Design of An 3000L Per Day Ethanol Plant From Coconut Fibre (Full)

Design of a Plant to Produce 3000 Litres/day of Ethanol from Coconut
Fiber.
By
Name: Ekwere, Otoabasi Boniface
Reg. No: AK12/ENG/CPE/015
Submitted
To
Engr. (Dr.) Mrs. Taiwo Ademiluyi

Department Of Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering
Faculty of Engineering
Akwa Ibom State University.
A Design Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Award of Bachelor of Engineering (B.Eng.) Degree in
Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering.
October, 2017.
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CERTIFICATION
This is to certify that this design project work titled “Design of a Plant to Produce 3000
Litres/day of Ethanol from Coconut Fibre.” was carried out by Ekwere, Otoabasi
Boniface with Reg. No: AK12/ENG/CPE/015 under my supervision as a fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Engineering in
Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpaden, Mkpat
Enin.
…..…………………………….. …………………………………..
Engr. Dr. F.T. Ademiluyi Date
(Course Coordinator)
………………………………….
……………………………………
Engr. Dr. Tunde F. Adepoju Date
(Head of Department)
Ekwere, Otoabasi B. | AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First of all, I want to give profound gratitude to God almighty for giving me the grace and
ability to carry out this Design and successfully put together this Report. He has been a great
provider and a sustainer. I say may all Glory be only to His name for ever and ever.
I appreciate my parents, Chief Boniface Ekwere and Mrs. Anthonia Ekwere, who have given
me this opportunity to be a student up till this point and for the support I was given during the
course of my studies and during the course of this work. I also thank them for their
continuous support towards my education. I also extend this gratitude to my elder brother
Iniabasi Ekwere, my younger sister Edidiong Ekwere and my cousin Mrs. Grace Godson,
who were always there to support me and assist me whenever I needed the help throughout
the period.
I also, in a special way express my gratitude the staff of the Department of
Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering, for the opportunity given to me to learn in this
prestigious department. Special thanks goes to the Head of Department and Project Co-
ordinator, Engr. Dr. T. F Adepoju, who is also my Research project Supervisor, my course
adviser and lecturer, Engr. Dr. R. Babalola, all academic and non-academic staff of the
department, for their support and assistance throughout the course of my studies and my
project and design work as well. I would like to extend this special gratitude to, and
acknowledge my design supervisor and coordinator, Engr. Dr. F.T. Ademiluyi (MNSE)
whose kind direction and inspiration has made it possible for me to reach this extent in my
programme and carry out this task successfully.
Finally, my special gratitude goes to as my fellow students and colleagues, my most dearest
friends; Covenant Idongesit, Kingsley Anyaso, Mfoniso Brownson, Catherine Umoh, Emem
Bruno and Iyereobong Ebuk, my project colleague and partner Abigail Essien, members of
the Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students Aksu Main Campus Chapter and Holy Trinity
Chaplaincy Choir, as well as and every other person for the tutorials, guidance, assistance,
cooperation, prayers, moral encouragement and support given to me in the course of my

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studies and my project. I appreciate it all and I pray that God rewards them all according to
His riches.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page
Certification
Acknowledgement
Table of Contents
List of Figure
List of Tables
Executive Summary
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background
1.2. Problem statement
1.3. Aims and objectives
1.4. Scope of work
1.5. Process description
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Cellulosic Bioethanol Production Technology
2.1.1. Lignocellulosic Biomass Pretreatment
2.1.2 Hydrolysis
2.1.3 Fermentation
2.1.4 Product Recovery
2.2. Factors Influencing BioEthanol Production
2.3. Review of previous work on the Design of ethanol plants

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CHAPTER THREE: MATERIAL BALANCE

3.1. Overview
3.2. Overall Material Balance
3.2. Primary Process Calculations and Units Material Balance
CHAPTER FOUR: ENERGY BALANCE

4.1. Heater
4.2. Hydrolyzer
4.3. Cooler
4.4 Fermentor
4.5. Distillation Column
CHAPTER FIVE: EQUIPMENT SIZING AND SPECIFICATION

5.1. Milling Machine Design
5.2. Mixer Design
5.3. Heat Exchanger Design
5.4. Reactor Design
5.5. Storage Tanks Design
5.6. Design of Distillation Column
CHAPTER SIX: MECHANICAL DESIGN

6.1. Reactor
6.3. Storage Tanks
CHAPTER SEVEN: PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL
CHAPTER EIGHT: COST ESTIMATION AND ECONOMIC EVALUATION
8.1. Purchase cost of Equipment

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8.2. Variable Cost
8.3. Fixed Cost
8.4. Economic Analysis
CHAPTER NINE: PLANT LAYOUT, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

CONSIDERATIONS
9.1. Plant Location and Layout
9.2. Safety Considerations
9.3. Environmental Considerations
CHAPTER TEN: DESIGN SIMULATION
CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

11.1 Conclusion
11.2 Recommendations
REFERENCES
APPENDIX

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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1. Process Flow Diagram of Ethanol Plant using Coconut Fibre as
Feedstock.
Figure 2.1 Flowsheet representation of Lignocellulosic Ethanol Production
Figure 3.1 Overall Material Balance for Ethanol Plant
Figure 3.2 Material Balance around milling Machine
Figure 3.3 Material Balance around Mixer
Figure 3.4 Material Balance around Pretreatment unit
Figure 3.5 Material Balance around Filter 1
Figure 3.6 Material Balance around Mixer 2
Figure 3.7 Material Balance around Hydrolysis Unit
Figure 3.8 Material Balance around Fermenter Unit
Figure 3.9 Material Balance around Filter 2
Figure 3.10 Material Balance around distillation column
Figure 7.1. Process Flow and Instrumentation/Control Diagram of Plant

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1. Composition of Coconut Fibre
Table 3.2. Summary of material balance around all equipment
Table 4.1. Summary of Energy Balance around various Equipment.
Table 5.1 Equilibrium Data for Ethanol-Water System
Table 5.2 Summary of Equipment Design and Specifications
Table 6.1 Summary of Equipment Mechanical Design Parameters
Table 7.1. Summary of Plant Instrumentations and Controls

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The design project work deals with production of 3000litres/day of ethanol by the
biochemical process of fermentation. This process involves the alkaline pretreatment, acid
hydrolysis and yeast fermentation of the reducing sugars (glucose) obtained from the
hydrolysis of the fibre obtained from dry coconut husks. Coconut fibre reacts with Sodium
Hydroxide (NaOH) to remove the lignin from the fibre to allow for breaking down of
cellulose to glucose, after which glucose in the presence of H2SO4 acid catalyst reacts with
water to produce glucose which can be acted upon by yeast to form Ethanol, carbon dioxide
and water. The carbon is vent off while the ethanol water mixture is sent to the distillation
column where it is separated by simple distillation into Ethanol Product and waste water. The
economic optimum steady-state design is developed that minimizes total annual cost. Thus it
provides a classic example of an engineering design and optimization of a process. The
purpose of this project is to develop an optimum design for the Ethanol process considering
the fermentation time, the amount of acid used as well as the optimum yield of the ethanol.
This will in general ensure more supply of the product to meet high demands to replace the
use of gasoline and its associated hazards.

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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background
Energy sources and their utilization determine the economic status and growth of developing
countries all over the world (Xu et al., 2009). Depleting fossil reserves and injurious effects
of fossil fuel burning on the environment has given rise to the quest for alternative fuels
which must be ecofriendly and renewable. In order to tackle this challenges, switching to low
carbon alternatives such as biomass fuels (biofuels) is essential. With the exigent need for the
development of a particular source which can be readily available, renewable, economically
viable and eco-friendly, research has been carried out and so far, the biomass energy source
has still seemed to be the source which fulfills the needed requirements. Biomass in this case
has presented an alternative, attractive and appealing source, for the production of energy
resources mainly in form of biogas and biofuels (Ben-Iwo et al., 2016; Igbindalor et al.,
2013). This is because, biomass currently offers the only renewable source of energy that can
substitute for petroleum fuels as well as reduce CO2 emissions (Melero et al., 2011). Ben-iwo
et al., (2016) described biomass as any organic material obtained from plant and animal tissue
such as agricultural resources, agricultural residues, forest resources, waste including
municipal solid waste, industrial waste, and other wastes, as well as algae which could
undergo degradation through various chemical processes to release stored energy. The
common types of biofuels produced are the bioethanol and biodiesel which are obtained from
the fermentation of lingocellulosic material and transesterification of fats and oils
respectively. Ethanol is a flammable, colorless, slightly toxic chemical compound with the
molecular formula C2H5OH, and is commonly referred to simply as alcohol. Its ease of
production with minimum equipment and its low toxicity makes it find application as a
solvent for substances intended for human contact, consumption and medicines. It is superior

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to gasoline because it burns cleanly, almost non-polluting, gives extra power to certain
engines and is safe and easy to handle (Lodgson, 1994.). At ambient temperatures and
pressures, it is a clear, colorless liquid. It is relatively volatile and can typically be identified
by its noticeable, characteristic alcoholic odor. Compared to water, it is a relatively low
freezing point (-114°C), low boiling point (78°C), and low density (0.789g/mL) liquid.
Despite these differences in properties, ethanol and water are commonly mixed and are very
miscible due to their similar intermolecular forces. Both molecules contain hydroxyl (-OH)
groups which increase polarity and allow for hydrogen bonding. The hydroxyl group is also
an important factor in most chemical reactions involving ethanol. It serves as a reactive site in
organic reactions such as dehydration, dehydrogenation and esterification. Through these
reactions, ethanol can be used to form common industrial chemical feedstocks such as
ethylene and acetaldehyde. For these reasons, pure ethanol should be stored and transported
separately from other reactive organic compounds and metals in order to avoid side reactions
that produce undesirable byproducts. The chief risks associated with ethanol production and
use are its high flammability and its potential to cause intoxication or even poisoning when
consumed. Its flash point is 14°C and vapor concentrations as low as 3.3% by volume are
potentially explosive. To avoid risk of explosion, it should be stored at lower temperatures
and kept away from any source of ignition. Although ethanol vapors are typically not toxic,
liquid doses as low as 75–80g can cause intoxication and 250–500g can be fatal. It should
therefore be consumed sparingly and in low doses.
Ethanol produced has three major applications: fuel ethanol, beverage ethanol, and industrial
ethanol. Fuel ethanol is blended with gasoline for use as motor fuel. Beverage ethanol is used
to produce beer, wine, and other spirits. Industrial ethanol is a chemical feedstock typically
used to produce pharmaceutical products and polymers. Currently, the ethanol market is
dominated by fuel ethanol, with 92% of ethanol used in fuel, 4% in beverages, and 4% in

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other industrial applications. Fuel ethanol can be found in nearly every gas station in the
country in fact, over 95% of gasoline currently sold in the US is blended with ethanol. For
the most part, gasoline blended with ethanol is the norm and is not even noticeable aside from
a small sign located at the pump. Ethanol fuel blends have grown in popularity over the last
15 years due to their ability to simultaneously reduce air pollution associated with fuel
combustion and lower dependence on foreign oil. Ethanol functions as an oxygenating agent
when mixed with gasoline, which means that the fuel burns more cleanly and more
completely. This limits the production of carbon monoxide, a harmful byproduct of
incomplete combustion. Additionally, ethanol is overwhelmingly produced in the US from
domestically grown corn – as opposed to gasoline which is chiefly derived from imported
petroleum. In this way, ethanol blends diversify the energy sources relied upon by the US and
shift them from unreliable foreign sources to more easily controlled domestic sources.
Ethanol production is certainly not a new science, and many different processes have been
developed for ethanol to be produced from a variety of materials. The main ethanol
production process is based on the fermentation of organic products such as chipmill waste,
cornstock sawdust, trees, sugarcane bagasse, waste paper, brewer’s spent grains, switchgrass,
straws, stems, stalks, leaves, husks, shells and peels from cereals like rice, wheat, corn,
sorghum and barley, among others. This type of feedstock can be hydrolyzed by sulfuric acid
to form a sugar solution that is made up of xylose and glucose sugars. These sugar solutions
can then be fermented to produce ethanol.
1.2.Problem statement
The energy crisis is one of the most serious problems facing the sustainability of human
civilization and the demand for petroleum derived fuels has increased substantially over the
past few decades. This has emanated into a series of concerns ranging from scarcity,
availability, sustainability as well as high cost of acquisition. Furthermore the continuous

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production and use of these petroleum derived fuels have given rise to global concern as it
releases greenhouse gases (GHG) particularly carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.
Cannon et al. (2009) stated that Petroleum consumption for road transportation only is
currently the largest source of CO2 emissions. Also, Saboori et al. (2014) and Tajudeen
(2015) pointed out that it accounts for 23% of CO2 emissions worldwide and 59.5% of CO2
emissions in Nigeria respectively. To further reduce these emissions, fuel switching to low
carbon alternatives such as biomass fuel is essential. This is because, biomass currently offers
the only renewable source of energy that can substitute for petroleum fuels as well as reduce
CO2 emissions (Balat et al., 2009; Melero et al., 2012). Finally, a lot of human activities
especially in agriculture produces a large amount of waste that is sometimes difficult to
handle or discard especially when they come in large quantities, this poses a serious problem
for environment. Thus, the collective need to protect the environment from the harmful effect
of fossil fuels, provide more sustainable energy sources to balance the increasing demand as
well as to properly, safely and efficiently handle waste material obtained from human
activities properly has prompted the use of lignocellolusic biomass as an energy producing
source of which this work and other previous works put into practice.
1.3. Aims and objectives
The aim of this work is to design a process plant for the production of ethanol using coconut
fibre as feedstock.
The objectives of this work are as follows:
1. Designing a process plant with production capacity of 3000litres/day of fuel ethanol
from coconut fibre.
2. Determining and analyzing appropriate process conditions suitable for optimal process
output as well as energy efficiency and cost estimation of the plant

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3. Simulation of process plant using obtained calculated values to project expected
outcomes.
1.4. Scope of work
This design work involves creating a model process plant for the production of ethanol from
coconut fibre by the steps of calculating material and energy balances for the various process
equipment as well as streams, carrying out equipment sizing and specifications as well as
determining expected outcomes and total cost estimates as well as simulation using Aspen
HYSYS or UniSim Design Software.
1.5. Process description
The plant handles coconut fibre and processes it using major unit operations of alkaline
pretreatment, acid hydrolysis as well as fermentation. The fibre goes into the milling machine
(ML-01) where the fibre is reduced into fine particles which gives the fibre a greater surface
area for reactions to take place. On leaving the milling machine, the fibre is conveyed into the
mixer (MX-01) where water is pumped in by a water charge reciprocating pump (PM-03)
delivering a constant volume of water in the mixer to make a fibre slurry. The fibre slurry
leaves the mixer and goes to the slurry pump (PM-01) which increases the flowrate and
pressure of the slurry to transfer it to the heater (HX- 01), the heater is a heat exchanger
where steam is used to heat up the slurry to a temperature of 121 – 125°C after which it is
transferred to the pretreater (RC-01). In the pretreater, sodium hydroxide is supplied to the
unit by a reciprocating transfer pump (PM-04) from its storage (TK-01) which will then react
with the heated fibre slurry to remove the lignin content from the fibre. The fibre slurry now
leaving the reactor goes to a washer/filter (FL-01) where the fibre is filtered and washed with
water to balance the ph of the fibre slury. After leaving the washer, the fibre slurry passes to
the hydrolysis unit (RC-02) where acid hydrolysis of the fibre is carried out by the action of
sulphuric acid transferred through reciprocating transfer pump (PM-05) from its storage (TK-

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03) on the fibre. In the hydrolysis unit, the cellulose and hemicellulose in the fibre are being
converted to reducing sugars which will then be fermented in the fermentation unit (RC-03).
on leaving the hydrolysis unit,the fibre is passed through a cooler (HX-02) the cooler is a heat
exchanger supplied with cooling water which reduces the temperature of the fibre slurry to
room temperature to allow for fermentation. The fibre slurry is then sent to the fermentation
unit where the fibre broth consisting of fermentable sugars and fibre is acted upon by
activated yeast supplied by a reciprocating pump (PM-06) from its storage (TK-04). The
fermentation reaction is carried out in the reactor for 7 days after which the slurry is allowed
to go out. The broth which now consists of water, ethanol and residual fibre,is passed through
a filter (FL-02) where the fibre is separated from the liguid part of the slurry. The liquid part
is supplied to the suction of the distillation column charge pump (PM-02) which gives the
liquid enough pressure to go up the the feed zone of the distillation column (CL-01). This
feed passes through a steam heated heat exchanger (HX-03) which raises the temperature of
the fluid to its flash separation tempetature. The distillation column separated the mixture of
ethanol and water sending the pure ethanol at the top and sending out water from the bottom.
The ethanol obtained from the top is the pumped and sent to storage.

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Figure 1.1. Process Flow Diagram of Ethanol Plant using Coconut Fibre as Feedstock.

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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Cellulosic Bioethanol Production Technology

Bioethanol which is based on Lignocellulosic biomass requires a multi-step complex
conversion technology due to the rigid structure of the raw material being used for the
process. The entire process of the conversion of biomass to bioethanol comprises of milling
(size reduction), pretreatment, hydrolysis and fermentation. (Balat, 2007). In order to convert
the lignocellulosic biomass into usable bioethanol, the biomass must first undergo
pretreatment. In this process, the physical and chemical structure of the biomass is altered
(Kumar et al., 2009). During pretreatment, the lignin and hemicellulose is removed from the
biomass and the cellulose is crystallized. The pretreatment step is very necessary as it
maximizes the volumetric productivity of the desired product after the final steps of
hydrolysis, fermentation and product recovery (distillation). After the pretreatment, the
cellulose can then be broken down into hexoses and pentoses by enzymatic or acid hydrolysis
and at various rates. The hexoses can be easily be fermented into ethanol, but the pentoses
can be only fermented by a few microorganisms (Brodeur et al., 2011). When cellulose is
broken down and fermented simultaneously in the presence of a microorganism, it is referred
to as simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) but when the fermentation is
carried out after the entire process of hydrolysis is carried out, it is referred to as separate
hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF).
2.1.1. Lignocellulosic Biomass Pretreatment

The first step in bioconversion of lignocellosics to bioethanol is size reduction and pre-
treatment. To ensure successful biological conversion of lignocellulosic materials, the
interaction between lignin and the polysaccharide components of the cell wall must be
reduced. The goal of any pre-treatment technology is to alter or remove structural and
compositional impediments to hydrolysis in order to improve the rate of enzyme hydrolysis

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and increase yields of fermentable sugars from cellulose or hemicellulose (Balat et al., 2007).
It is a very important step of the entire process and for it to be successful, it must have and
meet the following goals of (i) improving formation of sugars or the ability to subsequently
form sugars by hydrolysis, (ii) avoiding degradation or loss of carbohydrate, (iii) avoiding
formation of byproducts inhibitory to subsequent hydrolysis and fermentation processes, and
(iv) being cost effective.
The pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass could be physical, physicochemical, Thermo-
physical, chemical or biological.
2.1.2 Hydrolysis
After the pretreatment of the biomass materials, there is need to process the biomass into
materials that could be fermented into simple sugars which can be acted upon by enzymes to
undergo fermentation. The next step in the process which is known as hydrolysis handles
that. Verardi (2012) simply described hydrolysis as the process of converting the biomass
biopolymers to fermentable sugars. He also pointed out that a number of processes which
could either be chemically or enzymatically facilitated for hydrolyzing cellulose into glucose
have been developed over the years. The vast majority of processing schemes utilizes either
cellulolytic enzymes or sulfuric acid of varying concentrations. Historically, enzymes have
been too expensive for economical production of fuel ethanol from biomass. Sulfuric acid,
itself, is less expensive than cellulolytic enzymes, although disposal costs associated with the
use of sulfuric acid significantly increase its cost. However, the single largest drawback to
using sulfuric acid is that it also readily degrades glucose at the high temperatures required
for cellulose hydrolysis (Igbinadolor, 2012; Mosier, 2002).
2.1.2.1. Chemical (Acid) Hydrolysis
This is simply described as the use of a chemical medium specifically an acid such as
hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid among others for the biomass hydrolysis operation

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(Igbinadolor, 2012). Parisi, (1989) opined that Acid hydrolysis is a well-established process
which gives good yields within a short reaction time. In this method, concentrated or dilute
acids can be used to carry out the process of hydrolysis. The temperatures and pressure for
this process is on the high side and these conditions make it possible for glucose to be
liberated from the tightly associated chains, because most cellulose is crystalline. In this
process, acid concentration, temperature and time are crucial factors, and must be controlled
to avoid the sugars and lignin degradation to by-products. Also the hemicellulose present in
the raw material to be hydrolyzed is also removed by the acids (McMillan 1994 ;
Carvalheiro, 2008). However, it is important to note that several drawbacks affect the use of
this process, some of which include; the requirement of costly corrosive-resistant
construction materials (Nguyen, 1993) as well as the production of inhibitory compounds
which might inhibit the fermentation of the glucose to bioethanol (Olsson and Hahn-
Hagerdal, 1996; Larsson et al., 1999)
2.1.2.2 Enzymatic Hydrolysis

The second basic method of carrying out hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass is the use of
enzymes. Enzymes are naturally occurring proteins that cause certain chemical reactions to
occur (Balat 2008). In the process of Enzymatic Hydrolysis, aerobic or anaerobic, mesophilic
or thermophilic microorganisms (fungi or bacteria) such as Clostridium, Cellulomonas,
Bacillus, Thermomonospora, Ruminococcus, Bacteriodes, Erwinia, Acetovibrio,
Microbispora, Trichoderma reesei and Streptomyces can be used produce fermentable sugars
(Sun, 2002) .
Enzymatic hydrolysis of natural lignocellulosic materials is a very slow process because
cellulose hydrolysis is hindered by structural parameters of the substrate, such as lignin and
hemicellulose content, surface area, and cellulose crystallinity (Pan et al., 2006).

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Regarding the factors affecting the affecting this process (Olsson and Halm-Hagerdal, 1996)
stated that substrate concentration and quality, applied pretreatment method, cellulose
activity, and hydrolysis conditions such as temperature, pH, and mixing are the main factors
in enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic materials. It was also pointed out that the optimum
temperature and pH are functions of the raw material, the enzyme source, and hydrolysis
duration. The optimum temperatures and pH of different cellulases are usually reported to be
in the range of 40 to 50 °C and pH 4 to 5 (Igbinadolor, 2012)
2.1.3 Fermentation
After the process of hydrolysis, the next step towards bioethanol production is fermentation.
Fermentation is the enzymatic oxidation of compounds by the action of microorganisms that
use the fermentable sugars for food and in the process, produces ethyl alcohol and other by
products. (Balat, 2008). Fermentation uses microorganisms and/or enzymes for the
conversion of fermentable substrates into recoverable products (usually alcohols or organic
acids). Currently, ethanol is the most desirable fermentation product, but the production of
several other chemical compounds such as carbon dioxide, adenosine tri-phosphate etc. do
occur. Hexoses, mainly glucose, are the most common fermentation substrates, while pentose
(sugars from hemicellulose), glycerol and other hydrocarbons require the development of
customized fermentation organisms to enable their conversion to ethanol (Ben-Iwo et al.,
2016).These microorganisms typically make use of 5 or 6-carbon sugars, one of the most
common being glucose. Therefore, cellulosic biomass materials containing high levels of
glucose or precursors to glucose are the easiest to convert to bioethanol. Some types of
microorganisms and enzymes which have been used and can be used to carry out
fermentation are Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Escherichia coli, Zymomonas mobilis,
Pachysolen tannophilus, Candida shehatae, Alpha amylase, Pichia stipitis, Candida
brassicae and Mucor indicus (Bjerre, 1996; Balat et al., 2008; Sanchez and Cardona, 2008;

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Talebnia et al., 2010; Sukumaran et al., 2010; Girio et al., 2010; Moniruzzaman, 1995;
Nigam, 2001). These various types of enzymes have various abilities of fermentation
depending on the content of the biomass they are to be used on, for instance, the ability to
ferment pentoses along with hexoses is not prevalent among majority of these organisms.
Saccharomyces cerevisiae is the most preferred organism for ethanol production from
hexoses due to their high ethanol tolerance, being able to out-compete other yeasts and
greater resistance to contamination and inhibitors generated from biomass (Jeffries, 2006).
The most promising yeasts that have the ability to use both pentose and hexose sugars are
Pichia stipitis, Candida shehatae and Pachysolen tannophilus (Igbinadolo et al., 2013),
however these organisms have low ethanol tolerance and highly sensitive to inhibitors
generated from lignocellulosic biomass. Based on this, the development of recombinant
yeasts, which can greatly improve the ethanol production yield by metabolizing all forms of
sugars and reduce the cost of operation have been undertaken.
The processes usually employed in the fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysate are
simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) and separate hydrolysis and
fermentation (SHF). In the Separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) method. hydrolysis
is carried out separately from fermentation process (Chandel et al., 2007). Here the slurry is
transferred from the hydrolysis unit to the fermenter before the microorganisms for
fermentation is introduced. Whearas in the Simultaneous Saccharification and Fermentation
(SSF) the fermentation takes place as the sugars ae being produced from the hydrolysis
process. Precipitously, the SHF process has been employed but SSF is superior for ethanol
production since it can improve ethanol yields by removing end product inhibition and
eliminate the need for separate reactors. It is also cost effective but difference in optimum
temperature conditions of enzyme for hydrolysis and fermentation poses some limitations
(Hamelinck 2005; Neves, 2007).

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Apart from the two major methods briefly explained above, the production process of
bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass can follow different modes or different operating
conditions, these modes include; batch mode, fed-batch mode or continuous mode. The
choice of most suitable mode will depend upon the kinetic properties of microorganisms, and
type of lignocellulosic hydrolysate in addition to process economics aspects (Chandel et al.,
2007). The batch-mode growth involves a closed system in which cells are grown in a fixed
volume of nutrient culture medium under specific environmental conditions i.e. temperature,
pressure, aeration, nutrition type, pH, etc. In fed batch system, fresh medium is fed
continuously or intermittently and the volume of the culture medium increases with time. In
continuous culture system, fresh medium is continuously supplied to the fermentation vessel,
while the products and cells inside the fermentation vessel are simultaneously withdrawn
(Srivastava, 2008). Fed-batch reactors are widely used in industrial applications because they
combine the advantages from both batch and continuous processes (Saarela et al., 2003).
2.1.4 Product Recovery

From the process of fermentation of glucose, bioethanol, water and other
materials/substances are formed and could be in liquid or solid form. Basically the broth from
the fermentation process usually contains a certain percentage of water and a certain
percentage of Ethanol both in the solid miscible phase and also solid particles (Balat 2008).
Thus in order to obtain the required product ethanol at a high percent of purity, there is need
to employ various separation processes to extract the ethanol being produced from the other
substances in the fermentation broth. The first step in this process is to carry out filtration to
separate the solid particles from the liquid. After the filtration has been carried out, the liquid
mixture of Ethanol-Water is put through a simple distillation process where a simple
distillation unit is used to extract the more volatile Ethanol from the water. (Madson and
Lococo, 2000). The distillation process can be repeated for as many times as possible both on

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the Ethanol and on the water to obtain maximum purity and to remove enough ethanol as
much as possible from the ethanol water mixture.
2.2. Factors Influencing BioEthanol Production

2.2.1. Temperature
Temperature is a very important factor which affects the overall process and consequentially
the Ethanol yield. Like other microorganisms, S. cerevisiae tends to have a temperature range
at which their growth and activity is optimized because the enzyme activity is depending on
the temperature of environment (Goddard, 2008). According to Black (1996) and Ding
(2014), the growth of microorganisms gradually increases from the minimum to the optimum
temperature and decreases very sharply from the optimum at the maximum temperature. For
most of the microorganisms, both extremely high and low temperatures can be very harmful;
the former can cause protein denaturation while the latter can lead to intracellular ice crystal
formation upon freezing. For S. cerevisiae, temperatures close to 35ºC have been found to be
the optimal temperature for obtaining the best ethanol yield. (Narendranath and Power, 2005;
Ding 2014).
2.2.2. pH
The extent of acidity or alkalinity, referred to as the pH of a solution, also affects yeast cell
growth and metabolism. S. cerevisiae can grow at varying pH values but it works best at
slightly acidic pH (pH 4.0 – pH 6.0) and high pH levels may cause denaturation of enzymes
which aid in fermentation capability of yeast cells (Mountney and Gould, 1988; Narendranath
and Power, 2005).
2.2.3. Substrate Concentration
The substrate concentration refers to the amount of fermentable sugars present in the broth.
The type and quantities of each of the sugars (i.e pentoses and hexoxes) can directly have an
effect of the process as well as the entire product yield (Igbinadolor et al., 2013). A substrate

24 | P a g e
containing more of glucose (hexoxes) will actually have more materials for the
microorganisms to act on since it is easily fermentable and thus giving a better yield of
ethanol, whearas that having more of pentoses may require extra processes for the pentoses to
be effectively converted to ethanol by fermentation (Olsson and Halm-Hagerdal, 1996).
2.2.4. Materials and Methodology
As earlier stated in various sections of this work, the methodologies as well as the materials
used in the processes of pretreatment, hydrolysis and even fermentation itself will in one way
or the other affect the yield of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass due to reactivity of such
materials, formation of inhibitory compounds and irrecoverable salts, as well as the
destructive degradation of fermentable sugars by certain substances (Lee, 2005; Balat et al.,
2007)
Some other factors which directly or indirectly influence, in one way or the other the
production of Ethanol include; time or reaction, immobilization of enzymes, presence of
impurities and dissolved O2, activity level of microorganisms.
Fig. 2.1 Flowsheet representation of Lignocellulosic Ethanol Production

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2.3. Review of previous work on the Design of ethanol plants

A lot of work has been carried out on the design of ethanol plants due to the fact that ethanol
is very important in the energy industry. Some of them are summarized below;
2.3.1. Design of an Ethanol Fermentation Plant by John Schrilla, 2015.
The work covered the design of a plant for producing ethanol from the fermentation of
biomass and also investigated its potential for profitability and environmental benefit. In the
work it was stated that Ethanol is a common fuel additive and $33 billion industry in the
United States with the potential to simultaneously reduce foreign energy dependence and
domestic carbon emissions. The proposed plant was designed to convert corn into ethanol
and several valuable byproducts through dry grind processing and fermentation. Its capacity
is 7.3 million gallons of ethanol each year at an estimated annual profit of $1.8 million, with
the potential to reduce annual carbon emissions by 13.7 thousand metric tons when
substituted for pure gasoline. This process is the most common because it is the most
economically viable, but there are alternatives with greater environmental benefits.
2.3.2. Process Design and Economics for Biochemical Conversion of Lignocellulosic

Biomass to Ethanol Dilute-Acid Pretreatment and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Corn Stover
This project was carried out by D. Humbird, R. Davis, L. Tao, C. Kinchin, D. Hsu, and A.
Aden of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Golden, Colorado in collaboration with
P. Schoen, J. Lukas, B. Olthof, M. Worley, D. Sexton, and D. Dudgeon Harris Group Inc.
Seattle, Washington and Atlanta, Georgia in the year 2011. The project whiuch was overseen
by NREL(national renewable energylaboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of
Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy), featured the design of a process plant to design a
plant to produce ethanol from corn stover. The ethanol plant was to process 2,205 dry ton/day
at 76% theoretical ethanol yield (79 gal/dry ton).

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2.3.3. Lignocellulosic Biomass to Ethanol Process Design and Economics Utilizing Co-
Current Dilute Acid Prehydrolysis and Enzymatic Hydrolysis Current and Futuristic
Scenarios
This design project was carried out by Robert Wooley, Mark Ruth, John Sheehan, and Kelly
Ibsen of the Biotechnology Center for Fuels and Chemicals in collaboration with Henry
Majdeski and Adrian Galvez of Delta-T Corporation. The process plant uses co-current
dilute acid prehydrolysis of the lignocellulosic biomass with simultaneous enzymatic
saccharification of the remaining cellulose and co-fermentation of the resulting glucose and
xylose to ethanol. In addition to these unit operations, the process involves feedstock
handling and storage, product purification, wastewater treatment, enzyme production, lignin
combustion, product storage, and other utilities. In all, the process is divided into nine areas.
The feedstock, in this case hardwood chips, is delivered to the feed handling (A100) area for
storage and size reduction. From there the biomass is conveyed to pretreatment and
detoxification (A200). In this area the biomass is treated with dilute sulfuric acid at a high
temperature for a very short time, liberating the hemicellulose sugars and other compounds.
Ion exchange and overliming is required to remove compounds liberated in the pretreatment
that will be toxic to the fermenting organism. Detoxification is applied only to the liquid
portion of the hydrolysis stream.After detoxification, a portion of the hydrolyzate slurry is
split off to enzyme production (A400). In enzyme production, seed inoculum is grown in a
series of progressively larger aerobic batch fermenters. The inoculum is then combined with
additional hydrolyzate slurry and nutrients in large-production aerobic fermenters to produce
the enzyme needed for saccharification.
Simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (A300) of the detoxified hydrolyzate
slurry is carried out in a series of continuous anaerobic fermentation trains. The fermenting
organism Zymomonas mobilis is grown in progressively larger batch anaerobic
fermentations. The inoculum, along with cellulase enzyme from area A400 and other

27 | P a g e
nutrients, is added to the first fermenter. After several days of saccharification and
fermentation, most of the cellulose and xylose will have been converted to ethanol. The
resulting beer is sent to product recovery. Product recovery (A500) consists of distilling the
ethanol away from the water and residual solids. A mixture of nearly azeotropic water and
ethanol is purified to pure ethanol using vapor-phase molecular sieves. Solids from the
distillation bottoms are separated and sent to the boiler. Concentration of the distillation
bottoms liquid is performed by evaporation, using waste heat. The evaporated condensate is
returned to the process as fairly clean condensate and the concentrated syrup is sent to the
burner. Part of the evaporator condensate, along with other wastewater, is treated by
anaerobic and aerobic digestion (A600). The biogas (high in methane) from the anaerobic
digestion is sent to the burner for heat recovery. The treated water is considered suitable for
recycle and is returned to the process. The solids from distillation, the concentrated syrup
from the evaporator, and biogas from anaerobic digestion are combusted in a fluidized bed
combustor (A800) to raise steam for process heat. The majority of the steam demand is in the
pretreatment reactor and distillation areas. Generally, the process produces excess steam that
is converted to electricity for use in the plant and for sale to the grid.

28 | P a g e
CHAPTER THREE
MATERIAL BALANCE
3.1. Overview
For the production of ethanol from coconut fibre we can carry out overall material balance
for the entire plant given the specifications of the plant as well as the composition of the raw
material. This material balance can be carried out by taking into consideration the
composition of the feedstock to be used for the production of ethanol.
The lignocellulosoic composition of coconut fibre is given below
Table 3.1. Composition of Coconut Fibre

Component Composition
Cellulose 28%
Hemicellulose 38%
Lignin 32.3%
Ash and extractives 1.1%
Moisture 0.6%
In order to be able to carry out these balances we must first of all take into considerations the
various reactions that occur as well as their products. In the production of ethanol from
coconut fibre, the basic processes as well as their equations of reactions of the production
process are as follows;
3.1.1. Pretreatment
Here, the biomass is passed through a reactor where an alkaline medium such as NaOH in
this case is used to alter or remove structural and compositional impediments to hydrolysis in
order to improve the rate of enzyme hydrolysis and increase yields of fermentable sugars
from cellulose or hemicellulose

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[ (C41 H54 O18 )x] + NaOH [ (C6 H10 O5 )m ⋅ (C5 H8 O4 )n] + Acids + Salts
Heat
3.1.2. Hydrolysis
In this part of the process, cellulose and hemicellulose is being converted to glucose
molecules which can then be fermented using enzymes. The equation for this process is given
below;
Heat + H2SO4 Acid
[ (C6 H10 O5 )m ⋅ (C5 H8 O4 )n] + nH2 O (C6 H10 O6 )n
3.1.3. Fermentation.
This is the most important part of the entire process, in this process, the fermentable sugars
glucose is being converted to glucose by the metabolic action of microorganisms such as
brewer’s yeast also known as saccharomyces cerevisae. The product of this reaction is
ethanol as well as carbon iv oxide. The equation for the reaction is given below.
(C6 H10 O6 )n 2C2 H5 OH + 2CO2

Yeast
3.2 Overall Material Balance

Taking into consideration the fact that the ethanol production plant is a single system, we can
have the inputs and outputs are shown below on the simple diagram

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COCONUT FIBER WATER
CARBON IV OXIDE
ENERGY
ETHANOL
PLANT WASTEWATER
ENZYMES AND
CHEMICALS
ETHANOL SOLID RESIDUES
Figure 3.1. Overall Material Balance for Ethanol Plant
For an ideal situation. The overall mass balance is expected to be
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑛 = 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑂𝑢𝑡
Therefore to begin the material balance we carry out basic calculations which will help us to
determine some of the parameters to be used in the course of the design work
3.2.Primary Process Calculations and Units Material Balance
Molecular weights
Cellulose = [(12 x 6) + (1 x 10) + (16 x 5)] = 162kg/kgmol

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Hemicellulose = [(12 x 5) + (1 x 8) + (16 x 4)] = 132kg/kgmol
To arrive at a specific feed rate, a random basis will have to be taken but with reference to
literature. There have been cases where 10kg of fibre produced 0.5 liters of ethanol,
907,184kg producing 189 litres of ethanol as well as 100kg of fibre producing 7.6 litres of
ethanol. Using the above information to derive a basis we can have that;
If 10 kg of fibre can produce 0.5liters of ethanol Therefore, to obtain the projected product
rate of 3000literes/day we have
3000litres x 10kg
= 60,000kg
0.5litres
Thus we can arrive at a first basis which will assist us calculate for the actual required
feedstock for coconut fibre.
As already stated in table 3.1 above, the compositions for the primary components of the
fibre are; 28% cellulose and 38% hemicellulose. Thus to obtain the amount of each of these
components in the basis of 60,000 we have that;
28
Cellulose = 𝑥 60000 = 16,800𝑘𝑔
100
38
Hemicellulose = 100 𝑥 60000 = 22,800𝑘𝑔
Therefore we can calculate in this basis the number of moles reacting for each of the
components as
𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠
Thus for each of the components we have
16800
Cellulose = = 0.3457𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑜𝑙
60000

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22800
Hemicellulose = 60000 = 0.4691𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑜𝑙
Also we have that for a single hydrolysis of a cellulosic component to glucose (C6H12O6)
with molecular weight 180g/mol we have
(𝑛180)
= 1.11
𝑛(162 + 18)
Taking the volume of water (with molecular mass 18kg/mol) used as 150,000liters/day
(152,200kg/day) we have that,
152000
Number of moles of water used = = 8455.56𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑜𝑙
18
Therefore we can say that the amount (number of moles) of react able materials entering the
hydrolyzer is = 0.3457 + 0.4691 + 8455.56 = 8456.3748kgmol
Furthermore to aid us in this process, given that the efficiency of the hydrolysis process is
95% and that the total amount of hydrolysable materials is = 16,800 + 22,800 = 39,000
We can now say that, the amount of fermentable sugar (glucose) produced is given by
0.95 x (0.3457 + 0.4691) x 39,600 = 30,652.78kg
Therefore if the efficiency of the fermentation process is 98% and the w/w amount of ethanol
obtainable from a molecule of glucose is 0.51 glucose we can have that
Amount of ethanol produced = 0.98 x 0.51 x 30,652.77 = 15,320.25 kg (15,100litres)
Since the actual amount of ethanol obtainable has been ascertained to be 15,320.25kg from
15,320.25
60,000kg, we can obtain final feedstock requirement as = 0.255
60,000

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Using this value to solve for a required product rate of 3000litres/day (3044kg/day) we have
3044
that the required feedstock is =
0.255
11,937.365𝑘𝑔 𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑥. 12,000𝑘𝑔 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑒
Using the obtained values to calculate the plant operating time, where the plant efficiency is
98% we have that operating time = 0.98 x 365 x 24 = 8585 hours per year. And to obtain this
8585
value per day we have = 23. 52ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 = 23 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠 30 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦
365
Having obtained a new basis of feed rate, the material balance of each equipment in the plant
begins with the inputs of raw coconut fibre
1. MATERIAL BALANCE AROUND MILLING MACHINE (ML-01)
Figure 3.2 Material Balance around milling Machine
IN
Fibre inputs = 12000kg
OUT
Shredded fibre output = 12000kg
2. MATERIAL BALANCE AROUND MIXER 1 (MX-01)

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Figure 3.3. Material Balance around Mixer 1
IN
Fibre input = 12,000kg
Water input = 15,000kg
OUT
Fibre slurry = 12,000+ 15,000 = 27,000kg of fibre slurry
Percentage composition of slurry is given as

12,000
For fibre = 27,000 = 44.44%
15,000
For water = 27,000 = 55.55%
To obtain volume of water used we have that,
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 15,000𝑘𝑔
Since 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 = = 15𝑚3
1000𝑘𝑔/𝑚3
15𝑚3 1000 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑠

Converting to liters we have = 1𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒 𝑥 = 15,000𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
1
3. MATERIAL BALANCE AROUND PRETREATER (RC-01)

35 | P a g e
Figure 3.4 Material Balance around Pretreatment unit
IN
Fibre slurry = 27,000kg/day
It is important to note that the fibre slurry contains the following components; cellulose,
hemicellulose, lignin, ash and extractives as well as water. The weigh compositions of each
of these components is given below so as to analyze and account for each of the components
as well as what will be obtained at the end of the pretreatment process. The compositions are
as follows;
28
Cellulose =100 𝑥12,000 = 3360𝑘𝑔
38
Hemicellulose = 100 𝑥 12,000 = 4560𝑘𝑔
32.3
Lignin = 𝑥 12,000 = 3876
100
1.1
Ash and Extractives = 100 𝑥 12,000 = 132𝑘𝑔
0.6
Water = 100 𝑥 12,000 = 72𝑘𝑔
Recall that water doesn’t partake in the reaction process and thus the pretreater reactable
materials are 12,000 – 72kg water = 11,928kg, thus
In the separation of lignin and the ash/extractives from the composite polymer we have that;

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11,928kg of fibre slurry – (3876 + 132) of lignin + ash/extractives = 7920kg of cellulosic
material
This we have that 11,928kg of coconut fibre contains 7926kg of cellulosic material
To determine the amount of NaOH to be used, a review was taken into literature and past
work and it was found out that from investigation, for proper action of alkaline on fibre, a
ratio of 1: 10 is used (i.e. 1kg of coconut fibre was treated with 10kg of NaOH) (Bassey et al.,
2013), thus for this design, using the same ratio of 1:10 we have that for 11.928kg of fibre,
Amount of NaOH used = 11,928kg x 10kg = 119,280kg of NaOH
Therefore, the total input into the Pretreater = Amount of Fibre Slurry + Amount of NaOH
= 26,280kg + 119,280 = 145,560kg/day
OUT
Cellulosic content = 7926kg
Lignin content = 3870kg
Uncategorized material (acids + salts + others) = 145,560 – (7920 + 3870) = 133,770kg
Therefore total product output = 7926 + 3870 + 133770 = 145,560kg/day
4. MATERIAL BALANCE AROUND FILTER/WASHER (FL-01)
Figure 3.5. Material Balance around Filter 1

37 | P a g e
IN
Fibre slurry input = 145,566kg/day
Wash water input = 15,000kg/day
Total input to filter = 145,566 + 15,000 = 160,566kg/day
OUT
In the filter,originally contained water is removed and wash water is used to remive the
components formed from the pretreatment reactions and to neutralize the ph of the fibre
slurry. When the slurry has been completely neutralized, the equipment also introduces fresh
water to the fibre for the next unit operation of hydrolysis. The total amount of water leaving
the filter will be
Originally contained water + wash water
But originally contained water = mass of fibre slurry – mass of fibre cake
Since lignin is washed off in water we have that
Mass of fibre cake = 11,796kg of fibre - 3876 lignin = 7920 of treated fibre
Therefore originally contained water = 145,566 – 11,796 = 133,770kg
Since the primary filtration removes the formed compinents together with lignin, we can have
that the amount of such components in wash water will have an effect on the quantity of
water going out thus we have that amount of water going out
Therefore, total water out = 133,770kg + 15,000kg + 3876kg = 152646kg
Mass of Treated Fibre out = 7920kg
Total output from filter/washer = 152646 + 7920 = 160566kg
5. MATERIAL BALANCE AROUND MIXER (MX-02)

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Figure 3.6. Material Balance around Mixer 2
IN
Treated fibre = 7920kg
Fresh water = 15,000kg/day
OUT
Fibre slurry = 7920 + 15000 = 22920kg/day
6. MATERIAL BALANCE AROUND HYDROLYSIS UNIT (RC-02)
Figure 3.7. Material Balance around Hydrolysis Unit
IN
Treated fibre slurry = 22920kg/day
Hydrolysable fibre = 7920kg/day

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From research according to (Ding, T., 2015) 300 ml (0.3 litres) was used to hydrolyze 30g of
fibre. Thus using this concept as a basis for our design we have that. The amount of acid used
is given as
7920
𝑥 0.3𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠 = 79,280 𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝐻2𝑆𝑂4 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦
0.03
Therefore total input to hydrolyzer = 22,920 + 79,280 = 102.200kg/day

79280
Acid composition in input = 102200 = 0.77
15,000
Water Composition in input = 102200 = 0.14
7920
Fibre Composition in input =102200 = 0.09
to obtain the individual amounts of reacting cellulose and hemicellulose we calculate using
the individual composition my mass and the corresponding molecular mass, and from
previous calculations we have that the molecular masses are;
cellulose = 162kg/kgmole
hemicellulose = 132kg/kgmole
mass contained
cellulose = 3360kg
hemicellulose = 4560kg
Thus, the moles reacting are

3360
cellulose = = 20.74𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒
162
4560
hemicellulose = = 34.54𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒
132
15000
water = = 833.33𝑘𝑔𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒
18
OUT
Efficiency of hydrolysis process = 0.95

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Therefore the amount of glucose produced = (0.28 + 0.38) x 0.09 x 102200 x 0.95 =
5767.12kg of glucose
Amount of water in glucose solution = 0.14 x 102200 x 0.95 = 13592.6kg
Amount of unbounded water = 15,000 – 13592.6= 1407.4kg
Amount of reacted acid for fibre conversion = 0.77 x 102200 x 0.95 =74759.3kg
Amount of acid left = 79280 – 74759.3 = 4520.7kg
Amount of solid mass left
Cellulose = 0.28 x 22,920 x 0.95 = 6096.72
Hemicellulose = 0.38 x 22,920 x 0.95 = 8247.12
Solid residue obtained from reaction
Cellulose = 6096.72– 3360 = 2736.72
Hemicellulose = 8247.12– 4560 = 3657.12
The noticeable increase occurs as a result of attack action of the Acid on the fibre to activate
it reactions and increase surface area thus causing an increase in the mass of the fibre
compoinents
Therefore total amount of solid residue nobtained from the hydrolusis process is given by
2736.72 + 3657.12 = 6674.18kg
Total mass of fibre broth leaving the hydrolyzer = 5767.12 + 13592 + 1407.4 + 74759.3
+6674.18 = 102200kg
7. MATERIAL BALANCE AROUND FERMENTER (RC-03)

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Figure 3.8. Material Balance around Fermenter Unit
IN
Glucose broth = 102200kg /day
Glucose contained in broth = 5767.12 kg/day
Fibre residue contained = 6674.18 kg
To obtain the amount of yeast required to convert the glucose contained in the brith to
ethanol,we refer to literature and it was found out that for 200ml of glucose,10 g of yeast was
used (include reference). Therefore for this design we will use the above reference for the
0.01
basis of this design. We have that amount of yeast used is 𝑥 5767.12 = 288𝑘𝑔/𝑑𝑎𝑦.
0.2
But to allow for losses a quantity of say 300kg/day may be used
300
The yeast activity in the fermentable glucose is given as =5767.12 = 0.053
The total input to fermentor = 102200 + 300 = 102500kg/day
OUT
Given the equation of the reaction for fermentation which is
(𝐶6 𝐻10 𝑂6 )𝑛 2𝐶2 𝐻5 𝑂𝐻 + 2𝐶𝑂2

Yeast
We have that the molecular masses of reactants and products are

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Glucose (C6H10O6) = 180kg/kgmol
Ethanol = (C2H5OH) 46.1kg/kgmol
Carbon IV oxide (CO2) = 44.10kg/kgmol
Given that the efficiency of the fermentation process is 98%, the w/w amount of ethanol
obtainable from a molecule of glucose contained in the broth whuch can be fermented is
5767.12 𝑥 180
given as = 10.15 thus, we can have that
102200
Amount of Ethanol produced = 10.15 x 0.053 x 5767.12 x 0.98 = 3040.4kg/day
Converting this value to Litres using Unisim design it gives us litres per day of Ethanol from
fermentation
The amount of CO2 obtainable from the glucose used for fermentabtion is givem as
5767.12 𝑥 44.10
= 2.48
102200
Therefore the Amount of CO2 produced from the fermentation reaction = 2.48 x 5767.12 x
0.98 =14016.40kg/day
This is vented off by the use of relief system which sends out the gas when the reactor
exceeds the design pressure.
Amount of water and dissolved components left in fermented broth = 78469.42kg/day
Solid Residue to be removed = 6674.18 kg/day
Total amount of material leaving the fermentor = 3040.4 + 14016.40 + 78469.42 + 6674.18
= 102500kg /day
8. MATERIAL BALANCE AROUND FILTER (FL-02)

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Figure 3.9. Material Balance around Filter 2
IN
Total mass in = 102500kg/day – 14016kg/day of CO2 vent = 88484kg/day
Liguid component = water + Ethanol = 78469.42kg/day + 3040.4kg/day = 81509.82kg/day
Solid Component = 6674.18kg/day
OUT
Fibre residue out = 6674.18kg/day
Liquid out = 81509.82kg/day
Total matererial out = 81509.82 + 6674.18 = 88484kg/day
9. MATERIAL BALANCE AROUND DISTILLATION COLUMN (CL-01)
The overall material balance for a distillation column is given as
𝐹 =𝐷+𝐵
Where F = Feed, D = Distillate (Ethanol) and B = Bottoms (Water)
The design requirement is that the ethanol produced should be 99% pure (i.e: having 99%
ethanol concentration contained in the top product and 1% in the water leaving the bottom of
the column.

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Figure 3.10. Material Balance around distillation column
We have that the federate of ethanol-water mixture going into the column is given as; F =
81509kg/day and the amount of ethanol produced from fermentation as 3040kg/day. Thus the
3040.4
composition of ethanol in the feed is given as = = 0.05. Therefore we have that; XF
81509.82
=0.05, XD = 0.99 and XB = 0.01. To obtain the Distillate and Bottoms flow rate we use these
values as well as the values of the Feed Rate to carry out component balance for ethanol and
we now have that from the Relation;
𝐹𝑋𝐹 = 𝐷𝑋𝐷 + 𝐵𝑋𝐵
Substituting their values we now have
81509.82 (0.05) = 0.99𝐷 + 0.01𝐵
To obtain a common term in the equation we can cay that; 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝐹 = 𝐵 + 𝐷, 𝐵 = 𝐹 −
𝐷. Putting this in the above equation, we now have
= 81509.82 (0.05) = 0.99𝐷 + 0.01(81509.82 − 𝐷)
= 4075.45 = 0.99𝐷 + 815.09 − 0.01𝐷
= 4075.45 − 815.09 = 0.99𝐷 − 0.01𝐷

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= 3260.35 = 0.98𝐷
3260.36
Therefore, 𝐷 = = 3326.9𝑘𝑔/𝑑𝑎𝑦 of Ethanol
0.98
From 𝐵 = 𝐹 − 𝐷, We have = 𝐵 = 81509.82 − 3326.9 = 78182.1 𝑘𝑔/𝑑𝑎𝑦 of Water
The flowrate of Ethanol produced from the top of the distillation column meet the design
requirement of the ethanol plant.
The Summary of the material balance for all the equipment is given in the table below;
Table 3.2. Summary of material balance around all equipment

UNIT OPERATION OUTPUT
MATERIAL INPUT (KG/DAY)
(EQUIPMENT) (KG/DAY)
MILLING Coconut fibre 12000 12000
MACHINE (ML-01) TOTAL 12000 12000
Coconut fibre 12000 -

Water 15000 -
MIXER (MX-01)
Fibre slurry - 27000
TOTAL 27000 27000
Fibre slurry 27000

NaOH 119280
PRETREATER(RC- Cellulose - 7926
01) Lignin - 3870
By products - 113770
TOTAL 145560 145560
Fibre slurry 145560

Washwater 15000
FILTER/WASHER
Wastewater - 152646
(FL-01)
Treated Fibre cake - 7620
TOTAL 160566 160566
Freshwater 15000 -
Treated fibre 7920 -
MIXER 2 (MX-02)
TOTAL 22920 22920

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Fibre slurry 22920 -

H2SO4 acid 79280 -
Glucose in solution - 5767.12
Water in glucose
HYDROLYZER - 13592
solution
(RC-02)
Unbonded water - 140704
Acid in fibre - 74759.3
Fibre residue - 6674.18
TOTAL 102200 102200
Glucose broth 102200 -

Yeast 300 -
Ethanol - 3040.4
FERMENTOR (RC-
CO2 - 14016.40
03)
Water - 78669.42
Solid fibre residue - 6674.18
TOTAL 102500 102500
Ethanol broth 88484 -

Ethanol + water - 81509.82
FILTER (FL-02)
Fibre residue cake - 6674.18
TOTAL 88484 88484
Ethanol + water 81509.82 -

DISTILLATION Ethanol (99%) - 3326.9
COLUMN (CL-01) Water - 78182.1
TOTAL 81509.82 81509.82

47 | P a g e
CHAPTER FOUR
ENERGY BALANCE
In process design, energy balances are made to determine the energy requirements of the
process: the heating, cooling and power required. In plant operation, an energy balance
(energy audit) on the plant will show the pattern of energy usage, and suggest areas for
conservation and savings. The conservation of energy, however, differs from that of mass in
that energy can be generated (or consumed) in a chemical process. Material can change form,
new molecular species can be formed by chemical reaction, but the total mass flow into a
process unit must be equal to the flow out at the steady state. The same is not true of energy.
The total enthalpy of the outlet streams will not equal that of the inlet streams if energy is
generated or consumed in the processes; such as that due to heat of reaction. An energy
balance can be written for any process step. Chemical reaction will evolve energy
(exothermic) or consume energy (endothermic). For steady-state processes the accumulation
of both mass and energy will be zero.
Energy can exist in several forms: heat, mechanical energy, electrical energy, and it is the
total energy that is conserved.
The general relation that explains energy balance for a plant can be given as;
𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑜𝑢𝑡 = 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 𝑖𝑛 + 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 – 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑢𝑚𝑝𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 − 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛
This is a statement is obtained from the first law of thermodynamics,which describr sthe
general elation for the conservation of energy.
For the design of this ethanol plant, the energy requirements and balances will be seen and
done mostly around the major equipment such as heat exchange equipment (heaters and

48 | P a g e
cooler), some storage tanks as well as reaction vessels to obtain the heat produced or lost by
each of these equipment.
4.1. Heater
Mass flow in = 12,000kg/day
Tin = 27°C ; Tout = 125°C
Given that the heat flow in the heat exchanger is given as 𝑄 = 𝑚𝐶𝑝 𝛥𝑇
Cp Cellulose = 2.69kj/kgk
Therefore 𝑄 = 12,000 𝑥 2.69(125 − 25) = 3228000
4.2. Hydrolyzer
For this process, given the equation of reaction
[ (C6 H10 O5 )m ⋅ (C5 H8 O4 )n] + nH2 O (C6 H10 O6 )n
And given that
𝛥𝐻𝑓 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = −285,820𝐾𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝛥𝐻𝑓 𝐺𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒 = −1271𝐾𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝛥𝐻𝑓 𝐶𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒 = −963𝐾𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙
We have that the energy of the reaction is given as
𝛥𝐻𝑟° = 𝛥𝐻𝑓(𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑠) − 𝛥𝐻𝑓(𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠)
𝛥𝐻𝑟° = Ʃ𝛥𝐻𝑓(𝐺𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒) − [𝛥𝐻𝑓(𝑐𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑢𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒) + 𝛥𝐻𝑓(𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟)]
1271𝐾𝐽 963𝐾𝐽 286𝐾𝐽

= − − [− + ]
𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝛥𝐻𝑟°(𝐻𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑖𝑠) = −22𝐾𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙

49 | P a g e
4.3. Cooler
𝑇𝑟𝑒𝑓 = 1000 𝐶
𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝐹𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑅𝑎𝑡𝑒 = 16,793𝑘𝑔/𝑑𝑎𝑦
𝐶𝑝𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒 = 3.135𝑘𝑗/𝑘𝑔
𝑄 = [(𝑚𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒 ∗ 𝐶𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒 )] ∗ ∆𝑇
𝑄 = [(16793 ∗ 3.135) +] ∗ (27 − 121)
𝑸 = −4948.7𝐾𝑗
For flow of cooling Water:
∆𝑇 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = (45 − 15) = 30
4.179𝐾𝑗
𝐶𝑝,𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 =
𝑘𝑔
𝑄 = 𝑚 ∗ 𝐶𝑝,𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 ∗ ∆𝑇
4.179𝐾𝑗
4948𝐾𝑗 = ∗ 𝑚 ∗ 30
𝑘𝑔
𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = 620𝑘𝑔/𝑑𝑎𝑦
4.4 Fermentor
For this process, given the equation of reaction
(𝐶6 𝐻10 𝑂6 )𝑛 2𝐶2 𝐻5 𝑂𝐻 + 2𝐶𝑂2
And given that
𝛥𝐻𝑓 𝐸𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑙 = −1368𝐾𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝛥𝐻𝑓 𝐺𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒 = −1271𝐾𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙

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𝛥𝐻𝑓 𝐶𝑂2 = −393520𝐾𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙
We have that the energy of the reaction is given as
𝛥𝐻𝑟° = 𝛥𝐻𝑓(𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑠) − 𝛥𝐻𝑓(𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠)
𝛥𝐻𝑟° = [𝛥𝐻𝑓(𝐸𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑜𝑙) + 𝛥𝐻𝑓(𝐶𝑂2 )] − Ʃ𝛥𝐻𝑓(𝐺𝑙𝑢𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑒)
393𝐾𝐽 1368𝐾𝐽
= [2 × (− )+2×( )] − 2 × (−1271𝐾𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙)
𝑚𝑜𝑙 𝑚𝑜𝑙
𝛥𝐻𝑟°(𝐹𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛) = −977𝐾𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙

The overall material balance is given as
Input = Output
𝑄𝐵 + 𝐻𝐹 = 𝑄𝐶 + 𝐻𝐷 + 𝐻𝑊
From material balance
Basis T = 900C, 1h
Heat capacity data
111.46𝑘𝑗 4.2𝑘𝑗
𝐶𝑝 Ethanol = ; 𝐶𝑝 𝑊𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = ;
𝑘𝑔𝑘 𝑘𝑔𝑘
Heat capacity can be taken as additive.
Feed = 0.99 ∗ 111.46 + 0.018 ∗ 2.043 + 0.002 ∗ 2.065 = 110.3𝑘𝑗/𝑘𝑔
Distillate, taken as ethanol, 110.3kj/kg

51 | P a g e
Bottom, = 0.998 ∗ 2.043 + 0.002 ∗ 2.065 = 2.043𝑘𝑗/𝑘𝑔
𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡: 𝑟𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑖𝑙𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑝𝑢𝑡𝑄𝐵 + 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝐻𝐹
𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑝𝑢𝑡: 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑄𝐶 + 𝑡𝑜𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑜𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑚 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡 𝐻𝐷 + 𝐻𝐵
𝐿
𝑅= = 1.005
𝐷
65887.8kg
𝐿 = 1.005 ∗ 65560 =
h
131447.8𝐾𝑔
𝑉 =𝐿+𝐷 =
ℎ
At steady state:
Input = Output
𝐻𝑉 = 𝐻𝐷 + 𝐻𝐶 + 𝑄𝐶
𝑄𝐶 = 𝐻𝑉 − 𝐻𝐷 − 𝐻𝐿
Assume complete condensation.
𝐸𝑛𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑝𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑣𝑎𝑝𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝐻𝑉 = 𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑛𝑡 + 𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑡
Latent heat of Ethanol at 800 𝐶(353.31K)= 98.744𝑘𝑔/ℎ
Ethanol at 800 𝐶(353.31K) = 194.026𝑘𝑔/ℎ
Water at 800 𝐶(353.31K) = 250.569𝑘𝑔/ℎ
Taking latent heats as additive
𝐻𝑉 = 131447.8[(0.995 ∗ 98.744 + 0.995 ∗ 194.026 + 0.005 ∗ 250.569) + (80 − 25)
∗ 1.702] = −7416.32𝐾𝐽/𝑑𝑎𝑦

52 | P a g e
Hence
𝑄𝐶 = 𝐻𝑉 = −7416.32𝐾𝐽/𝑑𝑎𝑦
𝑄𝐵 𝑖𝑠 𝑑𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑡𝑒 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚.
Input = Output
𝑄𝐵 + 𝐻𝐹 = 𝑄𝐶 + 𝐻𝐷 + 𝐻𝑊
𝐻𝐹 = 670912.354 ∗ 1.709(160 − 25) = 154,789,543.8𝑘𝑗/ℎ
1,831,552.667kj
𝐻𝐵 = 11953.354 ∗ 2.043(100 − 25) =
h
(Boiling point of bottom product taken as 1000 𝐶).
Hence:
𝑄𝐵 = 𝑄𝐶 + 𝐻𝐷 + 𝐻𝐵 − 𝐻𝐹
= 50,761,064.82 + 1,831,552.667 + 0 − 154,789,543.8
3272.70𝐾𝐽
𝑄𝐵 = −
𝑑𝑎𝑦
𝑄𝐵 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚.
𝑘𝑗
Latent heat of steam =2174𝑘𝑔 𝑎𝑡274𝑘𝑁𝑚2
102,196,926.3
Steam required = = 47008.70576𝑘𝑔/𝑑𝑎𝑦
2174
𝑄𝑐 𝑖𝑠 𝑟𝑒𝑚𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑎 𝑡𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑜𝑓 950 𝐶
𝑄𝐶 = 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 ∗ 95 ∗ 4.2

53 | P a g e
50,761,064.82
𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 = = 127,220.7138𝑘𝑔/𝑑𝑎𝑦
4.2 ∗ 30
The summary of calculated energy balances for major equipment are as follows;
Table 4.1. Summary of Energy Balance around various Equipment.

EQUIPMENT HEAT FLOW( Q) ΔHrº (Heat of
Reaction)
Heater 1 17673.0167KJ/day -
Cooler -21985.10185KJ/day -
Pretreater - -936KJ/mol
Hydrolyzer - -27KJ/mol
Fermenter - -977KJ/mol
Distillation Column QB = 3272.70KJ/day -
QC = -7416.32KJ/day -

54 | P a g e
CHAPTER FIVE
EQUIPMENT SIZING AND SPECIFICATION

5.1. Milling Machine Design
Given that the particle size of coconut fibre rages from 30 – 80 mm and the required particle
size for the operation is about 103μm (fine particles).
From table 10.12 (vol. 6 pg. 465) we see that the milling machine type suitable for this type
of feed is the hammer mill machine. The hammer mill carries out size reduction by
simultaneously beating and shredding the fibre strands until they are able to pass through the
drum screen to the outlet.
To obtain a parameter for the sizing of this equipment, we have that the relation whiuch
gioverns the type of feed is the kicks law which is represented by the relationship
𝐿1
𝐸 = 𝐾𝑘 𝑓𝑐 ln ( )
𝐿2
𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐾𝐾 = 𝑘𝑖𝑐𝑘′𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
𝑓𝑐 = 𝑐𝑟𝑢𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ
since the milling machine is an auxiliary equipment only the above separation and type is
required.thus we have that from literature fc for coconut fibre = 48.2mpa .To obtain the kicks
𝐿1
constant, we assume the work index of . The mean of the particle sizes in the feed =
𝐿2
30+80
= 55
2
55
𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 = = 55
1
55 55
55 = 𝐾𝑘 𝑓𝑐 ln ( ) → 𝐾𝑘 𝑓𝑐 = ln ( ) × 55 = 220
1 1

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220
𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑐 = 48.2 , 𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒, 𝐾𝑘 = = 4.572
48.2
55
𝐸 = 4.572 × 48.2 ln ( ) = 883𝑊 = 0.833𝐾𝑊
1
5.2. Mixer Design

The feed to the mixer from material balance = 27000kg/day of slurry
Density of the cellulose feed = 1500kg/m3
The power required to drve the agitator for the mixing process to occur is given by the
relationship
𝑃
𝑁𝑝 =
𝐷5 𝑁 3 𝜌
Where Np = Power number (a function of Reynolds number)
D = agitator Diameter P = Agitator Power
N = Agitator speed
𝜌 = Density of slurry
The viscosity of the slurry can be obtained as a function of the viscosity of water and the
percentage composition of solid in liquid. This relationship is given as
𝜇𝑚 = 𝜇𝐿 × (1 + 2.5ф)
𝑃𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑠𝑙𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑦 0.44

𝑊ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 ф = = = 4.44 × 10−3
100 100
𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒; 𝜇𝑚 = 0.8 × (1 + 2.5 × 4.44 × 10−3 ) = 0.8088𝑚𝑁𝑠/𝑚2
On obtaining the viscosity, it is used to determine the volume of the mixing tank as well as
the speed of the agitator. Thus from the viscosity obtained, we select a suitable tank of

56 | P a g e
choice, in this case a blade type baffled tank with pitch 1.8 and agitator diameter of 0.3m;
Fig. 10.58 (Vol. 6,Pg. 474). Furthermore, using the viscosity obtained and selecting a
propeller speed of 420rpm, the volume of tank is traced on Fig. 10.57 (Vol. 6. Pg 472) to be =
3m3
The Reynolds number of the slurry is now calculated using the relation
𝐷 2 𝑁𝜌 0.32 ×420 ×1500

𝑅𝑒 = = = 70,103
𝜇𝑚 0.8088×10−3
Tracing the Reynold number with reference to the choice made and crossing to the Np side.
The power number which corresponds to the Reynolds number is = 0.9.
420𝑟𝑝𝑚 1
Converting 420rpm to Hz = × = 7𝐻𝑧
1 𝐻𝑧 59.99𝐻𝑧
Supplying this value and other values into the Power Number equation,we now have that
Power required to drive Agitator, P = 0.9 × 0.35 × 75 × 1500 = 1125W = 1.125KW
5.3. Heat Exchanger Design

From the material balance carried out we have that
27,000𝑘𝑔 1
Flowrate of Fibre Slurry = 𝑥 = 1125𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑟
𝑑𝑎𝑦 24ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠
Inlet temperature = 25ºC
Required outlet temperature = 125ºC
The steam for the heating will be suppled at 150ºC to drop to an outlet temperature of 80ºC
Cp of the steam (water) = 4.2KJ/kgK
Cp of cellulosic feed = 2.69KJ/kgK
But heat load = 𝑄 = 𝑚𝐶𝑃 𝛥𝑇 = 1125 𝑥 2.69(125 − 250) = 302625𝐾𝑊

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𝑄 302625
Thus, the mass flow rate of steam will be given as 𝑚 = = =
𝐶𝑝𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚 𝛥𝑇 4.2(150−80)
1029.3𝑘𝑔/𝑑𝑎𝑦
The temperature profile is thus:
T1 = 150oC
t2 = 125oC T2 = 80oC
t1 = 25oC
The fibre slurry is passed through the tube while the steam passed in the shell
Log Mean Temperature Difference
(𝑇1 − 𝑡2 ) − (𝑇2 − 𝑡1 ) (150 − 125) − (80 − 25)

∆TLM = = = 38°C
(𝑇1 − 𝑡2 ) 150 − 150
𝑙𝑛 ln ( )
(𝑇2 − 𝑡1 ) 80 − 25
To get the true temperature difference 𝛥𝑇𝑚 = 𝐹𝑡 ∆TLM we apply the correction factor
which is a function of R and S which are the shell and tube temperatures. Using one shell and
two tube passes, we have that;
T1 − t 2 150 − 125
R= = = 0.25
t 2 − t1 125 − 25
t 2 − t1 125 − 25
S= = = 0.8
T1 − t1 150 − 25

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Using the graph From figure 12.19 (Chemical Engineering Vol 6. Pg 675),we have that Ft at
the above values of R and S = 0.97. therefore we have that;
∆TM = 0.97 × 38 = 36.86 o C
Assuming the stage of the component is heavy organic and the service fluid is condensing
steam,we have that from Fig 12.1 (Vol. 6;Pg. 639), we have that the assumed value is
U = 800W/m2 oC
Provisional area
7263000
A= = 246m2
800 × 36.86
3
Choosing 20mm o.d., 16mm i.d., 4m long tubes (4 × 16ft), cupro-nickel alloy for tube sheet
thickness, take L = 3.95m
Area of one tube = π × d × l = π × 20 × 10−3 × 3.95 = 0.248m2
246
Number of tubes = = 992 tubes
0.248
As the shell side is relatively clean fluid, use 1.25 triangular pitch
1
992 2.207
Bundle diameter, Db = 20 ( ) = 855mm
0.249
Using a split-ring floating head type from figure 12.10,(Vol 6;Pg 666) bundle diametrical
clearance = 68mm.
Therefire, shell diameter, 𝐷𝑠 = 855 + 68 = 932𝑚𝑚
Tube side coefficient

59 | P a g e
25 + 125
Mean slurry temperature = = 75 o C
2
π × 162
Tube cross sectional area = = 201mm2
4
992
Tubes per pass = = 496 tubes per pass
2
Total flow area = 496 × 201 × 10−6 = 0.0997m2
7.5
Fibre Slurry mass velocity = = 314kg/s. 𝑚2
0.0997
Density of Feed = 1500kg/𝑚2
314
Slurry Linear Velocity (𝑈𝑡 ) = = 0.21𝑚/𝑠
1500
The heat transfer coefficient of fibre slurry feed in the tube side can be determined thus;
4200(1.35 + 0.02𝑡)𝑈𝑡0.8 4200(1.35 + 0.02 × 75 )0.210.8

ℎ𝑖 = = = 1972.6W/𝑚2 °𝐶
𝑑𝑖0.2 160.2
Shell side coefficient
Using 5 baffles,we chose a spacing for the baffles
𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 Ds 932

Baffle spacing = = = = 184mm
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐵𝑎𝑓𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑠 5 5
Tube pitch = 1.25 × 20 = 25mm
25 − 20
Cross flow area, As = ( ) 932 × 184 × 10−6 = 0.0343m2
25
6.86
Mass Velocity, 𝐺𝑠 = = 228kg/s. 𝑚2
0.0343

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1.1(252 −0.917×202 )
Equivalent diameter, de = = 14.4mm = 0.0144m
20
150 + 80
Mean shell side temperature = = 115 o C
2
Density water = 1000kg/𝑚3
Viscosity of water = 0.8 mNs/m2
Heat Capacity of Water = 4.2KJ/kg°C
Thermal Conductivity of Water = 0.59 W/m°C
Gs de 228 × 14.4 × 10−3

Re = = = 4104
μ 0.8 × 10−3
CP μ 4.2 × 103 × 0.8 × 10−3

Pr = = = 5.7
kf 0.59
Choose 25% baffle cut. From figure 12.29, on page 673, jh = 9.0 × 10−3
μ
Without viscosity term,(μ ), the heat transfer coefficient of the steam in the shell side can be
w
given thus;
K𝑓 0.59
hs = × 𝑗ℎ × 𝑅𝑒 × 𝑃𝑟 0.33 = × 9.0 × 10−3 × 4104 × 5.70.33
𝑑𝑒 14.4 × 10−3
= 2687W/𝑚2 °𝐶
Overall coefficient
Thermal conductivity of cupro-nickel alloys = 50W/moC

61 | P a g e
Taking the fouling coefficients from table 12.2,Vol 6.page 640, Steam = 10000W/m2°C,
Cellulose = 5700 W/m2°C. We can have that the overall coefficient is
𝑑
1 1 1 𝑑𝑜 ln( 𝑜 ) 𝑑 1 𝑑𝑜 1
𝑑𝑖 𝑜
= + + + × + ×
𝑈𝑂 ℎ𝑜 ℎ𝑜 𝑑 2𝑘𝑤 𝑑𝑖 ℎ𝑖 𝑑 𝑑𝑖 ℎ𝑖
20
1 1 1 20 × 10−3 ln 16 20 1 20 1
= + + + × + ×
Uo 2687 10000 2 × 50 16 5700 16 1972.6
Uo = 874W/𝑚2 °𝐶
This is well above the assumed value of Uo = 800
Pressure drop
Tube side
From figure 12.24, for Re = 45533.6
jf = 3.5 × 10−3
Neglecting the viscosity correction term
811 × 0.42
∆Pt = 8[8 × 3.5 × 10−3 (302) + 1.25] = 5868.6Pa = 5.7kPa
2
This value is too small; hence increase the number of passes
Pressure drop
Shell side
594
Linear velocity = = 0.69
864
from figure 12.30, Re = 446259, jf = 1.8 × 10−2

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507 4.83 × 103 864 × 0.692

∆Ps = [8 × 1.8 × 10−2 ( )( )] = 49867Pa = 50kPa
14.4 101 2
This could be increased by reducing the pitch 7 times thus increasing the shell side
velocity(7)2 , therefore;
∆Ps = 50kPa × 49 = 2450kPa
This close to the pressure drop required to have the low pressure steam
5.4. Reactor Design

The fermenter is a reactor in which the glucose substrate is being fermented into ethanol by
the action of saccharomyces cerevisae
Design condition of the reactor
The important requirements for sizing the reactor is the geometrical parameters which can be
obtained from the volume of the reactor. This can be obtained by the relationship
𝑉 = 𝑡𝑅 𝑄
Where ; V = Total Volume of Reactor (Litres)
tR = Resident Time (days)
Q = Volumetric Flow Rate (Litres/day)
The reaction (resident) time for the fermentation reaction is a minimum of 2 days.
The flow rate to the reactor as seen from the material balance carried out = 145,113kg/day
In terms of volumetric flow rate as supplied by unisim design =143,000litres/day
Thus using the above relation we have that
143,000𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 𝑥 2 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 = 286,000 𝐿𝑖𝑡𝑟𝑒𝑠
𝑑𝑎𝑦

63 | P a g e
Converting this to am more suitable unit for calculation,we have that 1,144,000 Litres is
equivalent to 286m3 .
By design specifications, design temperature and pressure of a reactor should be 10% excess
of the operating temperature and pressure. Since the operating condition of the reactor is 270c
and 1 atm. We have that
Design temperature = 1.1 × 27 = 29.7C
Design pressure = 1.1 × 1= 1.1 atm
The reactor is generally 90% full and the height is three times the diameter (Bassel, 1974)
therefore
286
𝐴𝑐𝑡𝑢𝑎𝑙 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 = = 317𝑚3
0.9
Assuming the reactor is cylindrical shape with hemispherical ends.
2×2𝜋×𝑟 2 𝜋𝐷 2 𝐿
Total volume of the reactor tank = ×
3 4
When r = radius of the cylinder and hemisphere
L =length of the cylinder
H =height of the reactor
H = L +2V = L + D
L=H–D
4𝜋𝑟 2 𝜋𝐷 2 (𝐻−𝐷)
Hence, volume of reactor (v) becomes V = ×
3 4
D
R=2
πD2 πD2 (H−D)

V= ×
6 4
H = 3D
πD2 πD2 (2D)

V= ×
6 4
2πD3
V= 3

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2πD3 3 𝑥 317
317𝑚3 = therefore we have that 𝐷 = 3√ = 5𝑚
3 2𝜋
𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 5𝑚
𝐻𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 (𝐻𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑠 𝐼𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑣𝑒) = 3 × 5 = 15𝑚
𝐿𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 = 𝐻 – 𝐷 = 15 − 5 = 10𝑚
5.5. Storage Tanks Design

Given the volumetric flowrate of the process fluid or material to be stored,it can be used to
calculate the holding capacity of the tank where it could be stored. Sinnce the plant will be
operating on a day basis we can specify if in days somas to obtain the dimensions of the tank
for the storage of these materials. The specifications for the tanks are calculated below
Water Storage Tank
Volumetric flowrate = 14.78m3 /𝑑𝑎𝑦
Assuming the length of storage tank is 3 times the diameter and 95% of the volume is
filled with the liquid
14.78m3
since volumetric flow rate of of liquid is to be stored;
day
14.48
the volume of tank = = 16m3
0.95
4 × 16
The diameter of the tank = √ = 2.67m
3 × 0.95π
Hence, the length of the tank = 3D = 3 × 2.67 = 8.01m
Sodium Hydroxide Storage Tank
117.5m3
Volumetric flowrate =
day

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117.5m3
day
117.5
0.95
4 × 123
3 × 0.95π
Sulphuric Acid Storage Tank
78.12m3
Volumetric flow =
day
78.12m3
day
78.12
0.95
4 × 82
The diameter of the tank = √ = 6m
3 × 0.95π
Hence, the length of the tank = 3D = 3 × 0.58 = 18m
Yeast Storage Tank
0.296m3
Volumetric flow =
day

66 | P a g e
0.296m3
day
0.296
the volume of tank = = 0.312m3
0.95
4 × 0.312
3 × 0.95π
Ethanol Storage Tank
3.278m3
Volumetric flow =
day
3.278m3
day
3.278
the volume of tank = = 3.45m3
0.95
4 × 3.45
3 × 0.95π
5.6. Design of Distillation Column

In design of distillation column we first calculate the number of stages required for desired
separation of component of feed mixture
Plotting the equilibrium data curve using the following x-y data,

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Table 5.1 Equilibrium Data for Ethanol-Water System

X 0.00 0.019 0.0721 0.1238 0.1661 0.3273 0.5198 0.6763 0.7472 0.8943 1
Y 0.00 0.17 0.3891 0.4704 0.5089 0.5826 0.6599 0.7385 0.7815 0.8943 1
From the table, and the resulting McCabe Theile Graph, the no of plates is 8 and the position
of feed is at the 5th stage. Assuming two third of feed is vapour & one third liquid
1
Minimum Reflux Ratio (𝑅𝑚 ); Here q = 3 = 0.33
−𝑞
Slope of feed line =1−𝑞 = −0.5
tan 𝜃 = −0.5
𝜃 = −26.56
𝑥𝑑
∅=
1+𝑅
𝑥𝑑 = 0.99
From the Mc-Cabe Thiele Diagram, ∅ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑥 = 0.60
0.99−0.60
𝑅𝑚𝑖𝑛 = = 0.40
0.99
𝑅 = 3 𝑥 0.40 = 1.2
Operating reflux ratio = 1.2
Number of theoretical plates including Reboiler = 9 (from graph).
Plates in column = 8 ; Assuming that the overall efficiency of trays = 60%
Theoritcal plates
Therefore the actual number of plate = overall efficiency

68 | P a g e
8
Actual number of plate = 0.6 = 13 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑦𝑠
Plates Design
From material balance, take minimum feed rate as 70%
Number of stages = 13
Top composition = 99%
we have that the Bottom Composition of the column should be essentially water
Given that the Reflux ratio = 1.2
3326.9 1
Lo = RD = 1.2 × ( × ) = 1.2 × 138.62𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑟 = 166.344𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑟
1 day 24 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠
Lo = 166.344kg/hr
V = D(1 + R)
V = 138.62(1 + 1.2) = 304.964kg/hr
Lm = Lo + F = 166.344 + 3396.24 = 3562.59kg/hr
3562.59kg 78182.1 1
Vm = Lm − B = −( × ) = 3562.59 − 3257.59 = 305𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑟
hr 1 day 24 hours
Physical Properties
Estimate bottom pressure, assume column efficiency of 60% and take reboiler as equivalent
to one stage.
Number of real stages = 13
Assume 100mm water, pressure drop per plate.
Column pressure drop = 998 × 9.81 × 100 × 10−3 × 13 = 12727.5 Pa
Top pressure, assuming 1atm = 101.4 × 103 𝑃𝑎
Estimated bottom pressure = 101.4 × 103 + 12727.5 Pa = 114127.5 Pa
From steam tables, base temperature of water at 114.2 kPa is 104oC
0.59kg
ρV =
m3

69 | P a g e
958kg
ρL =
m3
Top Composition 99% ethanol, top temperature = 78oC
1.64kg
ρV =
m3
736kg
ρL =
m3
Column Diameter:
304.964 0.59
Liquid-Vapour Flow Factor, FLV Bottom = √ = 0.024
305 958
1.78 1.64
Liquid-Vapour Flow Factor, FLV Top = √ = 0.028
305 736
Taking plate spacing as 0.5m
From Coulson & Richardson’s Chemical Engineering. Vol. 6, Chemical Engineering Design,
figure 11.27
bottom K1 = 9 × 10−2
top K1 = 9 × 10−2
Correction for surface tensions
58.238 0.2
bottom K1 = ( ) × 9.0 × 10−2 = 0.1114
20
17.41 0.2
top K1 = ( ) × 9.0 × 10−2 = 0.088
20
946 − 0.65 4.25m

Flooding Velocity, bottom uf = 0.1114√ =
0.65 s
735.7 − 1.636 1.86m

Flooding Velocity, top uf = 0.088√ =
1.636 s
Designing for 85% flooding at maximum flow rate:

70 | P a g e
3.61m
bottom uV = 4.25 × 0.85 =
s
1.58m
top uV = 1.86 × 0.85 =
s
Maximum volumetric flow rate:
305kg 0.018kg
×
bottom = hr kmol = 2.35𝑚3 /𝑠
0.65kg
( )
m3
304.96kg 0.046kg
×
top = hr kmol = 0.932𝑚3
1.636kg
m3
Net area required:
2.35
bottom = = 0.65m2
3.61
0.932
top = = 0.58m2
1.58
As first trial, downcomer area will be taken as 12% of total column cross sectional area
0.65
base = = 0.73m2
0.88
0.58
top = = 0.70m2
0.88
Column diameter:
0.73 × 4
base = √ = 0.96m
π
0.70 × 4
top = √ = 0.94m
π
The top has the highest diameter and hence is chosen as Column Diameter (Dc = 0.96m,
290mm), reducing the perforated area for the plates below the feed.

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Nearest standard pipe size (BS 1600): outside diameter =
1067mm, standard wall thickness = 9.53mm, inside diameter = 1057mm
Liquid flow pattern
96.8 × 18
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑣𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝑙𝑖𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑑 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒 = = 4.84 × 10−4
3600 × 1000
A single pass plate can be used.
Provisional plate design
Column diameter, DC = 1057m
3.142 × 1.0572
Column area, AC = 0.89m2
4
Downcomer area, Ad = 0.12 × 0.89 = 0.19m2 , at 12%
Net area, An = AC − Ad = 0.89 − 0.19 = 0.70m2
Active area, Aa = AC − 2Ad = 0.89 − 2(0.19) = 0.51m3
10
Hole area Ah take 10% Aa as first trial = × 0.51 = 0.051m2
100
Ad L
Weir length (from figure 11.33) at = 13.48, Dw = 0.79
AC c
Lw = 0.79 × 1.057 = 0.83m
Take weir height = 50mm
Hole diameter = 5mm
Plate thickness = 5mm
Check weeping
96.5 × 18 0.48kg
Maximum liquid rate = =
3600 s
0.34kg
Minimum liquid rate at 70 percent turn down = 0.78 × 0.48 =
s

72 | P a g e
2
0.48 3
Maximum how = 750 ( ) = 20mm liquid
947 × 0.11
2
0.34 3
Maximum how = 750 ( ) = 16mm liquid
947 × 0.11
At minimum rate, hW + hOW = 50 + 16 = 66mm liquid
From figure 11.32, K 2 = 30.5
30.5 − 0.90(25.4 − 5) 13.75m

uh (min) = 1 =
(0.78) ⁄2 s
minimum vapor rate 0.7 × 0.61 19.5m

Actual minimum vapor velocity = = =
0.0219 0.0219 s
So the minimum operating rate will be well above the weep point
Plate pressure drop
Maximum vapor through holes
0.61 27.85m
uh = =
0.0219 s
plate thickness⁄ An
From figure 11.36, for hole diameter = 1 and Ap = 0.1
CO = 0.84
27.85 2 0.78
hd = 51 ( ) = 46mm liquid
0.84 947
Residual head
12.5 × 103
hr = = 13.1mm liquid
947
Total pressure drop = 46 + (50 + 16) + 13.1 = 125mm liquid
Since 100mm liquid was assumed as the pressure drop, a value of 125mm is considerably
acceptable.

73 | P a g e
Downcomer liquid backup
Downcomer pressure loss
Take hap = hw − 10 = 40mm
Area under apron, Aap = 0.82 × 40 × 10−3 = 0.033m2
As this is less than Ad = 0.11m2

2
0.48
hdc = 166 ( ) = 0.04mm
947 × 0.033
Backup in downcomer
hb = (50 + 16) + 125 + 0.04 = 191mm
1
since 191 < ( (plate spacing + weir height)),
2
So the plate spacing is very acceptable
0.11 × 191 × 947

tr = = 41s
0.48
≫ 3s, not satisfactory
Check entrainment
0.61 0.73m
uv = =
0.34 s
FLV = 0.14, from figure 11.31, φ = 0.0033 well below 0.1
As the percent flooding is well below 85%, The column diameter could be increased but it
will lead to greater pressure drop.
Trial layout
Using catridge-type construction, allowing a 50mm unperforated strip around the plate edge
and 50mm wide calming zones
Perforated area
Lw
From figure 11.34, at low = 0.75, θC = 97o
DC

74 | P a g e
Angle substended by the edge of the plate = 180 − 97 = 83o
83
Mean length unperforated edge strips = (1.098 − 50 × 10−3 )π × = 1.52m
180
Area of unperforated edge strips = 50 × 10−3 × 1.52 = 0.076m2
Mean length of calming zones approximately
= weir length + width of unperforated strip = 0.82 + 50 × 10−3 = 0.87
Area of calming zones = 2(0.87 × 50 × 10−3 ) = 0.087m2
Total area of perforations, AP = 0.73 − 0.076 − 0.087 = 0.339m2
Ah 0.051
= = 0.150
AP 0.339
lp
From figure 11.35, = 2.7, satisfactory
dh
Area of one hole = 1.964 × 10−5
0.051
Number of holes = = 2596
1.964 × 10−5
The table below shows the summary of major equipment used in the plant, their
specifications as well as other information about each of them
Table 5.2 Summary of Equipment Design and Specifications

EQUIPMENT FUNCTION MATERIAL OF OPERATING
CONSTRUCTION/ CONDITIONS/S
TYPE PECIFICATION
S
Milling machine Used for reducing fibre Mild steel; hammer 0.833KW; 180rpm
to fine particles type 1atm – 2atm, 30-
50 ºC
Mixer 1 Used to obtain a fibre Mild steel; blade type 240rpm 1atm –
slurry by mixing the dry impeller 2atm, 30-50 ºC
fibre with water
Slurry charge pump Used to increase Centrifugal 30KW 1atm –
pressure suitable to 2atm, 30-50 ºC,
transfer the slurry
throughout the process
Heater 1 Used to heat up the Carbon steel shell 1.5 atm , 100 - 130

75 | P a g e
slurry to pretreatment with 932mm diameter ºC; heat transfer

temperature ,992 cupronickel area of 246m2 and
tubes, coefficient of
874w/m2°C
Pretreater Used to carry out stainless steel 1 atm, 121 ºC
pretreatment reaction
removing lignin
components from the
fibre
Washer Use to remove lignin Mild steel 1 atm, 40 - 60 ºC
and by products of
pretreatment reaction
and to balance ph of
treated fibre
Mixer 2 Used to introduce fresh Mild steel, turbine 1 atm, 30 -50 ºC,
water to the fibre powered, 180rpm
Heater 2 Used to raise Carbon steel shell 1atm , 100 - 130
temperature of the fibre 800mm diameter,250 ºC
slurry to the reaction cupronickel
temperature for
tubes,area 322m2
hydrolysis
Hydrolyzer Used to convert the Stainless steel 1 atm, 121 ºC
cellulose in the fibre to
fermentable sugars
Hydrolasate/Fermentat Used to reduce the carbon steel shell, 1 atm, 80 - 130 ºC
e Heat exchanger temperature of the 500 cupronickel
product of hydrolysis to tubes, HT Area of
fermentation
340m2
temperature by using it
to heat up the product
from fermenter going to
the distillation column
Fermentor Used to convert stainless steel 1 atm, 30 -50 ºC
fermentable sugars to
ethanol and carbon iv
oxide by action of yeast
Filter Used to separate the Mild steel 1 atm, 30 – 50 ºC
liquid part of the ethanol
broth from the fibre
residue
Column charge pump Used to increase the Centrifugal 1-3 atm
pressure of the
distillation column feed
Distillation column Used to separate the Carbon steel, 13 sieve 1 – 2 atm, 70 - 100
ethanol-water mixture type trays, Ellipsoidal ºC
into ethanol and water head.
Column condenser Used to condense the Carbon steel 1-2 atm, 30-80 ºC
overhead vapours of the
column
Column reboiler Used to reheat the Carbon steel 1-2 atm, 100-130
column bottoms to ºC
remove lighter ends
Column receiver Used to store overhead Carbon steel 1 atm, 30-50 ºC ºC

76 | P a g e
product (ethanol)
temporarily and for
reflux to maintain
column top temperature

77 | P a g e
CHAPTER SIX
MECHANICAL DESIGN
6.1. Reactor
The material for the construction of this reactor will be stainless steel
Cylindrical shell
Di = 5𝑚
PDi
e=
2f − P
design pressure taken as 10% above operating pressure
0.111N
P = 1.013bar(1.1) = 1.11bar =
mm2
Design temperature = 30o C
155N
typical design stress(f) =
mm2
0.111 × 5 × 103
Cylindrical section = e = = 1.8mm
2 × 155 − 0.111
adding corrosion allowance = 1.8 + 2 = 3.8mm
The dome head
try ellipsoidal
0.111 × 5 × 103
e= = 1.8mm
2 × 155 − 0.2(0.111)
hence, the ellipsoidal head is most economical since the value is the same

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Di = 1057mm
Cylindrical shell
PDi
e=
2f − P
0.154N
= 1.4bar(1.1) = 1.54bar =
mm2
145N
from table 6.2, typical design stress =
mm2
0.154 × 1.057 × 103

2 × 145 − 0.154
The dome head
try ellipsoidal
0.154 × 1.057 × 103

e= = 3.6mm
2 × 145 − 0.2(0.154)
hence, the ellipsoidal head is most economical

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6.3.Storage Tanks
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫
D = 2.67m
Cylindrical shell
PDi
e=
2f − P
0.111N
= 1.013bar(1.1) = 1.11bar =
mm2
135N
mm2
0.111 × 2.67 × 103

2 × 135 − 0.111
The dome head
try ellipsoidal
0.111 × 9 × 103
e= = 3.7mm
2 × 135 − 0.2(0.111)
𝐒𝐨𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐇𝐲𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐝𝐞
D = 7.4m

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Cylindrical shell
PDi
e=
2f − P
0.111N
= 1.013bar(1.1) = 1.11bar =
mm2
135N
mm2
0.111 × 7.4 × 103

2 × 135 − 0.111
The dome head
try ellipsoidal
0.111 × 9 × 103
e= = 3.7mm
2 × 135 − 0.2(0.111)
𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐜𝐢d
D = 6m
Cylindrical shell
PDi
e=
2f − P

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0.446N
= 4.052bar(1.1) = 4.46bar =
mm2
135N
mm2
0.446 × 6 × 103
2 × 135 − 0.446
The dome head
try ellipsoidal
0.446 × 6 × 103
e= = 9.9mm
2 × 135 − 0.2(0.446)
𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭
D = 0.37m
Cylindrical shell
PDi
e=
2f − P
0.154N
= 1.4bar(1.1) = 1.54bar =
mm2

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130N
mm2
0.154 × 0.37 × 103

Cylindrical section = e = = 5mm
2 × 130 − 0.154
adding corrosion allowance = 5 + 2 = 7mm
The dome head
try ellipsoidal
0.154 × 8.5 × 103

e= = 5mm
2 × 130 − 0.2(0.154)
adding corrosion allowance = 5 + 2 = 7mm
𝐄𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐧𝐤
D = 1.24m
Cylindrical shell
PDi
e=
2f − P
0.187N
= 1.7bar(1.1) = 1.87bar =
mm2
130N
mm2

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0.187 × 1.24 × 103

2 × 135 − 0.187
The dome head
try ellipsoidal
0.187 × 1.24 × 103

e= = 0.8mm
2 × 135 − 0.2(0.187)
Table 6.1 Summary of Equipment Mechanical Design Parameters

EQUIPMENT MATERIAL OF DESIGN PARAMETERS
CONSTRUCTION
Reactor Stainless steel 5m diameter,15 metres
height
Distillation Column Carbon steel 1.057m diameter.3 m
height
Water Storage Tank Carbon steel 2.67m diameter,8.01m
height
Sodium Hydroxide Storage Tank Carbon steel 7.4m diameter,22m
height
Acid Storage Tank Stainless steel 6m diameter,18m height
Yeast Storage Tank Carbon steel 0.37m diameter,1.12m
height
Ethanol Product Tank stainless steel 1.24m diameter,3.73m
height

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CHAPTER SEVEN
PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

Process control as an aspect of chemical engineering deals with the design and synthesis of
controllers tasked with the objective aims of achieving specific production rate, safety and
product specification. The design of instrumentation for equipment, vessels, piping and
fittings involves the science and control of systems, which measures and/or regulate physical
quantity/process variables such as flow, temperature, level or pressure. Instruments include
many varied contrivances that can be as simple as valves and transmitters, and as complex as
analyzers.
As shown in the figure below, it is seen that the equipment in the plant are fitted with basic
control equipment which can aid in controlling the equipment process variables in order to
maintain product quality, specification, safety of the process as well as to observe
environmental constrains. The various equipment are fitted with temperature, level, flow, and
pressure indicators as well as controllers which function systematically to provide stability to
the process plant operating condition to obtain the desired products.
The equipment which will be considered in installing and applying control schemes and
devices include the pretreater, hydrolyzer and fermenter, distillation columns, and heat
exchangers as well as all other equipment which will support the entire safe and optimal
operation of the plant. The plant will have process variables such as temperatures, Pressure
flow rate which will need to be measured and controlled. Using the basic principles and
objectives of process control, the following issues will be considered in operation of the
ethanol plant
1. Overall Safety of the process: the primary requirement and importance of process
control and instrumentation in the Ethanol production process is its safe operation for
the wellbeing of the people in the plant and its continued contribution to the economic

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development of the company and the society at large. To this end the operating
pressure, temperatures, flowrates of streams and utilities such as cooling water and
steam, concentration of the chemicals used for the production are made to be kept
within allowable limit so as to keep the process variables within known safe
operating limits and also to detect dangerous situations as they develop and to provide
alarms and automatic shutdown thus averting any disastrous or hazardous occurence.
2. Product specification: Another major importance of the application of the
instrumentation and control system to the ethanol process plant is to ensure that the
Ethanol production plant operates within the desired amount and quantity and
achieves the design product output as well as maintain the product composition within
the specified quality standards. The control system ensures that the production target
of 3000 Litres/day of Ethanol is obtained as well as the impurity limit of other by
products does not exceed allowable limits
3. Environmental Regulations: The Federal Ministry of Environment have kept limits for
temperature, concentration of chemicals and the rate of disposal of effluent into the
environment, to this end the control system keeps the process in check so that
production is not made above the parameters that are been set.
4. Operational and Economic Constraints: The plant instrumentation and control system
in this case is put in place to keep the equipment in the plant within the safe
operational constraints and to ensure that the plant operates optimally at the lowest
production cost by monitoring and ensure that raw materials and utilities are well
managed and utilized.

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Figure 7.1 Process Flow and Instrumentation/Control Diagram of Plant

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A summary of the plant instrumentation and control system elements as well as their various
functions on the equipment and process is given in the table below;
Table 7.1. Summary of Plant Instrumentations and Controls

INSTRUMENT/CONTROL EQUIPMENT FUNCTIONS
ELEMENT FOUND
Temperature indicator (TI) Pretreater, hydrolyzer, Measures and records the
fermenter temperature of the process
Distillation column going on in the equipment on
which it is mounted on and
transfers same to the appropriate
controller for action to be taken
Temperature Controller Pretreater, hydrolyzer, It receives information and
(TC) fermenter signal from the temperature
Distillation column indicator and regulates the
temperature of the process by
controlling the valve supplying
cooling water or heating steam
to a process which in turn
increases of decreases the
temperature of a process
Pressure Indicator(PI) Pretreater, hydrolyzer, It measures and record the
fermenter pressure of the vessel in which a
Distillation column particular process is being
carried out and send its
information to its controller
Pressure Controller(PC) Pretreater, hydrolyzer, It receives information on the
fermenter pressure of an equipment and
Distillation column controls the pressure of the
process by either opening a vent
to release gas built up inside the
vessels (in the case of the
fermenter where co2 gas is
produced ) or by regulating the
supply of cooling water to the
condenser of the distillation
column to condense ethanol
vapours to reduce column
pressure at the top
Composition analyzer(CA) Fermenter This instrument is able to
analyze the content of the
fermenter intermittently to

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obtain the amount of ethanol

being produced by the
fermentation reaction so as to
know when the reaction is
complete. The instrument
supplies signal to a starter
which automatically
commissions the distillation
column charge pump to transfer
the product of fermentation to
the distillation column for
separation
Flow controller(FC) fermenter This instrument uses
information supplied by the
composition analyzer to monitor
and control the feed rate of
fermenter product going into the
distillation column so as to
obtain high product (ethanol
purity)
Level Indicator (LI) Pretreater, Hydrolyzer, This measures the level of the
Fermenter, Mixers, substances or process fluid in
Distillation Column, the equipment and sends the
Column overhead information to the controller
receiver, storage tanks
Level controller (LC) Pretreater, Hydrolyzer, This controls the level of
Fermenter, Mixers, process fluids or substances in
Distillation Column, the various vessels so as to keep
Column overhead them at the specified content
receiver, storage tanks volume to avoid overflow of
low level.it achieves this by
actuating a flow valve to allow
the flow of the substances into
or out of the vessels.
Summarily, the overall efficiency of the process plant will be made easier by the use of a
centralized monitoring and control system known as the distributed control system (DCS)
which will be mounted in the control room the plant, all the signals and process variables
such as flowrates, temperature, pressure, and level etc. from the instruments on each

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equipment will be displayed on this system so that operators and controllers can comfortably
monitor the plants process since monitoring and documentation is necessary for process
stability, in order to be able to recognize deviations from standard values and to make
possible early intervention and corresponding corrective measures. The DCS will also be
fitted with remote switches for various equipment as well as alarms to alert operators in cases
of deviation from allowable process conditions.

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CHAPTER EIGHT
COST ESTIMATION AND ECONOMIC EVALUATION

8.1. Purchase cost of Equipment
Storage tanks (floating roof type):
To obtain the cost of the various storage tanks we use the relationship
Ce = CS 𝑛 − − − − − − − − − ( 𝐹𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑉𝑜𝑙. 6, 𝑃𝑔 260)
𝑤ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝐶𝑒 = 𝑝𝑢𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑠𝑒𝑑 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑝𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡,
𝑆 = 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑟, 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑔𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 6.2,
𝐶 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑇𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 6.2,
𝑛 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡𝑦𝑝𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑝𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡.
Thus supplying the values for these tanks we have
Process water Storage Tank = 4350(16)0.55 = $19987
Sodium Hydroxide Storage Tank = 4350(123)0.55 = $61367
Sulphuric Acid Storage Tank = 4350(82)0.55 = $49100
Yeast Storage Tank = 4350(0.312)0.55 = $2292
Ethanol Storage Tank = 4350(3.45)0.55 = $8596
Using the Relation for other equipment, we have the costs thus
Milling Machine = 3400(12)0.35 = $8113
Mixer = 3000(27)0.5 = $15588 × 2 = $31176
Filter = 8800(11)0.6 = $37095 × 2 = $74190
Distillation column:
Bare vessel cost = $35000, pressure factor = 1, material factor = 2
Vessel cost = $25000 × 1 × 2 = $50000

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Cost of plate = 200 × 1.7 = $340
Total cost of plates = 13 × 340 = $4420
Total cost of column = 50000 + 4420 = $54420
Reboiler:
Bare cost = $34000, pressure factor = 1, material factor = 0.85
Vessel cost = 34000 × 1 × 0.85 = $28900
Condenser:
Bare cost = $22000, pressure factor = 1, material factor = 1
Vessel cost = 22000 × 1 × 2 = $22000
Heater 1:
Vessel cost = 75000 × 1 × 1 = $75000
Heater 2:
Vessel cost = 32000 × 1 × 1 = $32000
Cooler:
Vessel cost = 22000 × 1 × 2 = $22000
Reactor:
15000(27)0.4 = $56057 × 3 = $168173
Total cost of equipment purchased:

EQUIPMENT COST ($)
Heater 1 75000
Heater 2 32000
Cooler 22000

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Reactors 168173
Milling Machine 8113
Mixers 31176
Filters 74190
Distillation column 54420
Condenser 22000
Reboiler 28900
STORAGE TANKS:
Process water 19987
Sodium Hydroxide 61367
Sulphuric Acid 49100
Yeast 2292
Ethanol 8596
Total $657314
Estimation of fixed capital cost:
Purchase cost of equipment = $657314
f1 Equipment erection 0.40
f2 Piping 0.70
f3 Instrumentation 0.20
f4 Electrical 0.10
f5 Buildings 0.80
f6 Utilities Provided in OC
f7 Storage Provided in PCE
f8 Site development 0.20
f9 Ancilliary building 0.50

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Therefore , Total physical plant cost(PPC)
= $657314(1 + 0.4 + 0.7 + 0.2 + 0.1 + 0.8 + 0.2 + 0.5) = $2563525
f10 Design and Engineering 0.30
f11 Contractor ′ s fee 0.10
f12 Contingencies 0.10
Fixed capital cost = $2563525(1 + 0.3 + 0.1 + 0.1) = $3588935
Working capital allowed is 5% of fixed capital = 3588935 × 0.05 = $179,447
𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐼𝑛𝑣𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑅𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 = $3588935 + $179447 = $3,768,382
8.2. Variable Cost

From Process calculation in chapter 3 we have that annual operating costs can be obtained
from total up time which is = 8585hours per year
From Material and Energy Balances we have that the assumed requirements for utilities and
materials are
1300𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐻𝑃 𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚
800𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐿𝑃 𝑆𝑡𝑒𝑎𝑚
30000𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟
5000𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑜𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚 𝐻𝑦𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑑𝑒
3500𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑆𝑢𝑙𝑝ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑐 𝐴𝑐𝑖𝑑
15𝑘𝑔/ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑡
Thus the costs of the utilities are
11388000kg $8.65
High Pressure Steam = × = $98506
year 1000kg
262800000kg $0.01
Cooling water = × = $2628
year 1000kg

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7008000kg $5.00
Low pressure steam = × = $35040
year 1000kg
Other costs include
Raw material cost = $2977
Process water = $127
Sodium Hydroxide = 2.60(5000) = $13000
Sulphuric Acid = 65(3500) = $227500
Yeast = 5(15) = $75
Miscellaneous = 0.1 (179447) = $17945
Total Variable Cost = $𝟑𝟗𝟕𝟕𝟖𝟗
8.3. Fixed Cost

Maintenance cost = 0.5(3588935) = $179447
Operating labour = Assummed as $200000
Laboratory = 0.2(20000) = $40000
Supervision = 0.2(20000) = $40000
Plant overhead = 0.5(20000) = $100000
Capital charges = 0.1(3588935) = $358894
Insurance = 0.01(3588935) = $35889
Local taxes = 0.02(3588935) = $71779
Royalties = 0.01(3588935) = $35889
Total Fixed Cost = $1061898
Sales expense = 0.2(379853 + 1061898) = 288350
Total = $1350248
Annual production cost = Variables cost + Fixed Cost
= 𝟑𝟗𝟕𝟕𝟖𝟗 + 𝟏𝟑𝟓𝟎𝟐𝟒𝟖 = $𝟏𝟕𝟒𝟖𝟎𝟑𝟕

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Annual Operating cost 1748037

Also, Cost of Production = = = 𝟏. 𝟔$/𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐫𝐞
Annual Production Rate 3000 × 365
Total cost of plant = = 657314 + 1748037 = $𝟐, 𝟒𝟎𝟓, 𝟑𝟓𝟏
Converting this to Naira Equivalent at a current rate of $1 = ₦360, we have the total cost of
plant as =2405351 × 360 = ₦𝟖𝟔𝟓, 𝟗𝟐𝟔, 𝟑𝟔𝟎
Cost of Ethanol == $1750000
Total cost of material sold = $1850000
2405351
Hence, payback time = = 1year, 3 months
1850000
8.4. Economic Analysis

When evaluating alternative cases, the objective function to be used is the Equivalent Annual
Operating Cost (EAOC), defined as:
EAOC = - (product value - feed cost – utility costs – waste treatment cost - capital cost annuity)
Where, 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 0.2(𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡)
= 0.2(3588935) = $717787
Hence EAOC = −(1850000 − 2977 − 397789 − 17945 − 717787)
= − $1,359,502
A negative EAOC means there is a profit. It is desirable to minimize the EAOC; i.e., a large
negative EAOC is very desirable.

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CHAPTER NINE
PLANT LAYOUT, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS

9.1. Plant Location and Layout
Plant location and layout involves developing physical equipment for a processing facility.
The development must effect a balance of equipment spacing and integration of specific
systems related to facility as a whole. First of all ,the siting of a plant for the production of
bioethanol from coconut fibre will consider factors such as; Availability of raw material
source, availability of adequate workforce, accessibility, sources of adequate energy, business
climate, community relations as well as environmental and weather or climate conditions
which would favour smooth running of the process plant at its desired capacity.
The layout of the plant is to be made in such a way that there should be a free and unhindered
flow of vehicles, as well as operators around the area. The control room will be sited close to
the main process area to allow for easy access and relation between the process plant and the
control room and also to aid quick response to emergency situations.
The plant layout is well organized in order to; ensure safety, control access of unauthorized
personnel, facilitate emergency services and also to provide acceptable working condition for
operators. Thus the process unit will be situated in such a way that there is always easy acess
to all of them at every point in time. Furthermore a consideration for subsequent expansion
has been done to allow for future installation of other equipment or increase in the plant
production capacity.
Basically the entire layout of the plant will feature;
1. Main process plant area which will be subdivided into sections for each of the major
operations of the ethanol production process. This area will also have a section for
utilities and other auxiliary plant requirements such as plant and instrument air
production, steam generation, as well as cooling water tower

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2. Tank farm which will be the area where all the storage tanks for process chemicals,
water as well as products will be situated.
3. Process plant control room where the distributed control systems as well as other plant
monitoring and control systems will be mounted for remote operation of the plant
4. Storage facilities, warehouses and maintenance facilities.
5. Fire station
6. Quality control and Analysis Laboratories
7. Other auxiliary buildings such as offices, medical centre, canteen, dressing rooms,
restrooms/bathrooms.
9.2. Safety Considerations
The health and safety of operators, and employees of the ethanol production plant will be
highly considered and as such all protocols concerning rules of safety must be strictly
adhered to in the course of operating plant equipment. This extends to identifying and
moving existing and potential work hazards, providing and maintaining safety and health
requirements on speed limit, protective clothing, housekeeping, vehicles’ spark arrestors, etc.
The Safety in process Plant design aims to prevent injuries and disease by considering
hazards as early as possible in the planning and design process which includes design of
plant, structures, substance as well as the work itself. Making sure that work, work processes
and system are designed to remove the risk to workers is an important part of a work health
and safety management system. In order to manage work health, safety as well as the
environmental safety and sustainability risks during the operation of the plant, factors such
as; The physical design of a product, Work layout to reduce the possibility of hazards
occurring in the workplace, Applying risk management principles to the design process to
eliminate hazards that may occur during operation. Designing work to minimize the risks to
workers by creating healthy and safe work requires jobs and tasks be designed to

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accommodate the abilities of diversities and vulnerabilities of workers, including those
returning to work following injuries or illness.
Mustering points are to be well marked out and would be accessed easily in cases of
emergency in the plant. Furthermore, provision for firefighting and health facilities would be
made in order to contain fire out breaks and to administer for first aid and minor injury
treatments sustained during course of work in the process plant. Also, building fire alarms as
well as plant fire alarms will also be used to ensure that there is always a notification in cases
of emergency. The process area will have hydrants installed as well as sprinkler systems in
the building to combat fire outbreaks
Furthermore, Ethanol is a flammable and volatile liquid. It is stored and transported in steel
containers which are carefully sealed to avoid vapourization and is subject to the control of
the appropriate regulatory agencies. Adequate ventilation is necessary in handling and storage
areas.
Chemical gloves and safety glasses should be worn if contact is possible. Exposure of ethanol
to heat as ignition sources agents should be avoided due to its high volatility due to the fact
that suc exposure could lead to explosions.
9.3. Environmental Considerations
Safeguarding and protection of the environment will constitute an essential part of the ethanol
plants operations. As a modern plant, its configuration will envisaged containment of
environmental pollutants as well as air and effluent quality
The design of an ethanol production plant includes taking consideration of environmental
issues, as well as concerns for the well-being of all people that might be impacted by the
plant or its products. This concern for the stakeholders in the plant guides this design. One of
the design objectives is to show stewardship and therefore minimize the impact on the

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environment. The importance of this objective cannot be overstated. The environment
consists of the land, water, air, animals and people near the plant. Current knowledge of the
toxic effects of the process and production of the ethanol puts this compound in a category
quite separate from related compounds, such as benzene, and therefore, due to the fact that
ethanol is a moderately or slightly toxic compound, the processing requirements are not
nearly as stringent.
The quality of water and air around the ethanol plant will be assured in a number of ways by
proper treatment of water before discharge. The ethanol plants processes are also designed to
maximize water conservation and prevention of wastewater discharge into the surrounding
environment. All wastewater from the plant which comprises clean waste water, exchanger
waste water and condensate, sanitary waste water, process waste water and product waste
water are to be collected, treated and discharged in conformity with local and international
environmental standards. The resulting effluent will be environmentally friendly and safe for
aquatic life. For solid waste products, the plant will be also equipped with a solid waste
incinerator.
All storage tanks in the process plant tank farm will be are surrounded by impermeable dykes
with sufficient capacity to hold the contents of the tanks in the unlikely event of a products
spill. All these and many more will all be used to ensure that the ethanol plant operates in
conformity with intentional environmental standards and regulations to ensure a safe
environment.

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CHAPTER TEN
DESIGN SIMULATION

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CHAPTER ELEVEN
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

11.1 Conclusion
The design project report has been able to carefully and comprehensively, without reasonable
doubt, successfully outline a proposal for an ethanol production plant which can produce
3000Liters/day of ethanol at 99% purity using coconut fibre as the feedstock.
From this preliminary design being carried out, it is seen that the plant will have an overall
cost of about $2,405,351 which is equivalent to ₦865,926,360 and will have a payback time
of 1 year 3 months, all things being equal. Due to the fact that the ethanol market and the
desire for constant and reliable fuel sources are increasing on a daily basis and that from the
calculations carried out, ethanol production from coconut fibre is very much feasible and
lucrative to invest in.
A potential location for the plant is Ikot Abasi, Akwa Ibom State; the reason for the choice of
the location is due to the fact that a coconut oil factory is being sited and constructed around
that area and as well, there are a lot of coconut trees growing around the area so thus making
easier for the raw material to be readily available for production at a cheap cost. Furthermore,
the area is still a developing area and thus is relatively peaceful and safe for the smooth
operation of the plant.
Ethanol is an alternative and renewable energy source produced through biological
breakdown of organic matter into a combustible ethanol fuel. This Ethanol plant project can
bring many benefits to the national economy through generation of energy from renewable
sources at a far low cost, coupled with less emission into the atmosphere, employment and
training opportunities as well as a boost to the local economy. Ethanol is the new best grade
of fuel to replace natural gas, gasoline and other fossil fuel derivatives whose production are
projected to decline in coming decades. It is of strong hope many renewable projects like this

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are invested into to boost employment, revenue and in general, the GDP of country/region
involved.
11.2 Recommendations
The use of ethanol for energy production in a developing country like ours, can help to solve
the economic, social and environmental problems faced by most developing countries as a
result of the issues posed by fossil fuel, coal and natural gases, provided the right polices are
put in place, to support the development of these materials for usage.
This design has been able to carefully and explicitly develop a way by which this issue can be
solved, so it is recommended that it be taken seriously beyond the paper and implemented for
its aim to be actually achieved.
Furthermore, the use of ethanol for energy does not so much, like the fossil fuel emit large
amount of heat energy into the atmosphere, thus consequently the issue of global warming
can be tackled to a considerable extent. It is important to know that the need for the
development of this energy is very necessary so that our country and our planet can be saved
from this ravaging situation.
From this ethanol production plant design proposal, it is recommended for the consideration
and actualization of ethanol projects in Nigeria to support the energy reservoir of the country.
Thus, it is pertinent to suggest that the common source of energy we use, commonly known
as Premium Motor Spirit or Petrol should be replaced with fuel ethanol where possible or in
case where total replacement is not possible, blending of ethanol with gasoline should be
done, because bioethanol is highly beneficial to the world community at large. Furthermore,
the ethanol so obtained ethanol cannot only be utilized for energy generation but can serve as
an industrial raw material as solvents and propellants. Ethanol has a large and promising
potential in the energy and industrial raw material market, if it is developed, it can help give
us a hope for a sustainable, safer and toxic free atmosphere and environment.

103 | P a g e
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Towler, G and Sinnot, R. (2008), Chemical Engineering Design. Principles, Practice and
Economics of Plant and Process Design. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann publishers Linacre
House, Jordan Hill, Oxford.
Coulson, J. M., Richardson, J. F., Backhurst, J. R., Harker, J. H. (1999). Chemical

Engineering, Volume 1, Sixth edition. Fluid Flow, Heat Transfer and Mass Transfer.
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Fifth edition Particle Technology and Separation Processes. Elsevier Butterworth-
Heinemann publishers Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford
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edition. Chemical & Biochemical Reactors & Process Control. Elsevier Butterworth-
Heinemann publishers Linacre House, Jordan Hill, Oxford
Sinnott, R. K. (2005). Chemical Engineering, Volume 6, Fourth edition. Chemical

Engineering Design. Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann publishers Linacre House, Jordan Hill,
Oxford
Cameron, Gregory; Le, Linda; Levine, Julie; and Nagulapalli, Nathan, (2012) "Process
Design for the Production of Ethylene from Ethanol". Senior Design Reports (CBE). 39.
http://repository.upenn.edu/cbe_sdr/39.
Perry, R. H. and D. Green, eds., (1997) Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 7th edition,
McGraw-Hill, New York.
Schrilla, J. (2015). Design of an Ethanol Fermentation Plant. Thesis.
Robert, W., Mark R., John, S., Henry M., Adrian G., and Kelly, I. (1999). Lignocellulosic
Biomass to Ethanol Process Design and Economics Utilizing Co-Current Dilute Acid
Prehydrolysis and Enzymatic Hydrolysis Current and Futuristic Scenarios. Biotechnology
Center for Fuels and Chemicals in collaboration with Delta-T Corporation
D. Humbird, R. Davis, L. Tao, C. Kinchin, D. Hsu, and A. Aden P. Schoen, J. Lukas, B.

Olthof, M. Worley, D. Sexton, and D. Dudgeon (2011). Process Design and Economics for
Biochemical Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass to Ethanol Dilute-Acid Pretreatment
and Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Corn Stover . National Renewable Energy Laboratory Golden,
Colorado and Harris Group Inc.
Ding, T. Y. (2014) Production of Bioethanol By Using Pretreated Coconut Husk As Carbon

Source. Master of Science Thesis. Abdul Rahman Technical University.

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Farrell A.E, Plevin R.J., Turner B.T., Jones A.D., O’Hare, M., Kammen D.M. (2006).
Ethanol can contribute to energy and environmental goals. Science, 311:506–508.
Xu, Y. and Liu, H.Y. (2009). Development and Expectation of the Energy Plant. Chinese
Agricultural Science Bulletin, 25:297-300.
Mojovic, L., Nikolic, S., Rakin, M. and Vukasinovic, M. (2006) Production of Bioethanol
from Corn Meal Hydrolyzates. Fuel, 85:1750-1755.
Saarela U., Leiviska K., Juuso E. (2003). Modelling of a fed-batch fermentation process.
Control Engineering Laboratory, University of Oulu: Department of Process and
Environmental Engineering. Report A: No. 21.
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processes. . Journal of Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology, 4:897-907.
Igbinadolor, R. O. and Onilude, A. A. (2013). Bioprocess systems applied for the production
of bioethanol from lignocellulosic biomass of cocoa pod husk (Theobroma cacao L.) and
other agricultural residues: A review. African Journal of Biotechnology, 35:5375-5388.
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Hydrolysate for Ethanol Production using Improved Starter Cultures. PhD Thesis, University
of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
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Ethanol from Sawdust modified with Ammonium Sulphate .Technical Papers presented at
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105 | P a g e
APPENDIX
1. Material Balance
UNIT OPERATION OUTPUT

MATERIAL INPUT (KG/DAY)
(EQUIPMENT) (KG/DAY)
MILLING Coconut fibre 12000 12000
MACHINE (ML-01) TOTAL 12000 12000
Coconut fibre 12000 -

Water 15000 -
MIXER (MX-01)
TOTAL 27000 27000
Fibre slurry 27000

NaOH 119280
PRETREATER(RC- Cellulose - 7926
01) Lignin - 3870
By products - 113770
TOTAL 145560 145560
Fibre slurry 145560

Washwater 15000
FILTER/WASHER
Wastewater - 152646
(FL-01)
Treated Fibre cake - 7620
TOTAL 160566 160566
Freshwater 15000 -
Treated fibre 7920 -
MIXER 2 (MX-02)
TOTAL 22920 22920
Fibre slurry 22920 -

H2SO4 acid 79280 -
Glucose in solution - 5767.12
Water in glucose
HYDROLYZER (RC- - 13592
solution
02)
Unbonded water - 140704
Acid in fibre - 74759.3
Fibre residue - 6674.18
TOTAL 102200 102200
Glucose broth 102200 -

Yeast 300 -
Ethanol - 3040.4
FERMENTOR (RC-
CO2 - 14016.40
03)
Water - 78669.42
Solid fibre residue - 6674.18
TOTAL 102500 102500
FILTER (FL-02) Ethanol broth 88484 -

106 | P a g e
Ethanol + water - 81509.82

Fibre residue cake - 6674.18
TOTAL 88484 88484
Ethanol + water 81509.82 -

DISTILLATION Ethanol (99%) - 3326.9
COLUMN (CL-01) Water - 78182.1
TOTAL 81509.82 81509.82
2. Energy Balance
EQUIPMENT HEAT FLOW( Q) ΔHrº (Heat of

Reaction)
Cooler -21985.10185KJ/day -
Pretreater - -936KJ/mol
Hydrolyzer - -27KJ/mol
Fermenter - -977KJ/mol
Distillation Column QB = 3272.70KJ/day -
QC = -7416.32KJ/day -
3. Equipment Data Sheet
EQUIPMENT FUNCTION MATERIAL OPERATING

OF CONDITIONS/SP
CONSTRUC ECIFICATIONS
TION/TYPE
Milling machine Used for reducing fibre to fine Mild steel; 0.833KW; 180rpm
particles hammer type 1atm – 2atm, 30-50
ºC
Mixer 1 Used to obtain a fibre slurry Mild steel; 240rpm 1atm –
by mixing the dry fibre with blade type 2atm, 30-50 ºC
water impeller
Slurry charge pump Used to increase pressure Centrifugal 30KW 1atm – 2atm,
suitable to transfer the slurry 30-50 ºC,
throughout the process
Heater 1 Used to heat up the slurry to Carbon steel 1.5 atm , 100 - 130
pretreatment temperature shell with ºC; heat transfer area
932mm of 246m2 and
coefficient of
diameter
874w/m2°C
,992
cupronickel
tubes,
Pretreater Used to carry out pretreatment stainless steel 1 atm, 121 ºC
reaction removing lignin
components from the fibre
Washer Use to remove lignin and by Mild steel 1 atm, 40 - 60 ºC

107 | P a g e
products of pretreatment
reaction and to balance ph of
treated fibre
Mixer 2 Used to introduce fresh water Mild steel, 1 atm, 30 -50 ºC,
to the fibre turbine
powered,
180rpm
Heater 2 Used to raise temperature of Carbon steel 1atm , 100 - 130 ºC
the fibre slurry to the reaction shell 800mm
temperature for hydrolysis diameter,250
cupronickel
tubes,area
322m2
Hydrolyzer Used to convert the cellulose Stainless steel 1 atm, 121 ºC
in the fibre to fermentable
sugars
Hydrolasate/Ferment Used to reduce the carbon steel 1 atm, 80 - 130 ºC
ate Heat exchanger temperature of the product of shell, 500
hydrolysis to fermentation cupronickel
temperature by using it to heat
tubes, HT
up the product from fermenter
going to the distillation Area of
column 340m2
Fermentor Used to convert fermentable stainless steel 1 atm, 30 -50 ºC
sugars to ethanol and carbon
iv oxide by action of yeast
Filter Used to separate the liquid Mild steel 1 atm, 30 – 50 ºC
part of the ethanol broth from
the fibre residue
Column charge pump Used to increase the pressure Centrifugal 1-3 atm
of the distillation column feed
Distillation column Used to separate the ethanol- Carbon steel, 1 – 2 atm, 70 - 100
water mixture into ethanol and 13 sieve type ºC
water trays,
Ellipsoidal
head.
Column condenser Used to condense the Carbon steel 1-2 atm, 30-80 ºC
overhead vapours of the
column
Column reboiler Used to reheat the column Carbon steel 1-2 atm, 100-130 ºC
bottoms to remove lighter
ends
Column receiver Used to store overhead Carbon steel 1 atm, 30-50 ºC ºC
product (ethanol) temporarily
and for reflux to maintain
column top temperature

108 | P a g e
EQUIPMENT MATERIAL OF DESIGN PARAMETERS

CONSTRUCTION
Reactor Stainless steel 5m diameter,15 m height
Distillation Column Carbon steel 1.057m diameter.3 m height
Water Storage Tank Carbon steel 2.67m diameter,8.01m height
Sodium Hydroxide Storage Tank Carbon steel 7.4m diameter,22m height
Acid Storage Tank Stainless steel 6m diameter,18m height
Yeast Storage Tank Carbon steel 0.37m diameter,1.12m height
Ethanol Product Tank stainless steel 1.24m diameter,3.73m height
4. Cost Estimates and Economic Evaluation

Equipment Purchase Cost $657314
Total physical plant cost(PPC) $2563525
Fixed capital cost $3588935
Working capital $179,447
Total Investment Required $3,768,382
Total Variable Cost $397789
Total Fixed Cost $1061898
Annual production cost $1748037
Production cost per Litre $1.6
Total cost of plant $2,405,351 = ₦865,926,360
Payback time 1year,3 months
EOAC - $1,359,502

Design of An 3000L Per Day Ethanol Plant From Coconut Fibre (Full)

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Design of An 3000L Per Day Ethanol Plant From Coconut Fibre (Full)

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Design of a Plant to Produce 3000 Litres/day of Ethanol from Coconut

Name: Ekwere, Otoabasi Boniface

Reg. No: AK12/ENG/CPE/015

Engr. (Dr.) Mrs. Taiwo Ademiluyi

A Design Project Report Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the

Boniface with Reg. No: AK12/ENG/CPE/015 under my supervision as a fulfillment of the

requirement for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Engineering in

Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering, Akwa Ibom State University, Ikot Akpaden, Mkpat

Ekwere, Otoabasi B. | AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY

I also, in a special way express my gratitude the staff of the Department of

Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering, for the opportunity given to me to learn in this

programme and carry out this task successfully.

cooperation, prayers, moral encouragement and support given to me in the course of my

Ekwere, Otoabasi B. | AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY

Ekwere, Otoabasi B. | AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.2. Problem statement

1.3. Aims and objectives

1.4. Scope of work

1.5. Process description

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Cellulosic Bioethanol Production Technology

2.1.1. Lignocellulosic Biomass Pretreatment

2.1.4 Product Recovery

2.2. Factors Influencing BioEthanol Production

2.3. Review of previous work on the Design of ethanol plants

Ekwere, Otoabasi B. | AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY

CHAPTER THREE: MATERIAL BALANCE

3.2. Overall Material Balance

3.2. Primary Process Calculations and Units Material Balance

CHAPTER FOUR: ENERGY BALANCE

4.5. Distillation Column

CHAPTER FIVE: EQUIPMENT SIZING AND SPECIFICATION

5.2. Mixer Design

5.3. Heat Exchanger Design

5.4. Reactor Design

5.5. Storage Tanks Design

5.6. Design of Distillation Column

CHAPTER SIX: MECHANICAL DESIGN

6.2. Distillation Column

6.3. Storage Tanks

CHAPTER SEVEN: PLANT INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL

CHAPTER EIGHT: COST ESTIMATION AND ECONOMIC EVALUATION

8.1. Purchase cost of Equipment

Ekwere, Otoabasi B. | AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY

8.2. Variable Cost

8.3. Fixed Cost

8.4. Economic Analysis

CHAPTER NINE: PLANT LAYOUT, SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL

9.2. Safety Considerations

9.3. Environmental Considerations

CHAPTER TEN: DESIGN SIMULATION

CHAPTER ELEVEN: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Ekwere, Otoabasi B. | AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY

Figure 2.1 Flowsheet representation of Lignocellulosic Ethanol Production

Figure 3.1 Overall Material Balance for Ethanol Plant

Figure 3.2 Material Balance around milling Machine

Figure 3.3 Material Balance around Mixer

Figure 3.4 Material Balance around Pretreatment unit

Figure 3.5 Material Balance around Filter 1

Figure 3.6 Material Balance around Mixer 2

Figure 3.7 Material Balance around Hydrolysis Unit

Figure 3.8 Material Balance around Fermenter Unit