Distillation Applications for Alcohol

Raw materials containing starch and sugar are principally used in the manufacture of bioalcohol. The alcohol which is produced is used in a wide variety of areas, for example:

• the pharmaceutical industry
• the cosmetics industry
• the beverages industry
• mixed with petrol as an octane enhancer
• in the chemical industry as a source material for basic chemical substances, e.g. aldehyde, acetic acid and ethyl acetate.

The wide variety of uses is reflected in the different qualities of alcohol which range from aeromatic, fine distillate to water-free, neutral 100% alcohol.

Depending on the raw material used, the choice of processing and the method of fermentation, different means of cleansing must be selected in the distillation process to achieve the desired product quality.

Many years of experience in the field of alcohol distillation enable GEA Evaporation Technologies (GEA Wiegand) to design safe, proven and efficient plants for the production, purification and processing of alcohol.

GEA Evaporation Technologies (GEA Wiegand) can offer complete alcohol processing lines. These include secondary or additional stages as, for example, the manufacture of wheat gluten or the reaction to alcohol derivatives. Our engineers plan the mash preparation of the raw materials, the fermentation, distillation and processing of the stillage, right through to drying with modern, energy saving steam dryers; the crucial components are manufactured under the tightest quality controls in our own workshops.

Distillation Chart

Requirements as regards the quality of alcohol have been increased considerably over the past few years. An example is the methanol content which is often specified as representing a very few milligrams per one hundred milliliters. Frequently standards for 100% alcohol lie close to the limits of analytical proof. It is true that these quality requirements can easily be fulfilled, given a high energy investment, however, energy costs are forcing producers into operating energy-saving plants.

GEA Evaporation Technologies (GEA Wiegand) has proved in practical terms that it is possible to reconcile this apparent contradiction by designing new distillation plants, based on proven technology, well established research and development, and many years of experience.

Rectification & absolution plant during final stage of erection. Daily capacity: 60,000 liters of alcohol.

The distillation plant shown in this picture purifies raw alcohol from varying sources and of differing qualities(molasses, potatoes, wheat, rye, fruit etc.) and processes it into purest alcohol - neutral or high grade - which exceeds normal specifications both in terms of taste and from an analytical viewpoint. At the same time and using the same energy, that is without consuming more steam, the rectified alcohol is dehydrated. In total, the plant consumes less than 1.5 kg of steam per liter of pure alcohol.

Regardless of the quality of the raw alcohol, the loss of alcohol during the processing represents just a few percent. Air coolers can keep the cooling water requirement to a bare minimum.

In addition to the actual production of alcohol, dry stillage is an important byproduct in plants processing raw materials such as maize, wheat or barley. Through the use of various types of GEA dryers, an assortment of products can be manufactured. In every case, the design of the entire production process guarantees careful handling of the materials and results in high quality dry stillage.

Areas of application for Distillation:

• purification of raw alcohol for the production of neutral and fine grade alcohol
• dehydration (absolution) of alcohol
• manufacture of potable alcohol from raw materials containing sugar and starch
• further processing of alcohol into alcohol derivatives such as acetaldehyde, acetic acid etc.
• combinations of alcohol lines including plants for the manufacture of baker's yeast, gluten, glucose etc.