SEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Industrial Environmental Research
Laboratory
Cincinnati OH 45268
Research and Development
EPA-600/S7-82-018 August 1982
Project Summary
Source Test and Evaluation
Report: Alcohol Facility for
Gasohol Production
R. M. Scarberry, M. P. Papai, and Mary Ann Braun
This study defines the requirements
for environmental sampling and analysis
of alcohol-producing facilities capable of
supporting a Gasohol industry and applies
these requirements to the environmental
characterization of an alcohol plant. This
document includes a conceptual design
of a grain alcohol plant using a coal-fired
boiler that is projected to be typical of
future plants which will support a Gaso-
hol industry. Environmental control op-
tions are also discussed based on a com-
parison of alcohol plant stream composi-
tions with environmental regulations.
The results of this study provide prelimi-
nary information on the environmental
consequences of large-scale fermenta-
tion ethanol plants which will provide
alcohol for Gasohol.
This Project Summary was developed
by EPA's Industrial Environmental Re-
search Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH, to
announce key findings of the research
project that is fully documented in a sep-
arate report of the same title (see Project
Report ordering information at back).
Introduction
Ethanol has been used as a fuel mixed
with gasoline or alone as early as the
1930s. Before World War II, over 4 mil-
lion cars ran on alcohol fuels. The market
for alcohol fuels, however, diminished
as gasoline became inexpensive and
plentiful. A systematic investigation of
large-scale use of alcohol as a gasoline
substitute began only with the advent of
the energy crunch in 1 973.
Today the term Gasohol has been
coined to describe a blend of 90 percent
unleaded gasoline and 10 percent agri-
culturally derived ethanol, although
ethanol can be used in concentrations up
to 20 percent in gasoline without carbu-
retor modification. Alcohol is an attrac-
tive alternative liquid fuel, since it can be
synthesized from renewable biomass
sources. As a near-term gasoline substi-
tute, ethanol can help alleviate the oil im-
port problem and reduce the balance of
trade deficit while providing a market for
farm surpluses or wood and wood
residues. Many political and economic
factors favor the development of a gaso-
hol industry; however, some uncertain-
ties that exist about the industry should
be investigated. One of these is the envi-
ronmental impact of large-scale alcohol-
producing facilities.
Radian Corporation has conducted a
program to define requirements for envi-
ronmental sampling and analysis of alco-
hol-producing facilities that are develop-
ing to support a Gasohol industry and
has applied these requirements to the
environmental characterization of an
alcohol plant. This program was carried
out under Work Directive S1003 of EPA
Contract No. 68-03-2667. Four interim
reports were previously submitted to
EPA under this project.
The objectives of this program are to
define the requirements for environmen-
tal sampling and analysis of alcohol-
producing facilities that are developing
to support a Gasohol industry and to ap-
ply these requirements to a demonstrated
sampling and analysis effort at a selected
alcohol plant.
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Approach
To address the first objective, the de-
termination of sampling and analytical
requirements for facilities capable of
providing alcohol for Gasohol, the fol-
lowing tasks were conducted:
• Task 1 - Data collection;
• Task 2 - Process evaluation;
• Task 3 - Review of environmental
regulations; and
• Task 4 - Assessment of control tech-
nology and requirements.
In the first task, state-of-the-art tech-
nology was summarized to identify com-
mercial or pilot plant facilities typical of
those that would support a Gasohol
industry. Information on ethanol and
methanol processes utilizing a variety of
biomass materials was collected, and a
bibliography containing the sources of
information for this task was assembled.
It was submitted as the first interim
report for this program.
To address the second task, the infor-
mation gathered on alcohol technology
was assessed to identify several existing
alcohol beverage plants which employ
processing steps similar to those which
might be utilized in future alcohol fuel
plants. Flow diagrams, processing
steps, mass balances, and emissions
sources were identified for these plants.
These data were presented in a second
interim report. A detailed mass and
energy balance for an alcohol fuel plant
considered to be typical of future alcohol
facilities supporting a Gasohol industry,
also presented in the interim report, has
been updated and included in Section 3
of the full report.
Task 3 consisted of a review of federal
and state environmental regulations that
might be applicable to fermentation
ethanol facilities. This information is pre-
sented in Section 4 of the full report.
In Task 4, a comparison of the envi-
ronmental regulations identified in Task
3 with alcohol stream compositions was
conducted to define the environmental
control requirements necessary for com-
pliance. A discussion of this analysis and
designation of the probable control tech-
nologies to be implemented are presented
in Section 5 of the full report.
To conduct the sampling and analysis
of an alcohol plant, the second objective
of this program, a site-specific sampling
plan, was formulated based on the sam-
pling and analytical requirements deter-
mined in the previous tasks. These sam-
pling requirements and a test plan con-
stituted the fourth interim report of this
program and are presented in Sections 6
and 7 of the full report.
A brief discussion of the sampling trip
(which highlights any deviations made in
the test plan during sampling and analy-
sis) is included in Section 8 of the full
report. The results and conclusions from
the sample analyses are presented in
Section 2 of the full report.
Conclusions and
Recommendations
The sampling and analytical require-
ments for the environmental characteri-
zation of an ethanol-producing facility
include:
• A quantification of the pollutants
present in effluent streams such as
pesticides, ammonia, benzene, and
metals in the solid waste streams
and by-products; solids, organics,
metals, pH, pesticides and benzene
in the liquid effluents; and criteria
pollutants, hydrocarbons, and ben-
zene in the air emissions.
• A determination of the effective-
ness of environmental control mod-
ules such as condensers on distil-
lation columns and vacuum lines;
cyclones, scrubbers, or other
mechanical collectors on stacks or
dryer exhausts; and biological treat-
ment on distillery wastewaters.
• A characterization of selected inter-
nal process streams to determine
the fate of pesticides or benzene
losses in an alcohol plant.
It was determined that:
• Alcohol facilities might cause envi-
ronmental problems from the dis-
charge of liquid effluents or air emis-
sions if these streams are not pro-
perly treated or controlled.
• Untreated distillery wastewaters
are acidic and high in biochemical
oxygen demand (BOD), chemical
oxygen demand (COD), and sus-
pended solids (SS).
• Uncontrolled exhausts from by-
product distiller's dried grain (DDG)
dryers are high in particulate loading.
• NOX, SO2 and particulate emissions
from fuel oil or coal combustion for
steam generation can be a major en-
vironmental problem at an alcohol
plant.
• Solid waste streams, which can be
eliminated through recycle and in-
clusion in the by-products, pose no
serious environmental problems, as
they are innocuous.
The conclusions listed below are based
on the analytical results obtained from
the environmental characterization of an
alcohol plant:
Solid Wastes and By-Products
• The analysis of benzene, pesticides,
and ammonia in the DDG, animal
feed, and biosludge streams revealed
that no major environmental prob-
lems would be associated with the
discharge or utilization of solid
wastes from this alcohol plant due
to the presence of these compounds.
• Pesticides identified on feedstock
grains were apparently destroyed
during feedstock preparation (i.e.,
cooking) as no traces of pesticides
were found in the solid wastes or
wastewater effluent streams.
Wastewaters
• Dissolved solids (DS), the major con-
tributor to total solids (TS), came
from the makeup city water and
well water, not the fermentation
process.
• Barometric condensate, evaporator
condensate, and fermenter wash
water were the only significant
sources of suspended solids (SS) at
the alcohol plant.
• Benzene does not appear to be a ma-
jor wastewater problem for this
facility, which employs a benzene
dehydration unit, as it was detected
at levels less than 60 ppb in the
wastewater.
• All wastewater streams from fer-
mentation and distillation were acid-
ic; they could be an environmental
problem if not neutralized before
discharge.
• Extended aeration and clarification
reduced high concentrations of sus-
pended solids (SS), BOD, COD, total
organic carbon (TOO, and ammonia
in the wastewater from this distiller
to acceptable discharge levels.
• The plant records for this alcohol
plant show that excursions in the
biological treatment system may
occur due to occasional spills or me-
chanical problems. Additional aera-
tion facilities or equalization basins
can be employed to avoid the dis-
charge of poorly treated waste-
waters due to upsets in the current
system.
• Most of the 14 priority pollutants
detected at very low levels (less
than 40 ppb) in the wastewaters
from this facility were found to be
contaminants from equipment or
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the on-site laboratory and not prod-
ucts or by-products of alcohol pro-
duction.
• Total solids (TS) concentration in
the bottoms from the solvent ex-
tractor, rectifier, fusel oil column,
stripping column, and dehydration
column were very low due to up-
stream removal in the beer still.
Air Emissions
• Condensers, the only pollution abate-
ment devices for hydrocarbons on
the vent lines, provided adequate
control for hydrocarbon emissions.
• Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide
emission levels were low, as ex-
pected for a facility using natural
gas. Combustion of fuel oil or coal
could present greater environmen-
tal problems.
• The analysis for particulate emissions
from the cyclones on the dryers
showed this facility to be in compli-
ance. However, particulate emis-
sions have a high potential to be an
environmental problem for alcohol
plants which dry their by-product
grains or use coal or No. 6 fuel oil for
steam generation.
It must be emphasized that the above
conclusions are based on a single envi-
ronmental characterization. Additional
sampling and analysis should be con-
ducted at other plant sites to confirm
these initial conclusions.
Recommendations
Recommendations for further research
to ensure that alcohol plants supporting
the Gasohol industry pose no major envi-
ronmental problems include:
(1) Gas chromatography/mass spec-
troscopy (GC/MS) analysis of pes-
ticide levels in the flash cooler con-
densate and the feed stream to the
fermenter to confirm the fate of
pesticides in alcohol synthesis;
(2) environmental characterization of
other distilleries which utilize differ-
ent feedstocks, processing equip-
ment, fuel sources, and waste-
water treatment methods;
(3) evaluation of other pollution con-
trol technologies to control emis-
sions and effluents;
(4) performance of area monitoring
for hydrocarbons to determine
worker safety information; and
(5) analysis for priority pollutant
metals for the by-product stream
to determine whether these spe-
cies could concentrate when land-
farmed or landspread.
R. M. Scarberry and M. P. Papal are with Radian Corp., McLean, VA 22102; the
EPA author Mary Ann Braun (also the EPA Project Officer, see below) is with
the Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory, Cincinnati, OH 45268.
The complete report, entitled "Source Test and Evaluation Report: Alcohol
Facility for Gasohol Production." (Order No. PB 82-237 041; Cost: $16.50.
subject to change) will be available only from:
National Technical Information Service
5285 Port Royal Road
Springfield, VA 22161
Telephone: 703-487-4650
The EPA Project Officer can be contacted at:
Industrial Environmental Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Cincinnati, OH 45268
ft US.GOVERNMENTPfllNTINQOFFICE. 1Mi-559-017/0805
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