cooling the mash down from around 60°C to 35°C before fermentation starts. Kelvion supplied two NW350 gasketed plate heat exchangers which are used in the saccharification process. Our NW series was specially developed to use with media containing particles and solids, which can clog conventional systems, causing costly downtime.

Continuous Operation

The two custom-built units each have 313 plates and one side of the heat exchanger carries the mash, while cooling water flows through the other side. To ensure uninterrupted production, one heat exchanger operates for 24 hours before the second unit takes over, allowing for in-line cleaning of the first one. This regular cleaning prevents unwanted bacteria from colonizing during the fermentation process.

Gianni Alikadic, Application Engineer at Kelvion, said: “Our customer is committed to providing renewable products as part of their overarching sustainability goals. Kelvion is an important part of the puzzle in helping to achieve them. Our partnership, spanning two decades, has been a source of continuous support and innovation, and we are pleased to be a reliable ally in our customer’s journey towards sustainability.”

The Result

Both NW350 heat exchangers have been operating continuously and reliably for the past five years. This latest success further cements our long relationship with this customer spanning two decades.