Ethanol

PLANT UTILITIES AND

MAINTENANCE
CPB20004

Reaction type

Fermentation

The oldest way to produce ethanol

It is biological process turning sugar
into ethanol and carbon dioxide
This is process involves a yeast
metabolize sugar to produce ethanol
and carbon dioxide

CHO 2CHOH +
2CO

CHO is simple sugar, also known

as dextrose or D-glucose.
CHOH is ethanol
CO is carbon dioxide

Another way

Hydration of ethene also can produce

ethanol

CH=CH2(g) + H2O C2H5OH

CH=CH2 is ethane
H2O is water
C2H5OH is ethanol

Physical Properties

Physical Properties

Appearance : Colourless, volatile

liquid
Odour : Characteristic pleasant odour
pH : Neutral
Boiling point : 78.2C - 78.5C
Melting point : - 130C to - 112C
Flash point : 12C - 16C
Flammability : 3, 3 19% v/v

Auto-flammability : 363C
Explosive properties : Vapours can
form explosive mixtures with air. All
sources of ignition or static must be
excluded.
Oxidizing properties : None

Vapour pressure : 59 mm Hg at 20C

Density : 785.3 kg/m3 809 kg/m3 at
25C

Handling Ethanol

Only use in well ventilated area

Usage of spark proof tool and
explosion proof equipment is
mandatory
Avoid contact ethanol with high
temperature

Storing Ethanol

Keep away from heat, sparks or any

source of ignition
Keep away from oxidizing materials
Must be stored in a tightly closed
container

Production history

Production history

It is not known of what time and

where does production of ethanol
start
It is recorded that the presence of
ethanol in pots that was used for
fermenting was around 9000 years
ago in china

But this is done to produce alcoholic

beverages, since this is the main
product when ethanol was first
discovered
Sometime later, distillation was
introduced to obtain highly purified
ethanol from the alcohol mixture.

Distillation is a process where specific

chemicals are removed from its
mixture by the different value of
boiling point of each chemical
On 13th century, fractional distillation
was invented by Tadeo Alderotti
And this has become a staple process
until this present day

Process summarization

Decomposition
of starch into
simpler
carbohydrates

Fermentation of
the simple
carbohydrates
to produce
ethanol and
water

Distillation of
ethanol from the
mixture

Preparation for
fermentation

Materials that was used to needed to

fermentation are mostly fruits or any
material that contain starch
This is because starch contains
complex carbohydrates that are
needed to be broken down into
maltose or sucrose

Starch can be obtained by heated the

said materials such as grain with
water
The starch then warmed with malt
that contains enzymes that break
down the starch into maltose,
2C12H22O11

The maltose are then added with

yeast and kept into a closed
container and kept warm (around
35C) for several days until
fermentation is complete

Yield in Commercial
basis

Yield in Commercial basis

Maximum ethanol content can be

obtained in this reaction is 14% at
maximum, any higher can cause the
fermentation to stop
The maximum purity of ethanol that
can be obtained are 96% after
distillation
The 4% is water can be removed
using drying agent

A company named Ceres also

produce 0.417 L/kg or 100 gal/ton by
using biomass crop as its main
material
Roughly, 20 ton/acre can produce
about 2000 gallons of ethanol.

Usage of Ethanol

Usage of ethanol

Can be used for making bio fuel, this

is done in many western country
It is an additive to the gasoline,
making the gasoline 90% gasoline
and 10% ethanol
In western country, more of their
automobiles are designed to adapt on
using hybrid gasoline

On the same note, bioethanol now

are being considered solely on
becoming a replacement for gasoline

Usage of ethanol

Ethanol are also used to produce

perfume
This is done by extracting the oil from
the flowers such as jasmine
The jasmine is submerged into the
ethanol and agitated
The product then went to a
distillation column to separate the
material oil and ethanol

THE END
Any question ?