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(Bio)Ethanol production has been slowly transitioning from raw materials typically used as food sources (e.g. sugar cane, corn, etc..) to waste materials produced as a by-product of the agro-food industry (e.g. various types of stillage, straw, bagasse, etc..) which is now referred to as Second – Generation Bioethanol.

Diemme® Filtration has provided numerous solutions for Second -Generation Biothethanol applications in various parts of the world where the availability of waste biomass is abundant and where there is an incentive to reduce the use of fossil fuels.

The close collaboration with our customers and with industry groups that have patented various cellulosic Bioethanol processes in this field has allowed the inclusion of the Diemme Filtration filter press as a viable solid-liquid separation technology in various production steps.

Diemme Filtration technology in the Second-generation Bioethanol production flowsheet

A general flowsheet for Second-generation Bioethanol production could be composed of the following steps: PRETREATMENT – Solid/liquid separation – ENZYMATIC HYDROLISIS – Solid/liquid separation – ALCOHOL FERMENTATION – Solid/liquid separation – DISTILLATION – Solid/liquid separation.

The characteristics of the raw materials (all of which have a strong cellulose matrix) are important parameters in determining the applicability of the filter press which, among the industrial sludge dewatering technologies has the highest degree of separation. In particular, after alcoholic fermentation, it allows the greatest amount of ethanol to be recovered.

One of the most common uses of filter presses is downstream from the distillation column, where the solids (rich in lignin) need to be dehydrated (dewatered) as much as possible in order to be dried and used as fuel. The increased dehydration of lignin leads to savings in thermal drying costs.

With a wide range of products, combined with very precise processing choices, Diemme® Filtration has become a strong partner for this expanding market.

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