Alcohol and Juice Industry

Alcohol as ethanol based on cereal raw material will render a solids part and, after distillation : a liquid part. Both parts contain a combination of residual fibres and proteins. This fibre/protein product is much valued as   animal feed, normally in a dry form for special animals, particularly ruminants.

A typical process to produce such feed is shown below:

Fibre dewatering can be carried out by using either twin screw presses or horizontal decanters or both. Twin screw presses give a less moist cake but leaves more suspended solids in the liquid discharge. Evaporators for evaporation of the mix of still residual and press/decanter water can be multiple effect, Mechanical Vapor Recompression or Waste Heat.

Fjell Industries do possess a vast experience regarding which type of component to choose. The pressed/decanted fibres from the dewatering process are mixed with the concentrate from the evaporator. This concentrate mix is often viscous and sticky and   represents a challenge for any drier.

Again the disc drier is the drier moist widely used . The Stord- Fjell TD drier is presently regarded as the most advanced disc drier for such difficult drying operations.

Wet residual cereal parts from the starch extraction/conversion process can be sold in a wet state to local farmers.

If that is the case, the still residual is often evaporated on its own to a slurry to be fed to animals, mostly pigs and cows.

Processes in the juice industries do show some similarities with by-products from cereals.

Juice from raw fruits   is squeezed in special machines and directed to special long tube falling film evaporators . The peel from these machines is normally conditioned with a certain amount of lime whereupon pressing in twin screw presses takes place.

The press water normally is added to the juice extract before entering the evaporator.

The pressed peel is normally directed to large rotating driers and dried to a fodder product.