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EP-4739763-A1 - DUAL-PROCESS SOLVENT AND SUGAR PRODUCTION PLANTS

EP4739763A1EP 4739763 A1EP4739763 A1EP 4739763A1EP-4739763-A1

Abstract

Dual-process solvent and sugar production plants are provided in which inputs to the solvent production sub-system are received from the sugar product sub-system, which are both driven and supplied inputs from a shared pre-evaporator system. Improvements to the heat integration and dehydration technologies available for use in the plants are also provided, which may be used for initial construction, retrofit, replacement, or expansion of previous separation sections in the plants.

Inventors

  • ANDRADE, Virginia
  • OLIVEIRA, Camilla
  • BLUM, STEPHAN
  • RIGHI, Thiago

Assignees

  • Whitefox Technologies Limited

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20240703

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A production plant, comprising: a juice supply; a first evaporator system; a sugar production system, comprising: a second evaporator system; and a sugar separation section; an alcohol production section, comprising: a fermentation section; a distillation section; and an alcohol separation section, including a distillation column and a dehydration unit; and piping, arranged to selectively configure: the first evaporator system to receive juice from the juice supply, the juice providing a mixture of sugar, water, and solids; the second evaporator system to receive a first portion of an evaporated juice having a higher concentration of sugar than the juice from the first evaporator system; the sugar separation section to receive syrup from the second evaporator system having a higher concentration of sugar than the evaporated juice; the fermentation section to receive molasses from the sugar separation section and a second portion of the evaporated juice from the first evaporator system including a higher concentration of sugar than the juice; the distillation section to receive, from the fermentation section, a wine including an alcohol produced from the molasses and the evaporated juice; the distillation column to receive, from the distillation section, a first overhead stream having a higher concentration of alcohol than the wine; and the dehydration unit to receive, from the distillation column, a second overhead stream having a higher concentration of alcohol than the first overhead stream and to output an anhydrous stream having a higher concentration of alcohol than the second overhead stream.
  2. 2. The production plant of claim 1, further comprising: a dryer; and wherein the piping is further arranged to selectively configure the dryer to receive a wet sugar from the sugar separation section and output a sugar stream having a lower concentration of water than the wet sugar.
  3. 3. The production plant of claim 1, further comprising vapor ducting, arranged to selectively configure: the second evaporator system to receive a first portion of a driving vapor produced by the first evaporator system; and the distillation section to receive a second portion of the driving vapor.
  4. 4. The production plant of claim 1, further comprising a boiler, wherein the piping is configured to: direct steam from the boiler to the distillation column to drive generation of the second overhead stream; direct condensate of the steam directed to the distillation column back to the boiler; and direct bagasse produced by the juice supply to a fuel input for the boiler.
  5. 5. The production plant of claim 1, wherein the dehydration unit includes a membrane filter configured to receive an input stream and output a permeate stream having a higher concentration of water than the first overhead stream; wherein the piping is further arranged to selectively configure the distillation column to receive the permeate stream.
  6. 6. The production plant of claim 1, wherein: the distillation section includes: a wine column; and a rectifier column; the alcohol production section further includes: a separation column; and a recovery column; and the piping is further arranged to selectively configure: the wine column to receive the wine from the fermentation section; the rectifier column to receive a concentrated wine vapor from the wine column, having a higher concentration of alcohol than the wine; the separation column to receive a hydrous solvent stream from the rectifier column, having a higher concentration of alcohol than the concentrated wine vapor, to receive an entrainer stream including cyclohexane from the recovery column, and to output the anhydrous stream as a bottoms stream from the separation column; and the recovery column to receive an entrained overhead stream from the separation column including water and cyclohexane.
  7. 7. The production plant of claim 1, wherein: the distillation section includes: a wine column; and a rectifier column; the alcohol production section further includes: a separation column; and a recovery column; and the piping is further arranged to selectively configure: the wine column to receive the wine from the fermentation section; the rectifier column to receive a concentrated wine vapor from the wine column, having a higher concentration of alcohol than the wine; the separation column to receive a hydrous solvent stream from the rectifier column, having a higher concentration of alcohol than the concentrated wine vapor, to receive an injection stream including monoethyleneglycol (MEG) from the recovery column, and to output the anhydrous stream as an overhead stream from the separation column; and the recovery column to receive an entrained bottoms stream from the separation column including water and cyclohexane.
  8. 8. The production plant of claim 1, wherein the dehydration unit includes a molecular sieve unit (MSU) configured to receive an input stream and output a product stream of a lower water concentration than the input stream; and wherein the piping is further arranged to selectively configure the MSU to receive the input stream of one or both of the first overhead stream and the second overhead stream.
  9. 9. The production plant of claim 1, further comprising a heat exchanger disposed between the distillation section and the distillation column, the piping further arranged to configure the first overhead stream to provide thermal energy to a cold stream passing though the heat exchanger.
  10. 10. The production plant of claim 1, wherein the distillation section operates between 1-2 bar of pressure to distill the first overhead stream from the wine.
  11. 11. The production plant of claim 1, wherein the dehydration unit receives the second overhead stream at between 40-70% weight alcohol.
  12. 12. An alcohol production system, comprising: an evaporator system; a fermentation section; a distillation section; a distillation column; a dehydration unit; and piping, arranged to selectively configure: the evaporator system to receive a juice stream providing a mixture of sugar, water, and solids; the fermentation section to receive, from the evaporator system, a concentrated juice stream having a lower concentration of water than the juice stream; the distillation section to receive, from the fermentation section, a wine providing a mixture of sugar, water, solids, and alcohol; the distillation column to receive, from the distillation section, a first overhead stream produced by the distillation section having a lower concentration of sugars and solids and a lower concentration of water than the wine; and the dehydration unit to receive, from the distillation column, a second overhead stream produced by the distillation column having a lower concentration of water than the first overhead stream and to output a retentate stream having a higher concentration of alcohol than the second overhead stream.
  13. 13. The alcohol production system of claim 12, wherein the concentrated juice stream received by the fermentation section is a first portion of the concentrated juice stream, and the piping is further configured to direct a second portion of the concentrated juice stream to a sugar separation section.
  14. 14. The alcohol production system of claim 12, further comprising: a rectifier column; a separation column; and a recovery column; wherein the first overhead stream received by the distillation column is a first portion of the first overhead stream, and the piping is further arranged to selectively configure: the rectifier column to receive a second portion of the first overhead stream; the separation column to: receive, from the rectifier column, a hydrous alcohol stream having a lower concentration of water than the first overhead stream; receive, from the recovery column, a cyclohexane stream; and output, an anhydrous ethanol bottoms stream having a higher concentration of alcohol than the hydrous alcohol stream; and the recovery column to receive, from the separation column, a recycled overhead stream including cyclohexane and having a higher concentration of water than the hydrous alcohol stream.
  15. 15. The alcohol production system of claim 12, further comprising: a rectifier column; a separation column; and a recovery column; wherein the first overhead stream received by the distillation column is a first portion of the first overhead stream, and the piping is further arranged to selectively configure: the rectifier column to receive a second portion of the first overhead stream; the separation column to: receive, from the rectifier column, a hydrous alcohol stream having a lower concentration of water than the first overhead stream; receive, from the recovery column, a monoethyleneglycol (MEG) stream; and output, an anhydrous ethanol overhead stream having a higher concentration of alcohol than the hydrous alcohol stream; and the recovery column to receive, from the separation column, a recycled bottoms stream including MEG and having a higher concentration of water than the hydrous alcohol stream.
  16. 16. The alcohol production system of claim 12, further comprising a heat exchanger, the piping further arranged to configure the retentate stream to transfer thermal energy as a hot stream passing through the heat exchanger to another stream in the alcohol production system having a lower initial temperature when entering the heat exchanger than the retentate stream when entering the heat exchanger.
  17. 17. The alcohol production system of claim 12, wherein the distillation section includes a wine column that operates at or above atmospheric pressure to produce the first overhead stream.
  18. 18. The alcohol production system of claim 12, wherein the first overhead stream consists of 120 proof alcohol.
  19. 19. A dual -process solvent and solids production system, comprising: a first evaporator system, configured to receive a feed stream including a dissolved solid and water; a solids production system, comprising: a second evaporator system; and a first separation system; a solvent production system, comprising: a fermentation section; a distillation section; and a solvent separation section, including a distillation column, a dehydration unit; and piping, arranged to selectively configure: the second evaporator system to receive, from the first evaporator system, a first portion of an evaporated feed stream having a higher concentration of the dissolved solid than the feed stream; the solids production system to receive syrup from the second evaporator system having a higher concentration of the dissolved solid than the evaporated feed stream; the fermentation section to receive, from the first evaporator system, a second portion of the evaporated feed stream; the distillation section to receive, from the fermentation section, a solvent stream including a solvent produced from the evaporated feed stream; the distillation column to receive, from the distillation section, a first overhead stream having a higher concentration of the solvent than the solvent stream and to receive, from the dehydration unit, a permeate stream having a higher concentration of water than the first overhead stream; and the distillation section to receive, from the distillation column, a second overhead stream having a higher concentration of the solvent than the first overhead stream and to output a retentate stream having a higher concentration of the solvent than the second overhead stream.
  20. 20. The dual-process solvent and solids production system of claim 19, wherein the distillation section operates between 1-2 bar of pressure to distill the first overhead stream from the solvent stream.

Description

TITLE DUAL-PROCESS SOLVENT AND SUGAR PRODUCTION PLANTS PRIORITY CLAIM [0001] The present application claims the priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No.: 63/524,786 titled “DUAL-PROCESS SOLVENT AND SUGAR PRODUCTION PLANTS” and filed on luly 3, 2023, which is incorporated herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND [0002] To produce an organic solvent such as fuel grade ethanol, water and solids from fermentation must be removed. Typical processes use a series of distillation steps combined with a dehydration unit operation to achieve 99 vol.% or higher organic solvent content depending on specifications. [0003] Ethanol produced from sugarcane must be concentrated to >99 wt% to be blended with gasoline and used in gasoline-driven engines. Given that this level purity cannot be achieved by conventional distillation due to an azeotrope forming between the ethanol/water mixture at ethanol concentration of around 95%, the most common dehydration technology used in sugarcane-based ethanol production is azeotropic distillation with cyclohexane. [0004] The azeotropic distillation process is a type of distillation process used for separation of a component from a liquid mixture where an azeotrope forms (e.g., ethanol from an ethanol/water mixture). An azeotrope forms when the composition of vapors formed from the boiling of a mixture contains the same composition as the liquid at any given temperature and pressure. Thus, once an azeotrope forms, conventional distillation can no longer separate the components further. To perform the separation, azeotropic distillation is applied to break the azeotrope formed. The most common practice is the addition of an additional component known as an entrainer. When an entrainer is added to the mixture, the main azeotrope is broken and a new one is formed between the entrainer and any one or more components. For example, in the azeotropic distillation of an ethanol/water mixture, cyclohexane is typically used as the entrainer. In a first distillation column, known as azeotropic column, cyclohexane and hydrous ethanol are added. Cyclohexane forms a new tertiary heterogeneous azeotrope with ethanol and water. As a result of this new azeotrope having a lower boiling point than ethanol, anhydrous ethanol is removed from the column bottoms and a mixture of cyclohexane, water, and residual ethanol vapors is removed from the column top as an overhead stream, which is condensed and cooled before being forwarded to a decanter to undergo liquid-liquid separation. This heterogenous mixture separates in the decanter into an organic layer rich in the entrainer (e.g., cyclohexane) and aqueous layer (both containing Water and residual Ethanol). The cyclohexane is recycled back to the azeotropic column, whereas the aqueous layer is sent to a second distillation column known as a recovery column. [0005] In the recovery column, water is separated from the residual cyclohexane and ethanol in the column bottoms. The residual cyclohexane and ethanol from the column top of the recovery column is condensed and cooled with a portion being recycled back to the azeotropic column for further separation. The remaining portion is directed back to the recovery column as reflux. [0006] Despite the high energy consumption and the health risks associated with the use of solvents/entrainers in separating ethanol from water, cyclohexane dehydration is the most common technology used in sugarcane mills. Other alternatives include extractive distillation and molecular sieve dehydration. [0007] Extractive Distillation involves a separating agent (e.g., a third component) such as monoethyleneglycol (MEG), which is added to a first distillation column to alter the relative volatility of the ethanol/water feed mixture by changing the intermolecular interactions between the components, resulting in separation of ethanol in the overheads of the column as distillate. Typically, the solvent added in the extractive distillation column has a higher boiling point than either component of the feed mixture. As a result, the solvent/water mixture is removed in the bottoms of the extractive distillation column before being fed to a second distillation column where the solvent is recovered in the column bottoms and re-circulated back to the Extractive Distillation column for reuse (and the water is removed via an overhead stream). [0008] Molecular sieve dehydration involves the use of an adsorption processes using an adsorbent material in a porous solid form (known as molecular sieves) that selectively adsorb water molecules while a solvent remains a non-diffusing component due to differing molecular sizes of water and the solvent. There are many types of adsorbents, which include synthetic zeolites, microporous charcoals, active carbons, as well as natural adsorbents, including cornmeal, straw, and sawdust. Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) consists of the two main steps which are adsorption (molecular sieve bed in online mode)