BIOMASS ETHANOL
PRODUCTIONBritney Blanchard
Advisor: Dr. Junkun Ma
ET 494 Final Presentation
PROJECT OVERVIEW Main Goal: To produce ethanol from biomass in
the most efficient and cost effective way. Build and test a small prototype of the large
scale biomass ethanol production plant that Southeastern wants to build on campus
Research the individual processes and their components to find the best combination to produce ethanol that is efficient and cost effective
Compile a materials list and build the prototype Perform experiments and collect data to
determine the best route.
Pretreatment: Breaks Cellulose into Sugar
Fermentation: Turns Sugars to Ethanol Distillation: Separates Ethanol from
Mixture
BLOCK DIAGRAM
PRETREATMENT EXPERIMENT EXAMPLES
FERMENTATION EXPERIMENT EXAMPLES
MATERIALS
Chemicals: Sulfuric Acid Tryptone Sodium Chloride Yeast Extract Potassium Hydroxide Safety Equipment: Lab Coat Safety Goggles Acid Resistant Gloves Oven Gloves
Equipment: 1000mL Beaker Graduated Beaker Set Graduated Cylinder
Set Thermometer Glass Stir Rods 1000mL Distillation Kit Hot Plate Hot Plate Stirrer Magnetic Stir Bar (3)Lab Scoop Glass trough Glass Fiber Filter Digital Scale Electric Autoclave Deionize Water Filter
PROBLEM Material ordered Some damaged
DILUTING THE SULFURIC ACID
PRETREATMENT
PRETREATMENT
FERMENTATION
DISTILLATION
PURE ETHANOL
DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS FOR LARGE SCALE PLANT:Pretreatment: Mixture needs to be surrounded with heat when
heating by using an oven or oven-like device To make diluted sulfuric acid, be sure to add the
acid to the water Add as much grass as possible to the diluted
acid, but be sure that all the grass is submergedFermentation: Autoclave the mixture to assure it is sterilizedDistillation: Setup needs to have a short path to assure the
condensed liquid will travel to a separate container
SPRING 2012 TIMELINE/DELIVERABLES 9-10 weeks: Multiple trial experiments
performed, data collected, and improvements made to produce optimal process
3 weeks: Compile list of design specifications for the large scale production plant
Now that the route runs smoothly, variables intend to check:
Time Temperature Chemical Concentrations
QUESTIONS?
