September 7, 2006

 

Buhler produces bio-ethanol from grain
 

Press release
 

 

After launching the wood pelleting process and bio-diesel production technology, Buhler's Grain Milling business unit is now entering another novel business field - bio-ethanol.

 

The process is quite straightforward: Grain is ground. The starch contained in the flour is converted by enzymes into sugar. Through fermentation with yeast, the sugar-containing mash produces up to ten percent alcohol, which is then distilled into high-proof alcohol (spirit or ethanol).

 

An ethanol plant is therefore basically a huge liquor distillery. Buhler can contribute two essential elements to such a plant. On the one hand, the grain receiving (intake), cleaning, and grinding processes are essentially identical to those of a flour mill.

 

The second element of the Buhler part of an ethanol plant is the processing of non-fermentable residues obtained from distillation. These so-called "distillers' dried grains with solubles" (DDGS) contain highly valuable substances. Buhler's process technology (pelleting and cooling) allows them to be transformed into a high-protein feed additive.

 

A second option is to use the DDGS as a direct source of energy for the ethanol plant. Here, too, Buhler technology can be applied. For the plant section in which the alcohol process takes place, Buhler is collaborating with companies from the field of biochemistry.

 

The development of new ethanol plants is in full swing. At present, hammer mills are still frequently being applied to grind the whole grains. But this will also allow substances to enter the fermentation process that cannot be converted into sugar.

 

Dirk-Michael Fleck, bio-ethanol specialist at Buhler, said, "We can increase the efficiency of a bio-ethanol plant massively by incorporating a fractioning stage in the grinding process. By applying such a selective grinding process, components of the grains that do not contain any starch are removed before the actual alcohol process. That conserves energy, and higher grade and safe by-products are obtained for the animal feed industry."

 

"The traditional Buhler grain milling and feed production processes boost the economy of plants for production of bio-ethanol and bio-diesel. After all, operating reliability and energy efficiency are customer requirements that Buhler is in an excellent position to satisfy," Fleck added.

 

Fleck has no doubts that the market for bio-ethanol stands to continue its sharp growth over the next few years. "The need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to gain a certain degree of independence of crude oil is driving the development of ethanol applications," said the 40-year-old process engineer.

 

He commented that the agricultural industry is systematically seeking new markets in regions with overproduction, and that the use of renewable energy is being subsidised by governments. These are reasons enough for the industry to increase its investments in ethanol production in anticipation of growing demand. "I expect the European ethanol market to multiply over the next five years, in much the same way as in the US," Fleck added.

 

In the United States and Brazil, production of bio-ethanol is a fairly old tradition. In Brazil, several hundred plants are already in operation, which produce alcohol from sugar molasses.

 

In the US, bio-ethanol production has almost tripled since 2000. By 2006, it is expected that about 20 percent of the entire US corn crop will be processed into bio-ethanol.

 

For more information on bio-ethanol, please contact:

Dirk-Michael Fleck

Grain Milling Bio-Ethanol Market Segment at Buhler, Uzwil, Switzerland

Tel: +41-71-955-27-70

Fax: +41-71-955-66-11

E-mail: dirk-michael.fleck@buhlergroup.com

 

Wheat - raw material for making bio-ethanol