U.S. patent application number 13/563208 was filed with the patent office on 2012-11-22 for drying apparatus and methods for ethanol production.
This patent application is currently assigned to J. JIREH HOLDINGS LLC. Invention is credited to David A. MIRKO, James A. REHKOPF, Jeffrey L. TATE.
Application Number | 20120291306 13/563208 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40161033 |
Filed Date | 2012-11-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120291306 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
REHKOPF; James A. ; et
al. |
November 22, 2012 |
DRYING APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR ETHANOL PRODUCTION
Abstract
The apparatus and methods disclosed herein relate to the
production of dried co-products from stillage produced by an
ethanol production facility. In various aspects, the apparatus and
methods disclosed herein relate to an ethanol production facility
that produces ethanol and stillage from grain, and a pulse
combustion dryer in communication with the ethanol production
facility to receive stillage therefrom and adapted to dry the
stillage into a dried material
Inventors: |
REHKOPF; James A.; (San
Rafael, CA) ; TATE; Jeffrey L.; (North Port, FL)
; MIRKO; David A.; (Payson, AZ) |
Assignee: |
J. JIREH HOLDINGS LLC
Payson
AZ
|
Family ID: |
40161033 |
Appl. No.: |
13/563208 |
Filed: |
July 31, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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|
12215214 |
Jun 25, 2008 |
8256134 |
|
|
13563208 |
|
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|
60937073 |
Jun 25, 2007 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
34/282 ;
34/523 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F23C 15/00 20130101;
Y02E 50/10 20130101; Y02E 50/17 20130101; C12F 3/10 20130101; F26B
23/026 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
34/282 ;
34/523 |
International
Class: |
F26B 3/02 20060101
F26B003/02; F26B 19/00 20060101 F26B019/00 |
Claims
1. An apparatus, comprising: an ethanol production facility adapted
to produce ethanol and stillage from grain; and a pulse combustion
dryer in communication with the ethanol production facility to
receive stillage therefrom and adapted to dry the stillage into a
dried material.
2. The apparatus, as in claim 1, wherein the stillage comprises
whole stillage and the dried material comprises dried distiller's
grains and solubles.
3. The apparatus, as in claim 1, wherein the stillage comprises
whole stillage and the dried material comprises dried grain
fermented extractives.
4. The apparatus, as in claim 1, wherein the stillage comprises wet
distiller's grains and the dried material comprises dried
distiller's grains.
5. The apparatus, as in claim 1, wherein the stillage comprises
thin stillage and the dried material comprises dried distiller's
solubles.
6. The apparatus, as in claim 1, wherein the stillage comprises
condensed distiller's solubles and the dried material comprises
dried distiller's solubles.
7. The apparatus, as in claim 1, further comprising: a stillage
processing unit in communication with the ethanol production
facility to receive whole stillage therefrom, the stillage
processing unit adapted to extract a stillage fraction from the
whole stillage, the stillage processing unit in communication with
the pulse combustion dryer to introduce the stillage fraction into
the pulse combustion dryer as the dryer feed material to produce a
dried material therefrom.
8. The apparatus, as in claim 7, wherein the stillage fraction
consists essentially of wet distiller's grains and the dried
material produced therefrom consists essentially of dried
distiller's grains.
9. The apparatus, as in claim 6, wherein the stillage fraction
consists essentially of condensed distiller's solubles and the
dried material produced therefrom consists essentially of dried
distiller's solubles.
10. The apparatus, as in claim 6, wherein the stillage fraction
consists essentially of thin stillage and the dried material
produced therefrom consists essentially of dried distiller's
solubles.
11. An apparatus, comprising: means for producing ethanol and
stillage; and a pulse combustion dryer in communication with the
means for producing ethanol and stillage to receive stillage
therefrom and adapted to dry the stillage into a dried
material.
12. A method, comprising: introducing stillage from an ethanol
production facility into a pulse combustion dryer as a dryer feed
material thereby obtaining a dried material therefrom.
13. The method, as in claim 12, wherein the stillage comprises
whole stillage and the dried material obtained therefrom comprises
dried distiller's grains and solubles.
14. The method, as in claim 12, wherein the stillage consists
essentially of whole stillage and the dried material obtained
therefrom consists essentially of dried distiller's grains and
solubles.
15. The method, as in claim 12, wherein the stillage comprises
whole stillage and the dried material comprises dried grain
fermented extractives.
16. The method, as in claim 12, wherein the stillage consists
essentially of whole stillage and the dried material consists
essentially of dried grain fermented extractives.
17. The method, as in claim 12, wherein the stillage comprises wet
distiller's grains and the dried material comprises dried
distiller's grains.
18. The method, as in claim 12, wherein the stillage comprises thin
stillage and the dried material comprises dried distiller's
solubles.
19. The method, as in claim 12, wherein the stillage comprises
condensed distiller's solubles and the dried material comprises
dried distiller's solubles.
20. A method, comprising: producing stillage using an ethanol
production facility; extracting a stillage fraction from said
stillage; and introducing the stillage fraction into a pulse
combustion dryer as a dryer feed materials thereby obtaining a
dried material therefrom.
21. The method, as in claim 20, wherein the stillage fraction
comprises wet distiller's grains and the dried material obtained
therefrom comprises dried distiller's grains.
22. The method, as in claim 20, wherein the stillage fraction
comprises thin stillage and the dried material obtained therefrom
comprises dried distiller's solubles.
23. The method, as in claim 20, wherein the stillage fraction
comprises condensed distiller's solubles and the dried material
obtained therefrom comprises dried distiller's solubles.
24. The method, as in claim 20, wherein the stillage fraction
consists essentially of wet distiller's grains and the dried
material obtained therefrom consists essentially of dried
distiller's grains.
25. The method, as in claim 20, wherein the stillage fraction
consists essentially of thin stillage and the dried material
obtained therefrom consists essentially of dried distiller's
solubles.
26. The method, as in claim 20, wherein the stillage fraction
consists essentially of condensed distiller's solubles and the
dried material obtained therefrom consists essentially of dried
distiller's solubles.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser.
No. 12/215,214, filed on 25 Jun. 2008, which application claims the
benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/937,073 filed
on 25 Jun. 2007 and which applications are incorporated herein by
reference. A claim of priority to all is made.
BACKGROUND
[0002] 1. Field
[0003] The present disclosure relates to apparatus and methods
related to ethanol production, and, more particularly, to the
apparatus and methods for the drying of stillage produced by the
ethanol production process.
[0004] 2. Background of the Related Art
[0005] The saccharification of polysaccharides derived from starch
contained within grains such as corn, wheat, rye, sorghum, and rice
has long been recognized as a potential source of mixed sugars for
ethanol production by fermentation. The starch in the grain is
converted to fermentable sugar which, in turn, is fermented into
ethanol. The ethanol is captured from non-fermented and/or
non-fermentable materials and solvent(s) such as water and the
remainder sans ethanol is emitted as stillage.
[0006] The stillage may be considered a co-product of the ethanol
production, and the stillage may be further fractionated into
various stillage fractions. If the stillage and/or stillage
fractions could be dried to form dried co-products, the dried
co-products may have nutritive value and may have other utility.
Accordingly, a need exists for drying technologies for use in
conjunction with ethanol production to dry the stillage and/or
stillage fractions into dried co-products.
SUMMARY
[0007] Apparatus and methods disclosed herein may resolve many of
the needs and shortcomings discussed above and may provide
additional improvements and advantages recognizable by those of
ordinary skill in the art upon study of this specification.
[0008] In various aspects, the apparatus disclosed herein includes
an ethanol production facility adapted to produce ethanol and
stillage from grain, and a pulse combustion dryer in communication
with the ethanol production facility to receive stillage therefrom
and adapted to dry the stillage into a dried material.
[0009] Methods are disclosed herein. In one aspect, the methods
include introducing stillage from an ethanol production facility
into a pulse combustion dryer as a dryer feed material thereby
obtaining a dried material therefrom. In another aspect, the
methods disclosed herein include producing stillage using an
ethanol production facility, extracting a stillage fraction from
said stillage, and introducing the stillage fraction into a pulse
combustion dryer as a dryer feed materials thereby obtaining a
dried material therefrom.
[0010] In various aspects, the stillage and/or stillage fraction is
generally in the form of whole stillage, wet distiller's grains,
thin stillage, condensed distiller's solubles, or combinations
thereof. In various aspects, the dried material is generally in the
form of dried distiller's grains and solubles, dried grain
fermented extractives, dried distiller's grains, dried distiller's
solubles, or combinations thereof.
[0011] Other features and advantages of the apparatus and methods
disclosed herein will become apparent from the following detailed
description and from the claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
[0012] FIG. 1A illustrates by schematic diagram an exemplary
embodiment of an ethanol production facility in communication with
a pulse combustion dryer;
[0013] FIG. 1B illustrates by schematic diagram another exemplary
embodiment of an ethanol production facility in communication with
a pulse combustion dryer;
[0014] FIG. 1C illustrates by schematic diagram yet another
exemplary embodiment of an ethanol production facility in
communication with a pulse combustion dryer;
[0015] FIG. 2A illustrates by schematic diagram an exemplary
embodiment of a pulse combustion dryer;
[0016] FIG. 2B illustrates by schematic diagram another exemplary
embodiment of a pulse combustion dryer;
[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates by schematic diagram an exemplary
embodiment of an ethanol production facility formed as a dry grind
facility in communication with a pulse combustion dryer;
[0018] FIG. 4A illustrates by schematic diagram an exemplary
embodiment of material flow about the pulse combustion dryer;
[0019] FIG. 4B illustrates by schematic diagram another exemplary
embodiment of material flow about the pulse combustion dryer;
[0020] FIG. 4C illustrates by schematic diagram yet another
exemplary embodiment of material flow about the pulse combustion
dryer;
[0021] FIG. 5 illustrates by schematic diagram an exemplary
embodiment of an ethanol production facility formed as a wet mill
facility in communication with a pulse combustion dryer; and,
[0022] FIG. 6 illustrates by flow chart an exemplary embodiment of
a method for drying stillage.
[0023] All Figures are illustrated for ease of explanation of the
basic teachings only. The extensions of the Figures with respect to
number, position, order, relationship and dimensions will be
explained or will be within the ordinary skill of the art after the
description has been studied. Furthermore, the apparatus,
materials, and other parameters to conform to specific size, force,
weight, strength, velocity, temperatures, flow, and similar
requirements will likewise be within the ordinary skill of the art
after the description has been studied. Where used in reference to
the figures, the terms "top," "bottom," "right," "left," "forward,"
"rear," "first," "second," "inside," "outside," and similar terms
should be understood to reference the apparatus and methods as
described in the specification and illustrated in the drawings and
are utilized for purposes of explanation only.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0024] An ethanol production facility that produces ethanol and
stillage from grain is disclosed herein. One or more pulse
combustion dryers are in communication with the ethanol production
facility to receive stillage including stillage fractions
therefrom, and the one or more pulse combustion dryers are adapted
to dry the stillage into a dried material. In various aspects, the
stillage is introduced into pulses of heated combustion products
within the pulse combustion dryer as dryer feed material to be
dried into the dried material thereby. The ethanol production
facility, in various aspects, is configured as a dry grind
facility, as a wet mill facility, or configured in other ways to
produce ethanol and stillage from grain, as would be recognized by
those of ordinary skill in the art upon study of this disclosure.
The resultant stillage may be fractionated in various ways into
stillage fractions and the stillage, stillage fractions, and/or
combinations thereof may be communicated to the pulse combustion
dryer to be dried into the dried material thereby.
[0025] Methods for producing dried material from stillage are
disclosed herein. The methods, in various aspects, include
providing an ethanol production facility having a liquid based
processing stream, the ethanol production facility producing
ethanol and stillage, and providing a pulse combustion dryer. The
methods may further include introducing stillage into the pulse
combustion dryer as the dryer feed material and obtaining dried
material from the stillage. The methods, in various aspects, may
include fractionating the stillage into stillage fractions,
communicating the stillage, stillage fractions, and/or combinations
thereof to the pulse combustion dryer, and drying the stillage,
stillage fractions, and/or combinations thereof into dried material
using the pulse combustion dryer.
GLOSSARY
[0026] The following informal definitions are offered for purposes
of illustration, not limitation, in order to assist with
understanding the disclosure herein.
[0027] Condensed Distillers Solubles (CDS)--the generally soluble
portion of whole stillage (i.e. thin stillage) condensed by
evaporation into a syrup.
[0028] Distiller's Wet Grains and Solubles (DWGS)--the generally
insoluble portion of whole stillage in combination with condensed
distiller's solubles in undried form.
[0029] Dried Distillers Grains (DDG)--the generally insoluble
portion of whole stillage in dried form.
[0030] Dried Distiller's Grains and Solubles (DDGS)--the generally
insoluble portion of whole stillage in combination with condensed
distiller's solubles in generally dried form.
[0031] Dried Distiller's Solubles (DDS)--the generally soluble
portion of whole stillage in dried form.
[0032] Dry Grain Fermented Extractives (DGFE)--grain fermented
extractives in dried form.
[0033] Grain Fermented Extractives (GFE)--type of whole stillage
produced by an ethanol production facility that uses a wet mill
process for processing the grain. The wet mill process in various
aspects removes the germ, fiber, and/or gluten 436 from the grain
so that the grain fermented extractives is generally absent those
portions of the grain.
[0034] Thin Stillage--the generally soluble portion of whole
stillage.
[0035] Wet Distillers Grains (WDG)--the generally insoluble portion
of whole stillage in undried form.
[0036] Whole Stillage--the remnant of the liquid based processing
stream after the ethanol has been captured therefrom.
[0037] The Figures generally illustrate various exemplary
implementations of the apparatus and methods of this disclosure.
The particular exemplary implementations illustrated in the Figures
provide for ease of explanation and understanding, even while being
fully descriptive. These illustrated implementations are not meant
to limit the scope of coverage, but, instead, to assist in
understanding the context of the language used in this
specification and in the claims. Accordingly, variations of the
apparatus and methods that differ from the illustrated
implementations may be encompassed by the appended claims.
[0038] The ethanol production facility includes one or more units
92 adapted to convert grain 402 into ethanol 406. The ethanol
production facility 10, in various aspects, includes at least a
fermenter 160 and a distillation column 170, and may include
additional units 92 generally configured to cooperate with the
fermenter 160 and the distillation column 170 to produce ethanol
406 from grain 402. The fermenter 160, in some aspects, defines a
fermentation chamber 162 wherein yeast ferments fermentable sugars
derived from grain 402 into ethanol 406. Yeast, as used herein,
includes yeast as well as other biological organisms capable of
fermentation, and ethanol, as used herein includes butanol,
glycerol, and suchlike produced by fermentation. In other aspects,
the fermenter 160 is adapted to produce ethanol by non-biological
processes such as catalytic processes. A liquid based processing
stream 193 containing fermentable sugars derived from grain 402 may
be communicated into the fermentation chamber 162 wherein the
sugars in the liquid based processing stream 193 are fermented into
ethanol 406.
[0039] The fermenter 160, in various aspects, is adapted to
communicate the liquid based processing stream 193 containing
ethanol 406 from the fermentation chamber 162 to the distillation
column 170. The distillation column 170 captures the ethanol 406
from the liquid based processing stream 193. In various aspects,
the distillation column 170 may be a configured as a still,
distillation column, fractionation column, absorption column,
adsorption column, or suchlike adapted to capture the ethanol.
[0040] Whole stillage 408 is the remnant of the liquid based
processing stream 193 after the ethanol 406 has been captured
therefrom. Whole stillage 408 is an unrefined mixture that may
include, for example, unfermented sugars, starches, non-starch
portions of the grain, lipids, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins,
and yeast wasted from the fermentation chamber 162. In various
aspects, the whole stillage 408 may be composed largely of
solubles, or may be composed of a combination of solubles and
insolubles. Whole stillage 408 may include, in various aspects,
other stream of material from other portions of the ethanol
production facility 10.
[0041] The whole stillage 408 may be fractionated into stillage
fractions 409, which may, in turn, be composed largely of the
soluble fraction of whole stillage 408 or the insoluble fraction of
whole stillage. Soluble, as used herein, includes generally
dissolved materials as well as colloidal materials including lipids
and proteins, very fine materials, and other not readily settleable
materials, as would be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the
art upon study of this disclosure. In various aspects, stillage 407
may include whole stillage 408, stillage fractions 409, and
combinations thereof. The lipids, fatty acids, amino acids, and/or
proteins may make whole stillage 408 and/or stillage fractions 409
difficult materials to dry.
[0042] A stillage processing unit 108 such as a centrifuge unit
205, filter unit 215, and/or flocculator 220 may be provided in
various aspects to process the stillage 407 including whole
stillage 408 and/or stillage fractions 409. The stillage processing
unit 108 may process the whole stillage 408, for example, by
extracting one or more stillage fractions 409 from the whole
stillage 408.
[0043] One or more pulse combustion dryers 30 are in communication
with the ethanol production facility 10, and the whole stillage
408, the stillage fraction(s) 409, or combinations thereof may be
introduced into the pulse combustion dryer 30 as dryer feed
material 73 Portions of the ethanol production facility 10 may
communicate with the one or more pulse combustion dryers 30 to
introduce the stillage 407, including whole stillage 408 and/or
stillage fractions 409, into the one or more pulse combustion
dryers 30 as the dryer feed material 73 to produce one or more
dried co-products 430 as the dried material 75. Communication
between the ethanol production facility 10 and the pulse combustion
dryer 30 may be by pipe, by truck, or other manner of conveyance in
various aspects.
[0044] In various aspects, the stillage fractions 409 introduced as
the dryer feed material 73 into the pulse combustion dryer 30
include WDG 414, Thin Stillage 410, CDS 412, DWGS 415, other
materials derived from whole stillage 408, and combinations
thereof, as would be recognized by those skilled in the art upon
review of this disclosure. In various aspects, the dried
co-products 430 obtained as dried material 75 from the pulse
combustion dryer 30 include DDG 418, DDS 420, DDGS 416, and DGFE
424. In various aspects, stillage fractions 409 may be processed by
one or more stillage processing units 108 and then recombined in
various ways with one another and/or with whole stillage 408 to
form the dryer feed material 73.
[0045] The pulse combustion dryer 30 may include a combustor 31
that defines a combustion chamber 32, a tailpipe 40 that defines a
tailpipe passage 42, the tailpipe passage 42 in fluid communication
with the combustion chamber 32. Some aspects may include a drying
chamber 60 that defines a drying chamber passage 62, the drying
chamber passage 62 in fluid communication with the combustion
chamber 32. The pulse combustion dryer 30 periodically ignites fuel
53 to provide a series of pulses of heated combustion products 59
that pass from the combustion chamber 32 through the drying passage
68. The drying passage 68 may include the tailpipe passage 42, may
include the drying chamber passage 62, or may include both the
tailpipe passage 42 and the drying chamber passage 62 in various
aspects.
[0046] A dryer feed material 73 may be introduced into the drying
passage 68 of the pulse combustion dryer 30, wherein the dryer feed
material 73 may be entrained in the pulses of heated combustion
products 59 to generally dry the dryer feed material 73 into dried
material 75. The dried material 75 is drier than, and may be
substantially drier than, the dryer feed material 73. In some
aspects, substantially all of the water may be removed from the
dried material 75, while in other aspects, some residual amount of
water may be retained in the dried material 75. For example, the
dried material 75 in various aspects contains less than 10% water
by weight.
[0047] In operation, grain 402 is input into the ethanol production
facility 10 as the feedstock, and is communicated among the one or
more units 92 of the ethanol production facility 10 as a liquid
based processing stream 193. The one or more units 92 of the
ethanol production facility 10 generally convert the starch in the
grain 402 into ethanol 406 and then capture the ethanol 406 from
the liquid based processing stream 193. As the liquid based
processing stream 193 is communicated amongst the one or more units
92 of the ethanol production facility 10, the nature of the liquid
based processing stream 193 generally changes, in various aspects,
from slurry to mash to fermented mash, and, finally, the liquid
based processing stream 193 is separated into ethanol 406 and whole
stillage 408. Stillage 407 in the form of whole stillage 408 and/or
stillage fractions 409 is communicated as drier feed material to
the pulse combustion dryer 30 to be dried into dried material
75.
[0048] Particular embodiments are illustrated in the following
Figures. An embodiment of the ethanol production facility 10 is
illustrated in FIG. 1A. As illustrated, the ethanol production
facility 10 includes units 92 that form fermenter 160 and
distillation column 170. The ethanol production facility 10 is in
communication with pulse combustion dryer 30, as illustrated.
[0049] The fermenter 160, as illustrated in FIG. 1A, defines the
fermentation chamber 162 for the fermentation of sugars derived
from grain 402 in the liquid based processing stream 193 into
ethanol. The fermenter 160 is configured so that the liquid based
processing stream 193 containing fermentable sugars can be
communicated into the fermentation chamber 162 wherein the
fermentable sugars in the liquid based processing stream 193 are
fermented into ethanol 406. The fermenter 160 is configured to
fluidly communicate with the distillation column 170 to communicate
the processing stream containing ethanol 406 from the fermentation
chamber 162 to the distillation column 170.
[0050] The distillation column 170 includes a distillation column
shell 172 that defines a distillation column passage 174 having a
base 178 and a top 177, as illustrated in FIG. 1A. A number of
porous plates 176 are interposed within the distillation column
passage 174 to allow exchanges between the liquid and vapor phases
within the distillation column passage 174. As illustrated, the
fermenter 160 is in fluid communication with the distillation
column 170 so that the liquid based processing stream 193
containing ethanol 406 may be communicated from the fermentation
chamber 162 to the distillation chamber passage 174. The
distillation column 170 captures the ethanol 406 generally near the
top 177 of the distillation column passage 174, in various aspects,
and stillage 407 in the form of whole stillage 408 is recovered
generally near the base 178 of the distillation column passage
174.
[0051] As illustrated in FIG. 1A, the pulse combustion dryer 30
includes a combustor 31 that defines a combustion chamber 32, a
tailpipe 40 that defines a tailpipe passage 42, and a drying
chamber 60 that defines a drying chamber passage 62. As
illustrated, the drying passage 68 includes the drying chamber
passage 62. The pulse combustion dryer 30 also includes feed inlet
77 to allow the introduction of dryer feed material 73 into the
drying passage 68. As illustrated, a pulse of air 55 and a pulse of
fuel 53 may be introduced into the combustion chamber 32 and
ignited to produce a pulse of heated combustion products 59.
Stillage 407 in the form of whole stillage 408 may be communicated
from the base 178 of the distillation column passage 174 to the
feed inlet 77.
[0052] As illustrated, the pulse combustion dryer 30 is in fluid
communication with the distillation column 170 to introduce the
stillage 207 into the drying passage 68. The stillage is introduced
through the feed inlet 77 as the dryer feed material 73 to be
entrained in the pulse of combustion products 59. The pulse
combustion dryer 30 uses pulses of heated combustion products 59 to
dry the stillage 407, and the dried co-product 430 is expelled from
the drying passage 68 within the pulses of heated combustion
products 59 as the dried material 75. As illustrated, a collector
50 configured as a cyclone 56 is provided to collect the dried
material 75 into bin 51. As would be recognized by those skilled in
the art upon review of this disclosure, various pumps, pipes,
valves, storage reservoirs, inlets, outlets, heat exchangers,
process control systems, and other such apparatus and features
would be provided as part of the ethanol production facility 10 to,
inter alia, communicate the liquid based processing stream 193
between the fermenter 160, the distillation column 170, and the
pulse combustion dryer 30 and to regulate the ethanol production
facility 10.
[0053] As illustrated in FIG. 1B, the ethanol production facility
10 includes the fermenter 160, distillation column 170, and
includes one or more units 92 that derive fermentable sugars from
the grain. The one or more units 92 are in fluid communication with
the fermenter 160 to communicate the fermentable sugars into the
fermentation chamber 162 of the fermenter. The fermenter 160, as
illustrated, is in fluid communication with the distillation column
170 to communicate the liquid based processing stream 193
containing ethanol from the fermentation chamber 162 into the
distillation column passage 174 of the distillation column 170. The
distillation column 170, as illustrated, is in fluid communication
with the pulse combustion dryer 30 to communicate stillage 407
including whole stillage 408 recovered from the distillation column
170 into the pulse combustion dryer 30 as the dryer feed material
73 to produce dried co-product 430 as the dried material 75.
[0054] The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1C includes stillage
processing unit 88 to extract the stillage fraction 409 from the
whole stillage 408. The stillage processing unit 88 is in fluid
communication with the distillation column 170 to receive whole
stillage 408 recovered from the distillation column 170. The
stillage processing unit 88 is in fluid communication with the
pulse combustion dryer 30 to introduce the stillage fraction 409
into the pulse combustion dryer 30 as dryer feed material 73 in
order to produce dried co-product 430 as the dried material 75
therefrom. In various embodiments, one or more stillage processing
units 88 may be included in the ethanol production facility 10 to
extract a plurality of stillage fractions 409 from the whole
stillage 408. The one or more stillage processing units 88 may be
configured to communicate whole stillage 408 and/or stillage
fractions 409 including combinations thereof either simultaneously
or sequentially to one or more pulse combustion dryers 30 as the
dryer feed material 73 to produce one or more dried co-products 430
as the dried material 75. In various embodiments, one or more
stillage processing units 88 may process the stillage fraction 409
to further modify the stillage fraction 409 and/or to extract
additional stillage fractions 409 from the stillage fraction
409.
[0055] FIGS. 2A and 2B generally illustrate embodiments of the
pulse combustion dryer 30. The pulse combustion dryer 30, as
illustrated, includes a combustor 31 that defines a combustion
chamber 32 and a tailpipe 40 that defines a tailpipe passage 42
with a first end 44 and a second end 46. The first end 44 of the
tailpipe 40 is connected to the combustion chamber 32 so that the
tailpipe passage 42 is in fluid communication with the combustion
chamber 32. The second end 46 of the tailpipe 40 may be connected
to a collector 50 so that the tailpipe passage 42 is in fluid
communication with the collector 50, as illustrated in FIG. 2A. The
combustion chamber 32 is configured to receive a pulse of fuel 53
and a pulse of air 55 and to ignite the fuel-air mixture to produce
a pulse of heated combustion products 59. The combustion chamber 32
fluidly communicates with the tailpipe passage 42 to expel the
heated combustion products 59 through the tailpipe passage 42 from
the first end 44 to the second end 46.
[0056] The pulse combustion dryer 30 may be generally configured as
a resonator such as a Helmholtz resonator to ignite the fuel-air
mixture periodically, in contrast to the continuous ignition in
conventional dryers. The combustion chamber 32 ignites the fuel-air
mixture to produce a compression wave that propagates through the
tailpipe passage 42 from the first end 44 to the second end 46. The
compression wave may be followed by a rarefaction wave that
propagates through the tailpipe passage 42 from the second end 46
to the first end 44 to draw air 55 and combustion products 59
generally through the passage from the second end 46 to the first
end 44 and into the combustion chamber 32. The rarefaction wave may
replenish the air 55 in the combustion chamber 32 and may also
provide an ignition source for subsequent ignitions. Thus, the
length of the tailpipe 40 may be sized to control the period
between ignitions by controlling the period of the compression wave
and rarefaction wave.
[0057] As illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the combustion chamber 32
may also receive air 55 through one or more combustion chamber
inlets 33. The combustion chamber 32 may receive fuel 53 which may
be introduced generally in sequence with the rarefaction waves to
be ignited by the combustion products 59 carried back into the
combustion chamber 32 by the rarefaction wave. The fuel 53 may be
solid, liquid, or gaseous or combinations thereof. One or more
igniters 35 may also be generally disposed about the combustion
chamber 32 to ignite the fuel-air mixture.
[0058] The pulse combustion dryer 30 may be configured so that the
dryer feed material 73 may be introduced generally into the
tailpipe passage 42 as illustrated in FIG. 2A, to be entrained in
the pulse of combustion products 59 and dried while being propelled
through the tailpipe passage 42 to the second end 46. In this
embodiment, the drying passage 68 includes the tailpipe passage 42.
The collector 50 may be in fluid communication with the second end
46 to allow the collector 50 to collect the dried material 65 from
pulses of heated combustion products 59. The pulse combustion dryer
30 uses the heat of the combustion products 59 to generally dry the
dryer feed material 73 into the dried material 75 as the dryer feed
material 73 is propelled through the drying passage 68.
[0059] In some embodiments, a drying chamber 60 that defines a
drying chamber passage 62 with a first drying chamber end 64 and a
second drying chamber end 66 is included in the pulse combustion
dryer 30, as illustrated in FIG. 2B. The first drying chamber end
64 is generally connected to the second end 46 of the tailpipe 40
so that the drying chamber passage 62 is in fluid communication
with the tailpipe passage 42, as illustrated, to allow pulses of
combustion products 59 to pass through the tailpipe passage 42 from
the first end 44 to the second end 46, and to pass through the
drying chamber passage 62 from the first drying chamber end 64 to
the second drying chamber end 66. The pulse combustion dryer 30 is
configured in this illustrated embodiment such that the dryer feed
material 73 is introduced into the drying chamber passage 62
generally proximate the first end 44, entrained in the pulse of
combustion products 59, and propelled through the drying chamber
passage 62 to the second drying chamber end 66. Thus, in this
embodiment, the drying passage 68 includes the drying chamber
passage 62. The second drying chamber end 66 communicates with the
collector 50 to allow the collector to collect the dried material
75. The pulse combustion dryer 30 uses the heat of the combustion
products 59 to generally dry the dryer feed material 73 into the
dried material 75 as the dryer feed material 73 is propelled
through the drying passage 68.
[0060] The output power for certain embodiments of the pulse
combustion dryer 30 ranges from about 70 to about 1000 kW. Pulse
combustion dryers 30 operate at frequencies ranging from about 20
to 250 Hz in various implementations. In implementations having a
drying chamber 60, the harmonic frequency of the drying chamber 60
may be matched to the frequency of the tailpipe 40 so that the
tailpipe 40 excites the drying chamber passage 62. Pressure
oscillation in the combustion chamber 32 of .+-.10 kPa may produce
velocity oscillation in the tailpipe 40 of about .+-.100 m/s, in
various implementations, so the instantaneous velocity of the gas
jet at the second end 46 of the tailpipe 40 may vary from about 0
to 100 m/s.
[0061] One or more feed inlets 77 may be included in the pulse
combustion dryer 30 to introduce the dryer feed material 73 into
the drying passage 68 of the pulse combustion dryer 30. In some
embodiments, the feed inlet 77 is generally configured as a pipe.
The dryer feed material 73 may be generally in a liquid form, or
may be in the form of slurry, paste, or other viscous or
non-Newtonian form. The dryer feed material 73 may include various
agglomerations, aggregations, non-homogeneities and/or chunks of
solids, and suchlike would be typical of whole stillage 408 and the
various stillage fractions 409. The size of the solids including
the various agglomerations, aggregations, non-homogeneities and/or
chunks in the dryer feed material 73 may be limited generally by
the size of the passage defined by the feed inlet 77. As
illustrated in FIG. 2A, a slurry pump 79, which may be a screw
pump, positive displacement pump, or other pump capable of pumping
slurry, paste, or similar viscous and/or non-Newtonian dryer feed
material(s) 73, may be used to introduce the dryer feed material 73
through the feed inlet 77. In various embodiments, the feed inlet
77 may include a nozzle, sprayer, or similar feature to atomize the
dryer feed material 73 as the dryer feed material 73 is introduced
into the tailpipe passage 42 or into the drying chamber passage 62
of the pulse combustion dryer 30. However, inclusion of the nozzle,
sprayer, or similar feature to atomize the dryer feed material 73
may not be necessary in various embodiments wherein the dryer feed
material 73 is whole stillage 408 and/or stillage fraction(s) 409
as the combination of oscillatory flow, shock waves, and turbulence
in the pulses of combustion products 59 within the drying passage
68 may tend to shear the dryer feed material 73 to produce dried
material 75 having a uniform size distribution.
[0062] The collector 50 is configured to receive the product stream
exiting the tailpipe 40 or exiting the drying chamber passage 62,
which contains evaporated liquids, dried material 75 and the
combustion products 59, in order to capture the dried material 75,
as illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B. The collector 50 can include a
cyclone, a baghouse, other filters, or a series of such apparatus.
In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the collector 50
includes a baghouse 52 to collect the dried material 75 into a bin
51.
[0063] An implementation of an ethanol production facility 10
configured as the dry grind facility 100 is illustrated in FIG. 3.
As illustrated, the units 92 to the ethanol production facility 10
include a mill 120, a cooker 130, a liquefier 140, a saccharifier
150, a fermenter 160, a distillation column 170, and a dehydrator
180. The mill 120 is generally configured to accept grain 402 as
feedstock and to mill the grain 402 to generally reduce the grain
402 into a meal and/or powder. The mill 120 may include a
hammer-mill, various grinder(s) and/or other milling machines. The
mill 120, as illustrated, is configured to mix the meal and/or
powder with water to form slurry, and is in fluid communication
with the cooker 130 to communicate the slurry to the cooker 130 as
the liquid based processing stream 193.
[0064] The cooker 130, the liquefier 140, the saccharifier 150, the
fermenter 160, the distillation column 170, and the dehydrator 180
are in fluid communication to communicate the liquid based
processing stream 193 from the cooker 130 to the liquefier 140,
and, thence, to the saccharifier 150, the fermenter 160, the
distillation column 170, and the dehydrator 180, as illustrated.
The nature of the liquid based processing stream 193 generally
changes from slurry to mash to fermented mash, and finally, to
ethanol 406 and whole stillage 408 as the liquid based processing
stream 193 is communicated through the units 92 of the dry grind
facility 100.
[0065] The cooker 130 heats the slurry along with enzymes such as
alpha-amylase in order to solubilize the starch to produce a mash.
This may be referred to as gelatinization. Gelatinization allows
enzymes to access the starch molecules to cleave the polymeric
bonds and release the simple sugars for fermentation. In various
embodiments, the cooker 130 may be configured as a jet cooker. The
jet cooker, in various implementations, heats the slurry to
temperatures in excess of 100.degree. C. and at pressures of
several atmospheres to gelatinize the starch. Water molecules may
be adsorbed or absorbed by the starch causing the starch molecules
to expand thereby weakening the structure of the starch and
releasing the starch molecules. The enzymes may also act in various
ways to disrupt the structure of the starch. This, in turn, may
allow water to access additional starch molecules to further
degrade the structure of the starch.
[0066] The cooker 130 may communicate the mash to the liquefier
140, as illustrated. In the liquefier 140, the temperature of the
mash is from about 90.degree. C. to about 95.degree. C. in various
implementations. The liquefier 140 may add additional enzymes such
as alpha-amylase may to the mash to cleave the long polysaccharide
chains of the gelatinized starch molecules into shorter chains such
as maltodextrins and oligosaccharides. This cleaving of these long
polysaccharide chains tends to reduce the viscosity of the mash,
hence the term liquefier. In other implementations, the cooker 130
and the liquefier 140 may be combined to both solubilize the starch
and cleave the polysaccharide chains of the starch molecules.
[0067] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the liquefier 140 may communicate
the mash to the saccharifier 150. The saccharifier 150 adds more
enzymes to the mash to convert the smaller sugar chains into
fermentable sugars such as glucose, which could then be fermented
into ethanol 406 by the yeast in the fermenter 160. The
saccharifier 150 may add enzymes such as gluco-amylase to hydrolyze
maltodextrins and oligosaccharides into single glucose sugar
molecules.
[0068] In the illustrated embodiment, the saccharifier 150 may
communicate the mash as the liquid based processing stream 193 to
the fermentation chamber 162 of the fermenter 160. The fermenter
160 combines the mash with yeast, for example saccharomyces
cerevisae, in the fermentation chamber 162 to metabolize the
fermentable sugars in the mash into ethanol 406. In other
embodiments, the saccharifier 150 may be combined with the
fermenter 160 to reduce starch into fermentable sugars and to
ferment the fermentable sugars. Those of ordinary skill in the art
would recognize other such combinations of units 92 upon review of
this disclosure.
[0069] In the embodiment illustrated by FIG. 3, the fermenter
communicates the fermented mash as the liquid based processing
stream 193 to the distillation column 170 to capture the ethanol
406 produced during fermentation by distillation. The distillation
column 170 communicates the ethanol 406, which contains some water,
to the dehydrator 180 in this implementation. The dehydrator 180 is
configured to strip the water from the ethanol 406 to produce
essentially anhydrous ethanol 406. The dehydrator 180 may include a
dehydration column and/or other water removing units to strip
residual water from the ethanol 406.
[0070] In this implementation, the distillation column 170 and the
dehydrator 180 produce stillage 407 in the form of whole stillage
408. The whole stillage 408, as illustrated, is the residual
non-ethanol fraction of the liquid based processing stream 193 that
remains after the distillation column 170 captures the ethanol 406
from the liquid based processing stream 193, and the dehydrator 180
strips the residual water from the ethanol 406.
[0071] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the ethanol production facility 10
includes one or more pulse combustion dryer units 200 to produce
generally dried co-products from whole stillage 408 including
various fractions of whole stillage 408. Each pulse combustion
dryer unit 200 includes at least one pulse combustion dryer 30 to
produce dried material 75 from the dryer feed material 73
communicated to the pulse combustion dryer unit 200.
[0072] The ethanol production facility 10 may include one or more
stillage processing units 88 that cooperate with the pulse
combustion dryer unit 200 to produce generally dried co-products
from whole stillage 408, stillage fractions 409, and/or
combinations thereof. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the
ethanol production facility 10 may include a centrifuge unit 205
that includes one or more centrifuges 207 and an evaporator 210
configured to evaporate liquid. The centrifuge unit 205, as
illustrated, is configured to receive the whole stillage 408 from
the distillation column 170 and from the dehydrator 180, and to
separate the insoluble solids from the soluble materials in the
whole stillage 408 by centrifugation. The insoluble solids are the
WDG 414. The supernatant from the centrifuge unit 205 contains the
soluble materials and is termed Thin Stillage 410. In other
embodiments, the stillage processing unit 88 could be configured as
a filter unit 215 that includes one or more filters such as vacuum
filters to separate the whole stillage 408 into Thin Stillage 410
and WDG 414.
[0073] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the centrifuge unit 205 is in
fluid communication with the evaporator to communicate the Thin
Stillage 410 to the evaporator 210. The evaporator 210 is heats the
Thin Stillage 410 to remove moisture from the Thin Stillage 410 by
evaporation and form a syrup, which generally contains the soluble
materials in the whole stillage 408. The syrup produced by the
evaporator 210 from the Thin Stillage 410 is CDS 412.
[0074] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the centrifuge unit 205
communicates the WDG 414 to the pulse combustion dryer unit 200.
The pulse combustion dryer unit 200 introduces the WDG 414 into the
one or more pulse combustion dryers 30 included therein as the
dryer feed material 73 to produce DDG 418 in this
implementation.
[0075] The centrifuge unit 205 may be configured to communicate the
WDG 414 to the pulse combustion dryer unit 200 and the evaporator
210 may be configured to communicate the CDS 412 to the pulse
combustion dryer unit 200. The pulse combustion dryer unit 200 may
be configured to receive the CDS 412 and the WDG 414, combine the
CDS 412 and the WDG 414 in various proportions to form DWGS, and to
introduce the DWGS into the one or more pulse combustion dryers 30
as the dryer feed material 73 to produce DDGS 416 as the dried
material 75.
[0076] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the pulse combustion dryer unit
200 receives the CDS 412 from the evaporator 210 and to introduce
the CDS 412 into the pulse combustion dryer unit 200 as the dryer
feed material 73 and DDS 420 is produced therefrom as the dried
material 75.
[0077] FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrates alternative embodiments
that process the whole stillage 408 or the Thin Stillage 410 from
the dry grind facility 100. As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the pulse
combustion dryer unit 200 receives whole stillage 408 and the whole
stillage 408 is introduced into the one or more pulse combustion
dryers 30 within the pulse combustion dryer unit 200 as the dryer
feed material 73 to produce DDGS 416 as the dried material 75. The
stillage processing unit 88 such as the centrifuge unit 205 and the
evaporator 210 are eliminated in this implementation.
[0078] The embodiment of FIG. 4B includes centrifuge unit 205 and
pulse combustion dryer unit 200. Whole stillage 408 is communicated
to the centrifuge unit 205, and the centrifuge unit communicates
the Thin Stillage 410 to the pulse combustion dryer unit 200, in
this embodiment, and the Thin Stillage 410 is introduced into the
one or more pulse combustion dryers 30 within the pulse combustion
dryer unit 200 as the dryer feed material 73 to produce DDS 420 as
the dried material 75. Production of CDS by evaporation is
eliminated in this implementation.
[0079] Centrifuge unit 205 and flocculator 220 are included in the
implementation illustrated in FIG. 4C. The centrifuge unit 205, as
illustrated, communicates the Thin Stillage 410 to the flocculator
220. a flocculant 482 is added to the Thin Stillage 410 within the
flocculator 220 to precipitate the dissolved materials out of the
thin stillage 410 as a floc 484. The flocculant 482 may be
isinglass, Irish moss, alum, or other flocculants or combinations
of flocculants that would be recognized by those skilled in the art
upon review of this disclosure. The flocculator 220 in this
implementation communicates the floc 484 to the pulse combustion
dryer unit 200, and the floc 484 is introduced into the one or more
pulse combustion dryers 30 within the pulse combustion dryer unit
200 as the dryer feed material 73 to produce DDS 420 as the dried
material 75.
[0080] In various embodiments, the pulse combustion dryer unit 200
could be configured to combine the floc 484 with the WDG 414 and
introduce the combined floc-WDG into the pulse combustion drier 30
as the dryer feed material 73 to produce a type of DDGS 416 as the
dried material 75. In still other embodiments, the whole stillage
408 is communicated to the flocculator 220, and the flocculator 220
communicates the resulting floc 484 to the pulse combustion dryer
unit 200. The floc 484 is introduced into the one or more pulse
combustion dryers 30 within the pulse combustion dryer unit 200 as
the dryer feed material 73 to produce DDGS 416 as the dried
material 75.
[0081] An embodiment of an ethanol production facility 10
configured as the wet mill facility 300 is illustrated in FIG. 5.
The wet mill facility 300, as illustrated, includes one or more
units 92. The wet mill facility 300, as illustrated, accepts grain
402 as feedstock, extracts germ 428, fiber 432, and gluten 436 from
the grain 402, and ferments sugars derived from starches in the
grain 402 to produce ethanol 406. The wet mill facility 300
captures the ethanol 408 and produces a type of whole stillage 408
termed GFE 422 as the remainder in this implementation. In this
implementation, the GFE 422 generally contains soluble
non-fermented materials in the grain 402 feedstock minus the germ
428, fiber 432, and gluten 436. The GFE 422 further contains yeast
wasted from the wet mill facility 300 in this implementation.
[0082] As illustrated in FIG. 5, the wet mill facility 300
communicates the GFE 422 to the pulse combustion dryer unit 200.
The pulse combustion dryer unit 200 introduces GFE 422 into the one
or more pulse combustion dryers 30 included therein as the dryer
feed material 73 to produce DGFE 424 as the dried material 75.
[0083] Various other implementations could include one or more
stillage processing units 88 configured to concentrate, separate,
or otherwise process the GFE 422 prior to introduction of the GFE
422 into the pulse combustion dryers 30 as dryer feed material 73.
For example, an evaporator 210 could be used to concentrate the GFE
422 and the concentrated GFE 422 from the evaporator 210 introduced
into the pulse combustion dryers 30 as dryer feed material 73 to
produce DGFE as the dried material 75. As would be recognized by
those skilled in the art upon review of this disclosure, other
stillage processing units 88 that cooperate with the pulse
combustion dryer unit 200 to produce DGFE 424 and other dried
co-products 430 from GFE could be included in various other
embodiments of the ethanol production facility 10.
[0084] Methods for the production of one or more dried co-products
430 from stillage 407 derived from the production of ethanol 406
are disclosed herein. The methods, in various aspects, may include
providing an ethanol production facility 10 having a liquid based
processing stream 193, providing at least one pulse combustion
dryer 30, producing stillage 407 by the ethanol production
facility, and introducing the stillage 407 into the pulse of heated
combustion products 59 in the drying passage 68 of the pulse
combustion dryer 30 as the dryer feed material 73 to produce
co-product 430 as the dried material 75. In various aspects, the
methods include capturing ethanol 406 from the liquid based
processing stream 193 and obtaining stillage 407 from at least
portions of the remainder of the liquid based processing stream
193. The methods may include extracting one or more stillage
fractions 409 from whole stillage 408. The methods, in various
aspects, may include providing one or more stillage processing
units 88 and may include processing the whole stillage 408 and/or
stillage fractions 409 including extracting one or more stillage
fractions 409 from the whole stillage 408, separating, dewatering,
and/or otherwise processing the whole stillage 408 and/or stillage
fractions 409 using the one or more stillage processing units 88.
The methods may also include introducing the whole stillage 408,
the stillage fractions 409, and/or combinations thereof into the
one or more pulse combustion dryers 30 as the dryer feed material
73 thereby obtaining one or more dried co-products 430 as the dried
material 75.
[0085] In various aspects, the methods include introducing stillage
from an ethanol production facility into a pulse combustion dryer
as a dryer feed material thereby obtaining a dried material
therefrom. In various aspects, the stillage includes whole stillage
and the dried material obtained therefrom includes dried
distiller's grains and solubles. In various aspects, the stillage
includes whole stillage in the form of grain fermented extractives
and the dried material obtained therefrom includes dried grain
fermented extractives. In various aspects, the stillage includes
wet distiller's grains and the dried material obtained therefrom
includes dried distiller's grains. In various aspects, the stillage
includes thin stillage and the dried material obtained therefrom
includes dried distiller's solubles.
[0086] In various aspects, the methods include producing stillage
using an ethanol production facility, extracting a stillage
fraction from said stillage, and introducing the stillage fraction
into a pulse combustion dryer as a dryer feed materials thereby
obtaining a dried material therefrom. In various aspects, the
stillage fraction includes wet distiller's grains and the dried
material obtained therefrom includes dried distiller's grains. In
various aspects, the stillage fraction includes thin stillage and
the dried material obtained therefrom includes dried distiller's
solubles. In various aspects, the stillage fraction includes
condensed distiller's solubles obtained therefrom and the dried
material includes dried distiller's solubles.
[0087] An embodiment of the methods is presented in the flowchart
illustrated in FIG. 6. This illustrated embodiment of the methods
begins with the step 605 of inputting grain into the ethanol
production facility 10. The method proceeds with the steps 610, 615
of extracting the starch from the grain, and converting the starch
to simple sugars, respectively. These are followed by the step 620
fermenting sugars to produce ethanol and step 625 capturing the
ethanol thereby producing stillage in step 630. The method, as
illustrated, concludes with the step 635 of introducing the
stillage into the pulse combustion dryer and step 640 of producing
dried co-product. In various aspects, the dried co-product 430 may
be DDS, DDGS, or DGFE.
[0088] The foregoing discussion discloses and describes merely
exemplary implementations. Upon study of this specification, one of
ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize from such
discussion, and from the accompanying figures and claims, that
various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein
without departing from the spirit and scope of the following
claims.
* * * * *