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Bio ethanol from waste plant material

Paul Boughton
Niro's spray drying technology plays major role in treating by-product in new crop friendly bio ethanol produc

Producing energy by transforming crops into bio ethanol at a time when famine and food shortages affects large areas of the world's population is clearly not a sustainable option. But new technology which enables bio waste to be turned into bio ethanol means that much needed energy can now be harvested without damaging the food chain.

Ethanol, a popular type of bio fuel is traditionally produced by fermenting sugars present in plants such as corn and sugarcane with yeast. The process requires the use of the most edible parts of the plants which are rich in starch and certain types of sugars called hexoses, resulting in the loss of a valuable source of nutrition.

Following a project at Delft University of Technology researchers have succeeded in genetically modifying a strain of yeast that can convert bio waste materials like straw, woodchips and cornhusks into ethanol and a technical process using the yeast has been developed at the Danish Technical University. The technique opens up a previously untapped source of plant-based energy without compromising food supplies.

Niro's expertise in spray drying proteins plays a major role in the process by drying ethanol's by product, yeast cream, decanted from the resulting slurry, into protein powder which can be used for animal feed.

The drying process is achieved in three steps: The yeast cream is concentrated to a point where the slurry at 60°C has a viscosity of approximately 150 centipoise. This concentration is achieved energy efficiently using a Falling Film Evaporator to a level of approximately 20 per cent total solids. The concentration is then dried in a Spray Drying plant equipped with either rotary or nozzle atomisation depending on the required properties of the final powder.

The resulting powder is transported to silos for immediate use or packed into bags for storage or distribution.

For more information, visit www.niro.co.uk

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