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Presentation
Techno-Economic Modeling of a Corn Based Ethanol Plant in 2011
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Conference Proceedings and Presentations
  • Christine Wood, South Dakota State University
  • Pierre Aubert, National School of Agricultural Engineering
  • Kurt A. Rosentrater, Iowa State University
  • Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan, South Dakota State University
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Conference
2012 ASABE Annual International Meeting
Publication Date
7-1-2012
Geolocation
(32.7801399, -96.8004511)
Abstract

As studies continue to examine new value added uses for ethanol coproducts, it is important to have means to easily determine the feasibility of the processing steps involved. Many industries widely use computer simulation programs for this purpose, and for planning the use of resources and equipment capacities, and to determine processing costs. The objective of this project was to determine the sensitivity of 40 million gal/y corn-based ethanol plant model to changes in input material prices, product market prices, and various coproduct processing scenarios (i.e., oil extraction and drying of DDGS). The techno-economics of the base case ethanol plant were examined by factorially adjusting material and market costs, as well as adjusting the quantities of distillers wet grains (DWG), distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS), and corn oil produced. The simulations verified that corn price has the greatest impact on the overall annual operating costs for the ethanol plant, and that the market price of ethanol has the greatest impact on annual revenues. The effect of coproduct processing on utility usage was also observed; oil extraction and drying of DDGS consumed substantially more energy and had higher capital costs than production of DWG alone. It was apparent that coproducts are an essential component to the sustainability of an ethanol plant in that: 1) they have continued marketability to the livestock industry, and 2) processing is not overly-expensive. This study has provided a basis for further exploration of the feasibility of new coproduct processing options, and illustrates the use of the model for determination of processing costs and revenues, as well as mass and energy balances.

Comments

This is an ASABE Meeting Presentation, Paper No. 121337563.

Copyright Owner
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Language
en
Citation Information
Christine Wood, Pierre Aubert, Kurt A. Rosentrater and Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan. "Techno-Economic Modeling of a Corn Based Ethanol Plant in 2011" Dallas, TX(2012)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kurt_rosentrater/9/