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MEKELLE UNIVERSITY

COLLAGE OF EIT-M
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING
Proposal for final project
Title: - optimization of bioethanol from barley spent grain
Member ID number
1 Fisseha Yohannes 1452/05
2 Shambel Zinabu 162235/06
3 Solomon Hawaz 0480/05
Abstract
Barley spent grain (BSG), is attracting increasing scientific interest as a low-cost feedstock for many
biotechnological applications. The objective of this study is aiming at optimization and production
of bioethanol from Barley spent grain by using fermentation and distillations unity opretion.
Content
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study

Bioethanol as fuel has been known over hundred years. In 1860 Nicholas August Otto from
Germany employed ethanol as fuel in his internal combustion engine. From beginning of last
century up to 1960 mixed ethanol with gasoline was used widely for transportation in many
European countries such as Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, England as well as Brazil and
U.S.A. In 1960s the interest to use of ethanol decreased due to low price of oil (in
comparison with ethanol price). The new interest in Bioethanol once more started in
many countries (Brazil in 1979, U.S.A. in 1980 and Europe in 1990) owing to
technological developments, market factors and some other factors such as national energy
security concern and governmental motivations. Nowadays a huge amount of ethanol is
produced around the world. For instance, in 2008 the U.S.A. was the first fuel ethanol producer
with 9,000 millions of gallons. In that year Brazil with 6,472.2 and the European Union with
733.6 millions of gallons fuel ethanol will the second and third producer of fuel ethanol
in the world respectively. The main raw materials in those countries are sugar or starch (corn,
wheat, sugar cane and sugar beets). Nowadays, concerns about if there will be enough corn to
support the demand for both fuel and food is increasing. Therefore the competition between
food and ethanol industries may lead the price of grain and sugar in the future (Sun and Cheng
2002).Energy consumption has increased steadily over the last century as the world’s population
increases, and more and more countries become industrialized. The traditional source fossil fuel
is continuously being depleted irrespective of the new geographical discoveries (Campbell and
Lahrrere 1998) estimated the current known oil reserve as well as the reserves yet to be
discovered and concluded that the world crude oil production will begin to decline in 2010.
There have also been concerns about the pollution and various health risks associated with the
use of petroleum as fuel. In view of these, the importance of alternative energy source has
become even more necessary not only due to the continuous depletion of the limited fossil fuel
stock but also for safe and better environment (Chandel, et al. 2007).
1.2. Statement of the problem

Due to the potential exhausting of traditional fossil fuels and the increasing price of petroleum
together with environmental concerns, the search for alternative renewable fuels has
attracted great attention in recent years. Now days, the numbers of brewery industries are
increasing in Ethiopia and they generate a high amount of barley spent grain. This by-product is
mainly used as cattle feed but it contains starch that used for bioethanol production. So the
Conversion of such by product into bioethanol helps to reduce energy problem of developing
countries like Ethiopia.
1.3. Objectives of the study

1.3.1. General objective

The general objective of study will be to optimize and to produce bioethanol from barley spent
grain.
1.3.2. Specific objectives

 To investigate effect of fermentation time and yeast concentration on bioethanol


production.
 To optimize bioethanol obtained from distillation process.
 To perform Size of main equipment’s.
 To evaluate the economic feasibility.

1.4. Significance of the study

 Producing bio ethanol from barley spent grain (BSG) has a significant advantage for
energy source and decreases the impact of greenhouse gas.
 Bioethanol production from BSG is considered as 2nd generation biofuel process since it
has no direct conflict with human food.
 The cost of bioethanol will be decreased. This can increase the consumption of ethanol in
the country.
 Creates energy security to our country.
 It creates work opportunity for peoples in our country.

1.5. Scope of the project

This project work ranges from literature survey, developing of methodology, performing
experiment to produce bio ethanol, plant design that contains market study, material balance and
energy balance, specification, sizing and apparatus design of main equipment’s and to perform
economic analysis.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. History of ethanol production
Ethanol is an alcohol made through the fermentation of plant sugars from agricultural crops and
biomass resources (NEVC, 1998). With rapid depletion of the world reserves of petroleum,
ethanol in recent years has emerged as one of the alternative liquid fuel and has generated
immense activities of research in the production of ethanol and its environmental impact.
Production of alcoholic beverages is in fact as old as human civilization. The production
of pure ethanol apparently begins in the 12-14th century along with improvement of distillation.
During the middle ages, alcohol was used mainly for production of medical drugs but also for the
manufacture of painting pigments. The knowledge of using starchy materials for ethanol
production was first employed in the 12th century in typical beer countries like Ireland.
Ethanol was one of the most popular lamp illuminants used in 1850s and approximately 90
million gallons ethanol was produced in the United States. But due to the tax imposition on
ethanol to assist in financing the civil war and the cheaper price of kerosene, it quickly
replaced ethanol as the premier illuminant in 1861 (Morris, 1993). It was only in the 19th century
that this trade became an industry with enormous production figures due to the economic
improvements of the distilling process. It was at the beginning of the 20th century that it had
become known that alcohol might be used as fuel for various combustion engines,
especially for automobiles. In the 1970’s, the interest in fuel ethanol was renewed due to the oil
crisis. Nearly 25 federal agencies administered various ethanol programs and the National
Alcohol Fuels Commission was established to study the potential for alcohol based fuels
(Lansing, 1983). Ethanol gained further support in 1980 when Chrysler, Ford and General
Motors released statements that ethanol with blends of up to 10% would be covered in their
vehicle warranties (RFA, 1998). It’s market grew from less than a billion litres in 1975 to more
than 39 billion litres in 2006 and reach approximately 100 billion litres in 2015 (Licht, 2006).

2.2. Bio-ethanol and its application

Bioethanol is ethanol that is produced from biological materials (biomass).It is water-free


alcohol produced from the fermentation of sugar or converted starch. It is colourless clear
Liquid with mild characteristic odour. It is volatile, miscible in both water and non-polar solvents
at ordinary conditions (Purwadi 2006).
It is applicable as:-
 Fuel
 Medical purpose
 Recreational purpose
 Household heating
 Feedstock
 Solvent
2.3. Ethanol and its characteristics

Bioethanol or fuel alcohol refers to ethyl alcohol produced by microbial fermentation (as
opposed to petro chemically-derived alcohol) that is used as a transportation biofuel. It is
produced through distillation of the ethanolic wash emanating from fermentation of biomass
derived sugars and can be utilized as a liquid fuel in internal combustion engines, either neat or
in petrol blends (Walker, 2011).Table 2.1 summaries some of the important characteristics
of ethanol as a fuel source.

Table 2.1: Physico - chemical characteristics of ethanol as liquid fuel

2.4. Feedstocks for bioethanol production


Ethanol can be produced synthetically from petroleum or by the microbial fermentation
of sugars. The three main groups of raw materials for the production of ethanol by fermentation
are sugar, starch, and lignocellulose (Lin and Tanaka 2006). Sugar-containing raw materials
include sugarcane, sugar beets, fruits and sweet sorghum. Starch is a biopolymer and defined as a
homopolymer consisting only one monomer, D-glucose (Pongsawatmanit, Temsiripong and
Suwonsichon 2007). During bioethanol production from starch, it is necessary to break
down the chains of this carbohydrate for obtaining glucose syrup, which can be converted
into bioethanol by yeasts. This type of feedstock is the most utilized for bioethanol production
in North America and Europe (Sanchez, et al. 2004). Starch can be converted to fermentable
sugar by a method called the hydrolysis technique. Hydrolysis is a reaction of starch with water,
typically performed by cooking the starch at high and low temperatures which is normally
used to break down the starch into fermentable sugar. Dextrin oligosaccharides are generated by
adding α-amylase and glucoamylase to obtain glucose (Wheals, et al. 1999).
2.5. Barley spent grain

Barley spent grains are lignocellulosic materials, which are the main by-product of the brewing
industry corresponding to around 85%of the total by product.
This by-product contains high amounts of protein and fiber, but till now has been limited mainly
for animal feed, human nutrition and in some case as substrate for microorganisms with different
proposes such as cultivation of microorganism and enzyme production. In addition, some
investigation on the enzymatic hydrolysis of spent barley grain has been done in order to
release of ferulic and p-coumaric acids with an esterase and a xylanase. Although a huge
amount of this byproduct produces every year, a few investigations have done to consider it as a
low-cost raw material for energy production. The spent barley grain usually include of the husk
of the original barley grain, but depending on original raw materials used for bear production
and also harvesting time, additive and process condition could contain different composition
(Mussatto and Roberto, 2006).

2.5.1. Physicochemical properties of barley spent grain (BSG)


Barley spent grain basically consists of the husk–pericarp–seed coat layers that covered the
original barley grain. Depending on the evenness of malting more or less starchy endosperm and
walls of empty aleuronic cells may also remain. The starch content will be negligible, and some
residues of hops introduced during mashing will be present depending on the brewing regime
used. Thus, the major components of BSG will be the walls of the husk–pericarp–seed coat,
which are rich in cellulose and non-cellulosic polysaccharides and lignin, and may contain some
protein and lipid. The husk also contains considerable amounts of silica and much of the
polyphenolic components of the barley grain (Macleod, 1979). According to (Kunze 1996), 25%
of the minerals present in barley are present as silicates. The bright points in the external portion
of the husk are silicates. The chemical composition of BSG varies according to barley variety,
harvest time, malting and mashing conditions, and the quality and type of adjuncts added in the
brewing process (Huige, 1994; Santos et al., 2003).
Table 2.2: Composition of barley spent grain (Dehnavi)
2.5.2. Potential applications for barley spent grain
Although Barley spent grain is the main by-product of the brewing process, it has received little
attention as a marketable commodity, and its disposal is often an environmental problem.
Nevertheless, due to its chemical composition it can be of value as a raw material. Some possible
applications for this agro-industrial by-product are described below.
 Animal nutrition
 Human nutrition
 Energy production
 Charcoal production
 Paper manufacture
 Adsorbent
 Substrate for enzyme production

2.10. Previous study of bioethanol production World fuel ethanol production


The commercial production of fuel ethanol relies mainly on the fermentation of sugar
and starch, while lignocellulosic ethanol entered the market only recently. USA and Brazil
have been the leading countries in the production of ethanol from corn starch and sugarcane
respectively, and the amount of ethanol produced by these two countries together in 2013
was 19,567 billion liters, accounting for 84% of the worlds production in that year. (Balat et al.,
2011).
Table 2.3: World fuel ethanol production by country or region (million Gallons)

Source: Renewable fuel association http://WWW.ethanolrfa.org/resources/industry/statics


Ethanol production in Ethiopia
Ethanol production in Ethiopia has been started since 1998/99 in Fincha sugar factory with the
capacity of 1,907 m3 per year. In 2010/11 Ethanol production in Metahra sugar factory with the
capacity of 6,373 m3per year. Currently, both factories produce 19,805m3ethanol per year
(Ethiopia Sugar Corporation). The main raw material for this product is molasses which is a
byproduct of sugar production from the crystallization process. Now a day different researchers
conduct different research to produce bioethanol from different raw material such as fruit peel,
sugar beet, wood residue, agricultural residue, spent grain etc. all this works was economical
feasible but does not applicable in our country.
Table 2.4: Ethanol production in Ethiopia

Source: East African Power Industry Convention 2007, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
3. MATERIAL AND METHODS
3.1. Materials and equipment used for the experiments
Equipment
 Oven-to dry the sample.
 Crushers: - to crush the dried sample.
 Sieves: - to sieve the crushed sample to the desired particle size.
 Balances: - to weigh sample.
 PH meter: - to measure the pH of the hydro lysate before fermentation.
 Thermometer: - to control temperature of the sample under experiment (distillation).
 Funnel and filter paper: - to separate the soluble liquid from non soluble part.
 Graduated cylinders of different volumes: - for volume measurement.
 Autoclave: - for sterilization and hydrolysis.
 Pycnometer or Hydrometer: - measurement specific gravity.
 Shaker:-to shake sample and its additives after hydrolysis and before fermentation.

Chemicals and material


 Barley spent grain: - Used as raw material.
 98% Sulfuric Acid (H2SO4):- used as a pretreatment and hydrolysis BSG.
 Yeast extracts (Agar):- used as media preparation.
 Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH):- used to adjust the pH of soluble cellulose and
hemicelluloses before fermentation.
 Urea: - used as media preparation.
 Dextrose sugar: - used as media preparation.
 Mg SO4.7 H2O: - used as media preparation
 Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae):-used to facilitate the fermentation process.
Methodology

Data collection
Procedure to implement our final project
 Collecting the sample(BSG)
 Acid pretreatment and enzymatic hydrolysis
 Preparation of the media(yeast culture) for fermentation of sugar
 bioethanol separation by distillation
 Examine the optimized product in Mekelle university labaratory
 Plant lay out
 Economical feasibility
Budget
Cost for personal expense
Activities Amount in birr Contingency birr Total birr
Transport traveling 500 60 560
Email & internet 30 10 40
For printing and 85 15 100
copies
Total 700 birr

Cost for raw material


Raw material Amount in kg or liter Total cost
H2so4
Barley spent grain

Yeast extracts

NaOH

Urea

Dextrose sugar

Mg SO4.7 H2O

Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Work plan

Activities End March April may Starting


February June

Literature
review
Data
collection
Equipment
Sample
preparation
Experiment
and data
generation
Analysis data
Completion
document
First draft
document
Final
research
submission
References
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and stationary application ." Acompressible reviwe applied energy , 2015.
5 Chandel, K A, E S Chan, Ravinder Rudravaram, L M Narasu, V L Rao, and Poqaku Ravindra.
6 "Economic and environmental impact of bioethanol production technologies." an appraisal,
Biotech and Molecular Biology Review, 2007: 14-32.
7 Demirbas, A. "Bioethanol from Cellulosic Materials." A Renewable Motor Fuel from , 2005:
327-337.
8 Hettenhaus, J. "Ethanol fermentation strains: present and future requirements for biomass to
ethanol commercialization." 1998.
9 J, M Coulson, and F Richardson J. Chemical Engineering Vol 1,2,6 forth Edition press,
NewYork 2005.
10 Jones, R, N Pamment, and P Greenfield. "Alcohol fermentation by yeasts- the effect of
environmental and other variables." Proc. Biochem, 1981: 42-49.

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