Description BETAPROCESS® - Ethanol
BETAPROCESS® facilities for the treatment of whole and unprepared energy
sugar beet.
The treatment season starts in September and lasts about 280 days until June.
Necessary conservation processes have already been tested.
Our goal is that these facilities can be used for other high energy content plants/fruits
during the remaining months and provide year-round operation.
Delivery or the energy sugar beet
Energy sugar beets are loaded onto the sides of the fields with a machine.
The beats are delivered just in time to our Betaprocess® facility where they are directly treated or stored.
Reception
The reception of the sugar beet is done in the traditional way.
An alternative possibility is to have a mobile washing facility.
Thus this process is done directly while loading the sugar beet on the side of the fields and the energy sugar beets would be directly delivered washed, and just in time to the Bioethanol plant.
BETAPROCESS® Technique
After an initial crushing, the sugar beets are pumped into the Betaprocess® facility.
The Betaprocess® opens the cells of energy sugar beets. Thus, yeasts have access to all the sugar in the beets. Moreover, this causes, according to present knowledge, a change and release of the molecular structure of different substances, which are then accessible to the yeasts for ethanol fermentation. Sugar beet puree is initially heated to the desired temperature of 50°C.
The warm sugar beet puree comes into the Betaprocess® “reaction vat”, in which the sugar beet cells are opened and divided. In parallel, we remove from the beet mass the necessary energy to lower the temperature to approx. 33°C.
Fermentation
For the fermentation of the whole plants mass, special vats, Betaprocess®, are manufactured. These vats are fitted with special bases to ensure they are emptied completely. In addition, special mixers are installed to maintain the mass in movement and limit volume increase. These special versions Betaprocess® are the basis for efficient fermentation and increase decisively the production of ethanol. These mixers are also used to facilitate the control of beet mass temperature. Since fermentation produces a lot of heat, it is necessary to control it. Investment costs compared to conventional technologies are not much higher.
Distillation
Just as for the fermentation, distillation columns and procedures are optimized for the Betaprocess® so that the whole sugar beet is directed into the installation and can be distilled.
A new and simplified process compared to traditional methods which can only be distilled from the juice and thus must be prepared and separated first.
The basis for optimum yield and efficiency is raised by the Betaprocess®, a new method that does not exist in traditional processing.
In particular, the new concepts are equipped with high yield efficiency compressors combined with generators.
Biogas installation
The distilled stillage is brought into a Biogas facility. This delivers most of the required gas to produce the electricity and heat needed. From the results obtained, we can assure by the recycling from the biogas installation, up to 90% of the energy needed to run the plant.
The goal is, and remains that, as technical improvements are made, the installation is energetically independent.
Treatment after Biogas fermentation
After the Biogas production the water is separated from the dry substance. It is treated until it can be put back into rivers.
Solid Waste
The solid waste is stored and processed in the production area.
The final product can be sold on the market as a high quality plant fertilizer and thus represents a derivative and a supplementary income for the operator of the facility.
Ethanol :
The ethanol is stored in vats and buyers come to provision themselves “just in time."
Ethanol yield :
The Betaprocess® technology reaches a yield of up to 12% more than a traditional process.
Energy Balance :
By using new technologies in combination with obtaining heat and electrical power, we are, with our concept Betaprocess®, already very close to our greatest goal of being energetically independent.
Based on current technical knowledge, BETAPROCESS® shows the best energy balance.