Performances of anaerobic membrane bioreactors treating thin stillage from bioethanol plants at different sludge retention times

Performances of anaerobic membrane bioreactors treating thin stillage from bioethanol plants at different sludge retention times

Dereli, R.K.

Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water Management

2013-01-11

Ethanol production, as a renewable energy source and fuel additive, form starch based grains such as corn and wheat has increased rapidly in recent years to mitigate green-house gas emissions due to the extensive usage of fossil fuels and to regulate the instabilities in global fuel supply (Gao et al., 2011, Wilkie et al., 2000). However, bio-ethanol manufacturing is a water and energy intensive process that generates a high amount of concentrated wastewater called stillage and requires a high amount of energy input for downstream stillage management with centrifuges, evaporators and dryers. Therefore, its overall environmental benefit is still questionable. The only by-product of bio-ethanol production facilities is called dry distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) and it is produced through a series of energy intensive processes for concentrating the effluent coming from the main distillation process. DDGS, rich with proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nutrients, has a high nutritional value and it is valorized in animal feed market to compensate the operation costs and to improve the overall feasibility of the process (Eskicioglu et al., 2011).

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:7036d1e0-ff75-4fc1-be75-016aaaafa0bd

Water Management Academic Press

978-94-6186-103-0

De watercyclus: daar zit wat in! 65ste Vakantiecursus Drinkwater en Afvalwater, VC2013, Delft, 11 januari 2013

Institutional Repository

conference paper

(c) 2013 Dereli, R.K.