Selected showcase projects in Asia

Some 400,000 lpd of  crude industrial alcohol from a refinery in Saudi Arabia are processed in the Bahrain unit. After entering the plant, the feed is purified in a column system where low-boiling substances such as diethylether and acetaldehyde are separated before being dehydrated by molecular sieve technology to achieve a moisture content of approx. 0.1% water.

The unit, comprising 12 skids, a rectification column with reboiler and the molecular sieve vessels, was erected in Austria, assembled and tested, and finally disassembled and shipped to Bahrain in containers, where it was reassembled and commissioned. A flare system for thermal oxidation of the separated low-boiling substances was also delivered.

The plant has a capacity of 36 tons per day, and is the first citric acid plant to be built in Iran. It is suitable for processing both of raw sugar and of sugar beet molasses. The process concept allows for a choice between production of either of the two commercially available forms of citric acid (monohydrate or anhydrate).

Process planning included the raw material preparation and fermentation stages, and product processing stages, as well as the design of auxiliary plant such as the fermentation air system and the cooling water supply, and support services during the construction of the wastewater treatment plant. Almost all equipment and materials for the process plant was supplied.

The plant was designed for a daily capacity of 110,000 litres of alcohol from cane molasses complying with EU quality specifications. A special challenge was designing the plant for the extreme climatic conditions (0°C to 50°C) and the highest earthquake level UBC Zone 3.

The design and stress calculations in compliance with European standards for apparatus, tanks and pipelines were carried out at Vogelbusch and the assembly was performed in Iran under our supervision.

The following plant components were supplied: molasses reception and storage; continuous fermentation with untreated cane molasses including nutrient preparation and fermentation air supply; distillation with methanol separation and mash column under vacuum, (implemented as an energy saving multi-pressure system) alcohol storage and filling systems for trucks, rail tankers and barrels; central CIP system; cooling water unit; and laboratory. For those groups the complete piping material, the instrumentation and control as well as electrical components were supplied. Automation is based on a modern DCS system.

Following a four-year erection period and a short start-up phase in the first quarter of 2007, a test run was carried out, and the guaranteed product quality was achieved.

The first of two production lines for bioethanol was officially commissioned in Jilin in November 2003. The plant produces 300,000 tonnes of fuel alcohol annually from maize. The product is used as a 10% petrol additive. With an overall capacity of 600,000 tonnes per year the plant is the world’s largest fuel alcohol plant.

Process design was by Vogelbusch. The layout provided for the raw material processing, continuous fermentation, distillation and the molecular sieve dehydration process stages as well as DDGS processing. The column bottoms for the distillation plant, an in-house development, were supplied by Vogelbusch.

The fine alcohol plant of Harbin Winery, a chinese producer of potable alcohol from corn, was reconstructed and extended by Vogelbusch in several steps. The client required specifically high alcohol quality in terms of organoleptic and analytical criteria and inparticular with regard to methanol separation. The facility was designed to set standards in product quality and in energy saving.

Projects comprised the
(I) installation of a Multipressure distillation/rectification, capacity 62,000 liters / day
(II) reconstruction of an existing D/R plant with a capacity expansion to 140,000 liters / day
(III) supply of a skid mounted molsieve dehydration, capacity 10,000 liters / day