Ethanol Production
Ethanol Production
Ethanol Production
ON
ETHANOL PRODUCTION
AT
Ltd.
0
PREFACE
This Project Report has been prepared in partial fulfilment of the requirement
the Project Report, we have visited the distillery during the suggested
duration for the period of 6 weeks, to avail the necessary information. The
blend of learning and knowledge acquired during our practical studies at the
company is presented in this Project Report. The rationale behind visiting the
distillery and preparing the Project Report is to study the technical aspects of
industry. The Project Report starts with the basic concepts of ethanol
1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It was indeed an opportunity for us to visit Patiala Distillers &
the programme B.E. Chemical Engineering (3rd year). During our visit
Mr. R.K. Shah who permitted us to visit the company and allowed us
have been much difficult for us. We would like to express our gratitude
to Mr. Rakesh Kumar Gupta for their valuable guidance and help in
the preparation of this Report. At last but not least, we are thankful to
all our friends and other people, who helped us in preparation of this
Project Report.
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DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the project entitled ETHANOL
PRODUCTION submitted for the B.E. Degree is my
original work and the project has not formed the
basis for the award of any degree, associateship,
fellowship or any other similar titles.
Signature of Student:
Name of the Student: Kinshuk Semwal
Place: Patiala
Date: 02.08.2012
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ABSTRACT
The main target at the distillery is to produce ethanol
efficiently using molasses and grain (wheat and rice).
Ethanol is produced using fermentation (anaerobic).
The microbe used for this purpose is Saccharomyces
cerevisiae (yeast). Before fermentation inoculum is
grown in a sterilized pre-fermenter (upstream). After
the fermentation different constituents are separated
using distillation (downstream). Then these
constituents are subjected to blending by adding
flavors. After it these different products are kept for
maturation to have different tastes and color according
to the quality needed. The different products obtained
are packed in bottles in bottling and packaging section.
The spent media (after fermentation) is subjected to
ETP (primary and secondary) section before it is being
discharged in nearby fields where it is used as
fertilizers by the farmers.
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CONTENTS
Page no.
1. INTRODUCTION 06
2. VARIOUS UNITS AT PDM 07
3. BOILER SECTION 08
Introduction
Process
4. FERMENTATION 14
Introduction
Grain Spirit Plant
Fermentation from Molasses
Process parameters
Working
5. DISTILLATION 29
Introduction
Theory
Equipments
Maturation
Blending
Filteration
6. BOTTLING AND PACKAGING 51
Working
Brands at PDM
7. EFFLUENT TREATMENT PLANT 57
Introduction
Some terms
Primary Treatment
Secondary Treatment
8. CONCLUSION 65
9. REFERENCES 66
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6
1. INTRODUCTION
7
2. Various Units at Patiala
Distillery
1. Boiling Section
2. Fermentation Section
3. Distillation Section
4. Bottling Plant
8
3. BOILER SECTION
9
Small process industries in northern India, like Distillers, paper mills,
fertilizer industries etc have started using rice husk, as a substitute for
firewood and coal, as a fuel in their boilers to generate steam.
10
THE PROCESS
First the rice husk is loaded manually on the conveyer trolleys which
carries it sequentially to the top of the Thermax heating chamber. The
chamber is a long, cylindrical and thick walled furnace in which
combustion of fuel takes place. The predominant system used in this
process indirect heating, with a heat transfer media. The media
undergoes phase change in the process of heating. The most
commonly-used heat transfer medium is water, which is converted to
steam in the boilers.
As the husk is fed from the top, an 8 inch thick layer of husk bed is
deposited at the bottom of the chamber, over the set of pipes known
as air distribution ducts. These ducts have a number of fluidized
nozzles which throw the hot air upwards. These ducts are fed with hot
air, generated via hot air generator initially, which may be fueled by
burning coal.
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As the hot air is blown at high pressures and temperatures of about
3600C- 8000C through the fluidized nozzles, the dry husk forms a
fluidized bed inside the entire heating chamber. Now the biogas,
comprising of primarily methane, is fed into the chamber from one
side. This is the same methane gas, which was produced in the
Biodigestors I & II. Thus, the biogas acts as a fuel, and when
combined with hot air leads to ignition and a blast of fire, inside the
furnace.
STEAM GENERATION
The steam and water system absorbs the heat generation in the
furnace to turn water, under pressure, into superheated steam. Water
flows counter current in the furnace to turn water, under pressure, into
superheated steam.
For production of steam, an evaporator is fixed at the top of the
fluidized bed, inside the heating chamber. This evaporator consists of a
number of concentric pipes of uniform diameter, through which water
at 700C- 900C is fed. Due to high temperatures attained in the furnace,
the liquid in these pipes is evaporated into superheated steam at
2480C, which is then extracted by insulated pipes and used in steam
distillation of alcohol, produced after fermentation.
The flue gases, rising from the furnace, reach the secondary super
heater section then pass across the primary super heater section. The
boiler heating surface is specially designed to cool the gases containing
dust or husk. The flue gases leave the furnace at a temperature of
about 9440C from the spacious furnace zone. At this stage, the flue
gas contains dried or burnt husk and dust particles. On coming in
contact with relatively cold zones, they adhere to the surfaces.
Then, as the flue gas passes out of the furnace area the gases are
cooled to around 5200C before entering the exit screen. At a lower
temperature than the above mentioned the particles are entrained in
the gas flow. The flue gas is passed through boiler bank which partially
removes ash. Then the gases flow through the Electrostatic
Precipitator wherein, the burnt ash is collected into the large frustum
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shaped precipitator chamber. The precipitator collects the fly ash from
the flue gases and conveys to the ash mixing tank.
13
Induced draft fan for exhaust
14
4. FERMENTATION
INTRODUCTION:
Fermentation is a bio-chemical reaction where the substrate is
converted into desired product with the help of micro-organism which
may be yeast, Mould or bacteria and the enzyme present in the Micro-
organism actually acts in the reaction.
15
Reaction:
16
Theoretically conversion of 1gm of glucose via fermentation yields
0.511grms of ethanol. This theoretical value is never obtained due to
carbohydrate utilization for cell maintenance, growth and formation of
small amounts of glycerols and higher alcohols.
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attained in practical fermentations however does not usually exceed 90
95% of theorectical. This is partly due to the requirement for some
nutrient to be utilized in the synthesis of new biomass and other cell
maintenance related reactions.
A small concentration of oxygen must be provided to the
fermenting yeast as it is a necessary component in the biosynthesis of
polyunsaturated fats and lipids. Typical amounts of O2 maintained in
the broth are 0.05 0.10 mm Hg oxygen tension.
The relative requirements for nutrients not utilized in ethanol
synthesis are in proportion to the major components of the yeast cell.
These include carbon oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen. To leaser extent
quantities of phosphorus, sulfur, potassium, and magnesium must also
be provided for the synthesis of minor components. Minerals (i.e. Mn,
Co, Cu, Zn) and organic factors (amino acids, nucleic acids, and
vitamins) are required in trace amounts.
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Nowadays, along with the use of molasses as a sugar source for
fermentation, Distilleries are using grains, which are a potential source
of fermentable sugars. For this, first the starch present in the grains
has to be extracted and then converted into glucose either by acid
hydrolysis, or by enzymatic hydrolysis. The process/methodology
applied, is described below sequentially.
Screening:
The first step is screening of grain. There are two meshes, one for the
dust particles and other for foreign particles. Size of the dust mesh
screen is 0.5mm and of the other 2.4mm. Once the screening is over,
grain is stored in the tank called SILO.
Loading of grain:
The grain (atta) is loaded into a vertical conveyer which carried it to a
large Hopper (or Chute). The Hopper is a vertical or inclined path,
channel, or passage through which objects are moved by means of
gravity. It has some additional width and depth to provide a volume for
temporary storage of material(s). The bottom of the hopper/ chute
typically has a mechanism to control the flow of materials (usually a
stop valve), thus allowing them to be metered out at the desired rate.
From the hopper, the grain is carried to the Grinding section.
Mashing:
Once grinding is done, the milled grain is mixed with hot water, in a
ratio of 90-10 upto 50-50, (notably at 45C, 62C and 73C), to allow
enzymes to break down the starch in the grain into sugars. This
section is also referred as PRE COOKER.
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Gelatinisation:
This process involves the dissolution of the nanogram-sized starch
granules to form a viscous suspension. This is achieved by heating
starch with water, and occurs necessarily and naturally when starchy
foods are cooked. For this purpose, a JET COOKER is installed right
after the balance tank, wherein temperatures up to 110 0C are attained
due to steam heating.
Liquefaction:
Gelatinised starch is then readily liquefied by partial hydrolysis with
enzyme Biotemptase (- amylase, added in th ratio) in the
LIQUIFICATION TANK. This enzyme cleaves -1,4 oligosaccharide links
in starch, to yield larger sugar units. Liquefaction is carried out for
approximately 2hrs at 950C. This process leads to only 4% conversion
of starch to glucose.
Saccharification:
This process involves further production of glucose via enzymatic
hydrolysis. During the saccharification of liquefied starch, the larger
sugar units produced during liquefaction are broken down to glucose,
using glucoamylases (Spirizyme), which cleave -1,4-oligosaccharide
and -1,6-oligosaccharide links to yield -glucose. Here 18-20%
conversion of starch of is achieved at 88-90 0C, and retention time is 6-
7 hrs.
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The process
21
1) Seed Fermenter:
Inoculum produced in lab is transferred to grow in sterilised seed
fermenter where a specific nutrient level is maintained. Basically we
are preparing our inoculum to adapt to harsh conditions and nutrient
level in fermenter. In seed fermenter the pH is approximately 4.7 and
temp of 360C.
At PDM we have four vessels basically working as seed fermenters,
But only two are working at a time. The capacities of these vessels are
500,1500,2000,2500 Bulk litres. Cell concentration in seed fermenter
reaches to 300 cell/ml.
2) Prefermentor:
The inoculum grown in sterile environment in the seed-fermenter
is transferred to the prefermenter (50,000 bulk litres capacity) after
growing cell mass to a specified amount. In prefermenter the cell is
allowed to grow to its maximum size by supplying all the necessary
nutrients required for its growth. Basically the process of growing
inoculum(yeast) first in lab, then in seed fermenter than transferring
it to pre-fermenter is to allow cell to adapt slowly to the coniditons
prevailing in the fermenter. Here also we get less than 2% yield of
alcohol. Here pH of 4.5(approx) and temp of 36 0C is maintained.
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PROCESS
Prefermenter
23
fermentation. Here we grow the inoculum to its maximum size, to be
able to feed the inoculum to the production fermenter.
3) Industrial fermenter
The final alcohol production is done in industrial or production
fementer. The production fermenter of capacity 3,50,000 bulk Litres
capacity. All pipelines and production fermenter is steam sterilized
before running for next batch. ph here is more than 4.7 and normal
temp of 36-380C. The sum of glucose, fructose, and sucrose, i.e. the
total sugar content or Total Dissolved Sugar (TDS) in the molasses, sets
the potential alcohol yield. Theoretically, 100 kg sugar (glucose,
fructose) will yield approximately 51 kg or 64.5 l alcohol. Less than
theoretical yield is caused by sugar consumption by the yeast,
incomplete fermentation, the formation of fermentation side products
(e.g. fusel alcohols), and alcohol loss in the distillation process. For
these reasons a yield of only 56 liters of pure alcohol per 100 kg glucose
or fructose is generally realized in practice. Starch is a polymer
composed of repeating units of glucose; therefore, it is necessary to
break the starch down to the basic glucose unit for the yeast to convert
the sugar into alcohol. This process is called hydrolysis and can be
accomplished by use of enzymes or acids.
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PROCESS FLOW
PROCESS PARAMETERS
A) FILLING STRATEGY:
B) pH:
25
C) NUTRIENTS:
D) TEMPERATURE:
E) PRESSURE:
F) ANTIFOAM:
25% Silicon antifoam was prepared to control the foam
formation in the pre-fermenter and the fermenter.
WORKING
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Fermentation is anaerobic in nature and through the degradation of
molasses by yeast( Saccharomycies cerevisiae) we get our desired
product. Before operating any batch all reactors and pipelines are
steam sterlised.
We get alcohol and carbon dioxide during the fermentation. CO2 is
continously ejected from top of the fermenter. The CO2 ejected also
contain some content of alcohol that it carry with it self. We pass the
CO2 from a tank and it is washed with water. And thus we extract the
ethanol content from the CO2 and we send this CO2 to nearby plants
which uses it for dry ice. Our fermentation product-Ethanol is extracted
from the bottom of the fermenter.
REACTION
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Time taken is more during Batch Fermentation.
Quantity Measure
pH 5.3
Sucrose % (W/W) 33.78
Reducing Sugar % (W/W) 26.96
Total Sugar % (W/W) 60.94
Sulphated Ash % (W/W) 9.46
K (ppm) 2.68
Mg (ppm) 0.98
Ca (ppm) 0.88
Na (ppm) 0.06
B (ppm) 410
Fe (ppm) 158
Mn (ppm) 57
Cu (ppm) 28
Zn (ppm) 11
Ni (ppm) 1
Pb (ppm) 0.75
Co (ppm) 0.54
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Metabolic Byproducts of Alcoholic Fermentatio n
SECONDARY BYPRODUCTS
2,3-butanediol acetoin diacetyl
higher alcohols
these fermentation byproducts are part the cell building metabolism
(byproducts of AA synthesis valine, leucine, isoleucine)
Sulfur compounds (SO2, H2S, mercaptans,)
Nutrient Limitation
Nitrogen (amino acids, short peptides, ammonia)
Pi (H3PO4)
nicotinic acid (B-vitamin) important for NAD (nicotinamid adenine
dinucleotide)
thiamin (B1) (pyruvate ---> acetaldehyde), lack: accumulation of
pyruvate
and ketoglutarate
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5. DISTILLATION
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INTRODUCTION
31
DISTILLATION IN PDM
THEORY OF DISTILLATION:
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The distillation of 99 percent alcohol produces vapor that has less
than 99 percent alcohol. For this reason, alcohol cannot be
concentrated by distillation beyond 97 percent, even by an infinite
number of distillations.
1. Batch Distillation
2. Fractional Distillation
3. Steam Distillation
4. Vacuum Distillation
5. Azeotropic Distillation
6. Extractive Distillation
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the original 10 percent alcohol solution gradually at a point in the
middle of the column, virtually all the alcohol may be stripped from
the water as it descends to the lowest plate, so that no alcohol need
be wasted.
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after coming from fermentation, the feed is heated in spiral heat
exchangers to temp. of 740C.
EQUIPMENTS
At PDM, tray towers are used for the effective separation. Tray
towers are particularly useful as compared to the packed towers
when fluctuations in the vapor or liquid rate may occur or where the
major changes in the overall capacity of the column are anticipated.
The problems of the poor liquid or gas distribution encountered at
various loading capacities with packed towers can be avoided with
plate or tray towers.
2. Weirs
3. Downcomers
Cylindrical shells are commonly used for the tray columns. The shell
may be constructed of short sections that are bolted together or in
the form of one long cylinder. Manholes should be provided to give
access to the individual trays for cleaning, maintenance and
installation. Adequate foundations and tower supports must be
provided. Both the corrosion characteristics of the fluids involved and
costs dictate the acceptable materials of construction for the shell
and trays. Trays are usually made of suitable metal to facilitate
fabrication and the shell material can be steel , resin lined steel or
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any alloy. Supporting beams are used to stiffen the trays, and the
trays must be fastened securely to prevent movement caused by gas
surges.
Downcomers for conducting the liquid from one tray to the next tray
below may be in the form of circular pipes or segments of the tower
isolated from the rising gas by means of vertical or angled plates.
Some vapor is entrained in the liquid gas the liquid enters the
downcomer, and sufficient residence time should be provided in the
downcomer to permit escape of the entrained vapor. A residence
time of 5s, is enough to permit release of most of the entrained
vapor. The liquid head in the downcomer should not be greater than
one half the plate spacing.
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The depth of the liquid on the tray required for the gas contacting is
maintained by an outlet weir, which may or may not be a
continuation of the downcomer plate. Straight weirs are the most
common; multiple v-notch weirs maintain a liquid depth which is less
sensitive to the variations in liquid flow rate The height of the
overflow weir is a major factor in determining the head of the liquid
on the tray. Although plate efficiency is increased but the pressure
drop is more by the high heads.
The type of tray is most important factor while installing the distillation
column. The main types of trays are:
1. Bubble Cap Trays
2. Sieve Trays
3. Valve Trays
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Sieve Tray
The most common type and the most efficient tray is the sieve tray
because of ease in the handling and less maintenance cost. The bubble
cap trays are the efficient trays but the cleaning and maintenance cost
of the bubble cap tray is very high, that is why sieve trays are most
commonly used for the effective separation. At PDM, sieve trays are
used for the distillation of water and ethanol mixture.
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PROCESS DESCRIPTION:
If the value is near the 1.0 or equal to 1.0 then the mixture is
azeotropic mixture and then third entrainer is used to break up the
azeotrope. Reflux Ratio is also important factor that is used to
maintain the overhead product concentration. At PDM, reflux ratio of
5:1 is generally used.
39
MASH COLUMN:
ethanol and after the distillation the purity of the ethanol is around
71% or 25- 30 Over Proof. In the mash column, 24 trays are used. The
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temperature at the bottom of the column is around 75 0C and at the top
of the column, the temperature is around 60 0C. From the mash
column, the fed is sent to the purification column.
PURIFICATION COLUMN:
From the mash or boiling column, ethanol of purity 71% is fed to the
purification column. In the purification column, soft water is added to
the mixture to increase the relative volatility of the mixture and
making the further separation easy. Direct steam is applied to the
purification column. By addition of the soft water, relative volatility of
the mixture increases and the impurities settle down and sent to the
faints column. The height of the purification column is around 15 m.
The pressure at the bottom of the column is around 0.47 mm Hg and
pressure at the top is around 0.3 mm Hg. After increasing the relative
volatility the mixture is fed to the rectifying column. Purification
column have around 32 trays.
RECTIFYING COLUMN:
The spirit obtained from the purification column is fed to the rectifier
column to increase the purity of the ethanol. Direct steam is supplied
to the rectifying column. Sieve trays are used in the rectifying column.
Rectification column has 56 trays for the effective separation. In the
rectifying column, purity of the ethanol is taken upto the 96.8% (v/v)
or 69-70 over proof. The temperature at the bottom of the column is
41
around 1050 C and the temperature at top is around 950 C. Pressure at
the top of the rectification column is 0.49 mm Hg and the pressure at
the bottom is around 0.73 mm Hg.
In this column, there is no cross flow of the liquid, the liquid flows
across the tray and vapors passes counter currently through the
perforations of the tray. The spirit obtained from the rectification
column is 96.8% (v/v) purity. From the vapors of the rectification
column, indirect steam is applied to the mash column. This ethanol is
sent to the condensers , generally shell and tube type condensers are
used for the condensation of the ethanol. A part of the overhead
product is sent back to the column as the reflux for the increase the
concentration of overhead product. Impurities like aldehydes, esters
and fusel oil are sent to the faints column. Spent leese that majority
consists of water is sent to the E.T.P. plant.
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CROSS-SECTION VIEW OF SHELL & TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER
FAINTS COLUMN:
All the impurities from the rectification column and the purification
column collects in the faints column. Impurities like methanol,
aldehydes, esters fusel oil collects in the faints column. From the faints
column, methanol is sent to the methanol column and aldehydes are
collected in the separate column. Fuse oil is used in pharmaceutical
industry therefore it is purified in the decanter and then collects as the
pure fusel oil.
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MAIN PROBLEMS IN THE DISTILLATION COLUMNS:
The main problems during the distillation arise due to improper flow
rate of liquid or vapors. The main problems are faced during the
operation of the distillation column are:-
1. Flooding
2. Priming
3. Weeping
4. Coning
5. Dumping
High pressure drop directly lead to the condition of the flooding. With
a large pressure difference in the space between the trays, the level of
liquid leaving a tray at relatively low pressure and entering one of high
pressure must necessarily assume an elevated position in the
downcomer. As the pressure diff. is increased due to increased rate of
flow of either gas or liquid, the level of downcomer will rise further to
permit the liquid to enter the lower tray. Ultimately the liquid level may
reach the tray above. Further increase in flow rate then aggravates the
condition rapidly and liquid will fill the entire space between the trays.
Then tower is said to be flooded.
If liquid rates are too low, the gas rising through the openings of the
tray may push the liquid away and contact of vapor and liquid is poor.
This condition is called the coning.
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If vapor rate is too low, much of the liquid may rain through the
perforations of the tray. This condition is called the weeping.
High gas velocities may lead to a condition of priming. Here the foam
persists throughout the space between trays, and a great deal of liquid
is carried by the gas from one tray to tray above. This is condition of
entrainment.
MATURATION
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impurities does not make any harmful effect, hence it is considered to
be as 100% pure. The spirit is firstly diluted with DM water in such a
way that the spirit contain 60% (v/v) alcohol.
Barrels liquid volume during storage for several reasons. The main loss
of 4% per year is due to evaporation. The optimum temperature for
maturation ranges from 21-300C that results in a whisky production
with the desired flavor. If the temperature increases much over 30 0C,
the flavor of the product becomes too woody and resinous. At high
temperature and low humidity water migrates through the barrels
stores at a faster rate then either ethanol or fusel oil. Therefore, the
percentage of these alcohol increases.
The tank where the proof gallons are determined. The whiskies are
then blended based on the lab formula. The blends are reduced to a
few tenths of the point as on the desired proof by adding
demineralized water, The blended material is allowed to marry i.e. it
46
is held for a time to allow it to become completely mixed and smooth.
It is then chill filtered, refiltered and sent to a bathing tank.
In PDM, The cost of each barrels is 5000 Rs. (Approx.).Each barrel is
of 200 lt. capacity. There are 150-500 barrels which are filled each
day. These barrels have the tendency to impart colour to the spirit as
there is natural oxidation takes place in the barrels. These Barrels are
made up of Oak wood which is imported from Scotland as there are
large number of Oak Trees found in Scotland. Maturation takes place
for a period of 1 year, 2 year, 3 year, 4 year, 5 year. If it is kept for 12
years then the spirit is converted into Scotch. There is the change in
the color of the spirit year after year. i.e. there is increase in darkness
from the light yellow to dark yellow.
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BLENDING
After maturation there is blending unit where flavours are added to the
spirit to make the final product. In blending unit there is formulation
takes place. Formulation usually takes place by the mixing of the
following spirits:-
48
9. Wetted malt spirit
Blending Flavors
49
Blender
FILTERATION
(A)HORIZONTAL FILTER
(B)VERTICAL FILTER
HORIZONTAL FILTER:
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cant be completely pured after boiling through filter, it has some
traces of impurities so the product is passed through the filter which is
vertical so as to remove the remaining traces of impurities so as to
achieve the final product totally neat & clean and sent for bottling.
Filter size is less. There is the choking of the filter after the continous
usage of it for 24 hours.
VERTICAL FILTER:
After the filteration the sample of the spirit ore sent to the lab for the
testing of alcohol such that it contain 42.8% v/v or 75 proof. If there
is 77 proof then water is added to it so as to make the product
75proof.
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6. BOTTLING AND
PACKAGING
52
WORKING
In the bottling unit the final blended spirit is filled in the bottles of
different sizes of different brands & packed in the boxes. Bottling takes
place in the sequence of steps which takes place on a conveynor. In
bottling there is cleaning of bottles, filling, corking, labeling and
packing. There are some processes like filling, corking, labeling is done
by two methods on different conveyors as follows:
There are ONE bottling units in the PDM. In the new Bottling unit
where English Whisky run on conveyer. There are 4 conveyors lying
parallel to each other which can work at a time depending on the load
they (conveyers) are used i.e. they have marked the conveyor for their
particular type of whisky usually conveyor work at a speed of 1 rpm.
Speed can be increased or decreased depending upon the load.
53
a fence between the washing yard and rest of the bottling unit. Bottles
on the conveyor enter at one end of the wall and exit at other end.
There is a blower placed on the other end of the wall which work
continuously in the opposite direction. The blower is mainly used to
avoid the appearance of germs, insect in the bottles. Blower is run by
the rotor which is supplied voltage of 440 V. After the blower action,
bottles lying on the conveyor are made to pass through the empty
light where the checking of dirt, dust particles takes place and affected
bottles are replaced. This empty light is placed on the top of the
cardboard which is designed specially in order to check the presence of
dirt particles under the empty light. This is a manual operation and
affected bottles are replaced by the worker and ore sent back to the
washing yard. After this section, there comes the main section of the
bottling unit. i.e. FILLING. Filling of the blended spirit into the bottles
is mainly done by filling machine and this filling machine is attached to
the storage tank i.e. where spirit is stored with the help of pipelines.
54
This filling machine work at a rpm of 100. Atleast 10 bottles are
filled in one revolution. There is a vaccum pump placed behind the
filling machine which work at a pressure of max. 200kg/cm 2 .
Then the bottles on the conveyor are made to pass through the float
which is used to avoid the overflow from the bottles. After the float
section there comes sealing section. In this section, sealing of the
bottles is done with the help of sealing cap made up of plastic. Sealing
machine is used for this purpose which work at 100 rpm.
After the seating section there is first light placed which is used to
check the presence of on dust, dirt particles in the spirit. Thus in this
way affected bottles are replaced manually. Then, there comes labeling
section, in this section labeling machine which is used to import the
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label of company which indicates the company name, manufacturing
date, over proof, % volume(v/v). Thick gums used for this purpose is:-
Then there is final inspection i.e. second light which is used to check
the presence of the dust particles. There is a Box and packing material
department which is placed along with the bottling unit. In this section
bottles, box commonly called as a CASE is manufactured. There is a
stitching machine envolved during the manufacturing of the case. The
supply line of box department is attached a head to the conveyor of
the bottling unit.The bottles are placed in the case and sealed with the
help of labelling tapes. There are 12 bottles in each case and 48
bottles in each case. PDM has a capacity to manufacture 400-500
case/day. These cases are supplied and stored in the Godown there
after loaded on the truck and sent to various part of the country.
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LIQUOR PROOF (V/V)%
SANTRA 50 28.50
GADAR 50 34.26
COMMANDO XXX RUM 75 42.80
WINNER XXX RUM 75 42.80
BLENDED WHISKY 75 42.80
BLENDED RUM 75 42.80
WHISKY 75 42.80
DRY GIN 75 42.80
EXTRA DRY GIN 75 42.80
RUM 75 42.80
VODKA (MADE FROM 75 42.80
GRAINS)
GIN & LIME 75 42.80
Both country and foreign liquor are produced at PDM
7. EFFLUENT TREATMENT
PLANT
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Introduction
The effluent treatment plant in a distillery plays a crucial role in
protecting the ecosystem, by controlling and treating the spent
effluent, and disposing it in an appropriate manner, as per
environmental norms.
The untreated waste, coming out of the distillation house not only
contains hazardous chemicals, but also has a high microbial content
(cell mass), which is too unsafe to be readily disposed into the soil or
any water body. Lowering of pH value, increase in organic load,
depletion of oxygen content, destruction of aquatic life are some of the
major pollution concerns.
The role of the effluent treatment plant in the Distillery is not just to
make industrial wastes compatible to be disposed into the
environment, but also to generate biogas, which can subsequently be
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used as a fuel. That is, bio-conversion of organic wastes in the liquor
into CO2 and methane gas.
The effluent coming out of the distillation house is called Spent Wash.
Spent wash, also known as spent broth, is the left over liquor after all
the spirit has been recovered or extracted via distillation process. This
liquor has very high BOD and COD of approximately 1,00,000mg/l
along with very high amounts of potassium, calcium, chloride,
Sulphate etc.
Significance of B.O.D :
Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) is one of the most common
measures of pollutant organic material in effluent. BOD indicates the
amount of putrescible organic matter present. Therefore, a low BOD is
an indicator of good quality water, while a high BOD indicates polluted
water. Dissolved oxygen (DO) is consumed by bacteria, when large
amounts of organic matter from sewage or other discharges are
present in the water, which makes the water unfit to be discharged
into water bodies.
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To check the VFA content in the spent wash-
1. take 250ml of distilled water in a conical flask and add 1ml of
sample (spent wash).
2. Transfer 20ml of this sol. into a round bottom COD flask.
3. Add 10ml of 0.25N K2Cr2O7 and a pinch of Mercuric Sulphate
(catalyst).
4. Now add 30ml of H2SO4 and put the COD flask over heater for 2
hours.
Significance of C.O.D :
The chemical oxygen demand (COD) test is commonly used to
indirectly measure the amount of organic compounds in effluent. It is
expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/L), which indicates the mass of
oxygen consumed per liter of solution. It may also be expressed in
part per million (ppm).
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Plate heat exchangers are best known for having overall heat transfer
coefficients (U-values) in excess of 35 times the U-value in a shell
and tube designed for the same service. Plate heat exchanger is an
attractive option when more expensive materials of construction can
be employed. The significantly higher U-value results in far less area
for a given application. The higher U-values are obtained, by inducing
turbulence between the plate surfaces. Owing to this, they are also
known to minimize the fouling.
The cooled fluid, from the pit is pumped into storage tank. From here,
the spent wash is subjected to primary treatment, after passing
through clarifier. The clarifier is a settling tank used to remove dregs
by sedimentation before the liquor is pumped into digester.
Primary Treatment
Anaerobic digesters serve as an energy conversion process by
converting volatile solids into digester gas. The digester gas resulting
from the bioenergy conversion, sometimes referred to as biogas, is a
renewable fuel. The energy content in digester gas comes from
methane: its dominant constituent.
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Phase I
Acid phase and methane phase digester:
Initial phase, or the acid phase, continually receives an organic feed
for short detention times of less than two days under conditions which
efficiently liquefy and breakdown the feed, containing organic
carbonaceous matter, to volatile fatty acids (VFA) of low molecular
weight and other intermediates for conversion to methane. The most
abundant VFA is acetic acid, followed by butyric and propionic acid.
The volatile fatty acids remain solubilized in the liquid portion of the
digester contents.
Phase II
The spent liquor from the phase I digesters is fed to a large buffer
tank. Also there is a direct supply of spent wash from the cooling pit
simultaneously.
AUTO BUFFERING:
The pH of the spent wash (from the distillation house) is about 4.6-
4.5, and the pH of the slurry from the phase I digesters, is about 7.5.
This increase in pH results from bioconversion of acids in the digesters.
The purpose of the buffer tank is to mix these two separate streams of
slurries and maintain the pH in the range 5.5-6.0, suitable for feeding
the subsequent Bio-Digesters. For example, if the pH reduces, more
slurry is drawn from phase I digesters, and if pH increases, more spent
wash is circulated from the storage tank. Auto buffering implies, that
no external chemicals are added for maintainance of pH in Bio-
Digester feed, or subsequent effluent treatment.
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The phase II consists of two Biodigestors, installed through Western
Paque India Ltd, which are simultaneously feeded by the buffer tank.
These digesters use acidogenic and methanogenic bacteria to produce
CO2 and CH4 gas. This bioconversion of organic matter results in
reduction of C.O.D to about 16000-17000mg/l. the following reactions
occur in the anaerobic digester-
4H2 + CO2 CH4 + 2H2O
4HCOOH CH4 + 3CO2 + 2H2O
CH3COOH CH4 + CO2
2CH3OH 3CH4 + CO2 + 2H2O
4(CH3)3N + H2O 9CH4 + 3CO2 + 6H2O + 4NH3
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Secondary treatment involves the following steps-
MIXING TANK
The effluent from the primary treatment plant is sent to the mixing
tank where the effluent is mixed with water, so that the sludge settles
down in the tank. After mixing the effluent is sent to Aeration Tank-I.
AERATION TANK
In an aeration tank the effluent is agitated in the presence of oxygen,
since certain reactions take place in aerobic conditions. The effluent
releases some of the gases and solid sludge. The released gases are
NH3, NO2 etc, due to action of nitrifying bacteria. And also, due to
agitation of the effluent, the Total Dissolved Solids(TDS) level falls and
so does the level of BOD & COD.
The discharge from the primary aerator is sent to primary Clarifier and
to the aeration tank-II.
PRIMARY CLARIFIER
The Clarifier is a continuously operating, mechanically cleaned
sedimentation device, which is designed to promote the separation of
solid sludge from liquids. In Patiala Distilleries, the type of clarifier in
operation was central feed fixed bridge circular clarifier. Feed enters
from bottom of tank through the center column and goes into the
clarifier. Feed flows down and then outward (radially) to the periphery
of the tank where effluent is collected in a continuous peripheral
launder. In circular sedimentation tanks the clarifier mechanism has
sludge scrapers attached to a rotating arm scraping the sludge towards
a central hopper, into a discharge sump.
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Final Disposal
Effluent collected in the lauder, having BOD and COD approx 100mg/l
and 735mg/l (as per environment act norm), is sent to nearby farms
for irrigation purposes. The thick and viscous sludge is then pumped
into a series of sludge drying beds. Here the solids are dried in open
air and then provided to farmers as fertilizers in the nearby areas.
8. CONCLUSION
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the various industrial processes and operations. This exposure helped
me familiarize with the actual industrial working culture and the
practical aspects of the theoretical knowledge learnt in classroom and
in the books.
9. REFERENCES
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2. Jagjit Industrries Ltd, Manuals on Fermentation,
Distillation
3. Principles of Fermentation Technology, Whittaker.
4. internet source.
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