In ICM’s integrated distillation, dehydration and evaporation (DDE) system, each process reuses energy to increase overall plant efficiency. The distillation system uses steam and energy from the evaporation system, and the evaporation system uses heat recovered from the dehydration system and low-pressure steam. The evaporation system eliminates the land application of thin stillage by concentrating it into corn syrup, which can be added to distillers grains to increase their value.
DDE system advantages
ICM’s low-pressure distillation is a multi-column system that boils ethanol out of water to create 190-proof ethanol prior to dehydration. The distillation process is powered by process vapors generated from the evaporation system. In turn, the evaporation system is powered by boiler/turbine steam and by process vapors generated by the dehydration system, if such a system exists. This transfer of heat from one system to the next, also known as energy economization or reutilization, allows ICM’s low-pressure distillation design to require low steam flow in order to run distillation efficiently. Over time, the reduced energy costs lead to higher revenue for the plant.
Enhanced ethanol separation
Low-pressure distillation is compatible with degassing technology. By removing carbon dioxide, a degasser improves the separation of ethanol from solids and increases the capacity of distillation equipment.
Learn how our low-pressure distillation system or our DDE system package can add value to your process.
