What is Bioprocess Engineering

Bioprocess Engineering deals with the methods used to prepare biological materials for commercial
use. It is a hybrid of Chemical and Agricultural Engineering, with focus on the use of bio-technologies.
Bioprocess Engineering specifically focuses on processes involving living organisms, as opposed to
Biological Engineering which includes everything related to biology.
Bioprocess Engineers focus on creating products from these biological materials. They develop the
systems used to manufacture petrochemicals, biofuels and waste treatment products. Daily activities
include material testing, inspecting production equipment and supervision of the procedure used in
manufacturing.
Bioprocess Engineers generally work in labs or factory environments and usually have a solid
grounding in Chemical Engineering theory as well as a range of practical testing procedures.
http://whatisengineering.com/topic/what-is-bioprocess-engineering/

Production processes
Bioethanol is a natural product and is manufactured by the fermentation of plants containing sugar and
starch. In our plants we produce bioethanol from renewable raw materials and from raw alcohol of
agricultural origin.
Our plant in Zeitz produces bioethanol from wheat, maize, barley or triticale as well as from sugar
syrups.
At this plant the production of bioethanol from starch-containing cereals takes place in five steps:
1. Milling, i.e. the mechanical crushing of the cereal grains to release the starch components
2. Heating and addition of water and enzymes for conversion into fermentable sugar
3. Fermentation of the mash using yeast, whereby the sugar is converted into bioethanol and CO2
4. Distillation and rectification, i.e. concentration and cleaning the ethanol produced by
distillation
5. Drying (dehydration) of the bioethanol

Bioethanol can also be produced directly from sugar syrups. This dispenses with steps 1 and 2, which
serve to prepare the grain for fermentation.
At the next-generation bioethanol plant in Wanze the bioethanol is produced from wheat and sugar
syrups. However, the production process is different as it incorporates a different energy concept and
produces different food and animal feed products:
1. The wheat is cleaned and ground in a mill. The bran is separated from the wheat grains and is
used to generate primary energy in a biomass plant.
2. The next processing step separates the gluten from the rest of the grain.
3. By adding enzymes the starch contained in the wheat is converted into fermentable
carbohydrates, which can then be fermented into alcohol. Sugar syrups can be fermented
directly.
4. In the next step, the fermentation process, yeasts convert the carbohydrates into alcohol and
CO2. The alcohol-containing mixture that is produced is referred to as "mash".
5. Distillation separates the alcohol from the other constituents of the mash.
6. In the rectification process this alcohol is then cleaned again. The dehydration - also referred to
as drying - of the alcohol then removes virtually all the water it contains. The result is
bioethanol with an extremely high purity of 99.7 vol.-%.
7. The other constituents, the so-called "stillage", are thickened and processed into Concentrated
Distiller's Solubles (CDS).
http://www.cropenergies.com/en/Bioethanol/Produktionsverfahren/

The role of biochemical engineering in the

production of biofuels from microalgae.
Environmental changes that have occurred due to the use of fossil fuels have driven the search for
alternative sources that have a lower environmental impact. First-generation biofuels were derived
from crops such as sugar cane, corn and soybean, which contribute to water scarcity and deforestation.
Second-generation biofuels originated from lignocellulose agriculture and forest residues, however
these needed large areas of land that could be used for food production. Based on technology
projections, the third generation of biofuels will be derived from microalgae. Microalgae are
considered to be an alternative energy source without the drawbacks of the first- and second-generation
biofuels. Depending upon the growing conditions, microalgae can produce biocompounds that are
easily converted into biofuels. The biofuels from microalgae are an alternative that can keep the
development of human activity in harmony with the environment. This study aimed to present the main
biofuels that can be derived from microalgae.

Ethanol production doubled in 2014

posted February 01, 2015 at 11:15 pm by Alena Mae S. Flores
•
Ethanol production in the Philippines doubled to 222 million liters in 2014 from 114 million liters in
2013, following the entry of three new producers, the Sugar Regulatory Administration said.
SRA manager for policy and planning Rosemarie Gumera, however, said while there was a substantial
increase in local production, national output still fell short of the annual demand of “a little less than
400 million liters.”
Ethanol is made from agricultural crops such as sugar and is used in the gasoline blend. The Biofuels
Act of 2006 mandated a 10-percent ethanol blend in gasoline.
Gumera said local ethanol production steadily increased from 71.5 million liters in 2013.
She said Universal Robina Corp.’s new 30-million-liter ethanol facility in Negros Oriental, Kooll
Company’s 12-million-liter plant in Negros Occidental and Far East Alcohol’s facility in Pampanga
with 15-million-liter capacity contributed to the increase in production.
URC controlled by the Gokongwei Group earlier announced it received its first fuel ethanol order from
independent oil player Flying V.
URC agreed to supply Flying V with fuel-grade anhydrous ethanol suitable for gasoline blending under
an agreement signed on Dec. 8.
The Energy Department directed oil companies to purchase ethanol from local producers before
resorting to importation.
URC will supply Flying V with ethanol from its newly inaugurated plant in Barangay Tamisu, Bais
City in Negros Oriental. The facility has a rated production capacity of 100,000 liters a day of fuel-
grade ethanol using sugar molasses generated from three sugar mills in Negros.

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Other ethanol producers in the country are Leyte Agri Corp., San Carlos Bioenergy Corp., Roxol
Bioenergy and Green Futures Innovations.
Gumera said Green Futures was the country’s biggest ethanol producer with 54-million-liter capacity
but was not able to deliver its full capacity last year due to “operational problems.”
Roxol produced the largest volume in 2014 amounting to 35 million liters, she said.
Some sectors in the oil sector, however, asked the government to revisit the Biofuels Law, as ethanol
production remained short of demand.
Oil companies are currently importing bulk of their requirements to comply with the government’s E10
requirement for gasoline.
Sources said with most of the oil companies’ ethanol requirements sourced overseas, the Biofuels Law
failed to achieve some of its goals, such as to lessen the country’s dependence on high-priced imported
fuel, create economic opportunities and spur countryside development.
“Local production is not enough even at 5-percent ethanol blending for total annual gasoline volumes.
What more at 10 percent of volume? Ever since the Biofuels Law was passed in 2007, oil companies
have been importing ethanol to comply with the government’s mandate. How are we helping farmers,
when we import 70 to 80 percent of our ethanol requirements abroad? Despite a captive market, local
production is grossly insufficient. We are basically replacing imported gasoline with imported ethanol,”
sources said.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Bioethanol

Advantages

 Exhaust gases of ethanol are much cleaner, it burns more cleanly (more complete
combustion)
 The use of ethanol-blended fuels such as E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) can
reduce the net emissions of greenhouse gases by as much as 37.1%, which is a
significant amount.
 Positive energy balance – Depending to the type of raw stock it can vary from 1.24
to 8. The output of energy during the production is more than the input.
(controversial)
 You can use any plant for production of bioethanol, it only has to contain sugar and
starch. The best choice is sugar cane, but you can also use potatoes, barley, wheat
etc.
 It is carbon neutral i.e. the carbon dioxide released in the bioethanol production
process is the same amount as the one the crops previously absorbed during
photosynthes
 Ethanol-blended fuel as E10 (10% ethanol and 90% gasoline) reduces greenhouse
gases by up to 3.9%.
 The net effect of ethanol use results in an overall decrease in ozone formation, an
important environmental issue. (The emissions produced by burning ethanol are less
reactive with sunlight than those produced by burning gasoline, which results in a
lower potential for forming the damaging ozone).
 Ethanol is considered a renewable energy resource because it is primarily the result
of conversion of the sun's energy into usable energy. Creation of ethanol starts with
photosynthesis, which causes feedstocks, such as sugar cane, to grow. These
particular feedstocks are processed into ethanol.
 It benefits energy security as it shifts the need for some foreign-produced oil to
domestically-produced energy sources. Countries that do not have access to crude oil
 resources can grow crops for energy use and gain some economic freedom.
 It reduces greenhouse gases.
 It reduces the amount of high-octane additives.
 The fuel spills are more easily biodegraded or diluted to non toxic concentrations.

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Disadvantages and Concerns

 Biodiversity – A large amount of arable land is required to grow crops. This could see
some natural habitats destroyed including rainforests.
 The food V fuel debate – There is concern that due to the lucrative prices of
bioethanol some farmers may sacrifice food crops for biofuel production which will
increase food prices around the world.
 Carbon emissions – There is debate over the neutrality of bioethanol when all
elements are taken into consideration including the cost of changing the land use of
an area, transportation and the burning of the crop.
 During the production process of bioethanol a huge amount of carbon dioxide
is released which makes its ecological effectiveness close to zero.
 The production of ethanol fills the air with greenhouse gases (GHG) in the
amounts comparable to the emissions of internal-combustion engines
· The energy content of the petrol is much higher than the one of bioethanol. Burning 1
liter of ethanol gives 34% less energy than burning the same amount of petrol. In other
words, Bioethanol is not as efficient as petroleum. Its energy content is 70% of that of
petrol.
 o pay more for more fuel to do the same work. So the use of bioethanol in
public transportation will lead to increasing the price of the service.
· There are also concerns over the fuel systems used. Too many older cars are currently
unequipped to handle even 10% ethanol while there is concern that using 100% ethanol
decreases fuel economy by around 15-30% compared with 100% petroleum.
· The octane number of bioethanol is at around 105. It means that this substance can
be burned in the engines with much higher compression ratio. The engines made for
working on the new energy cannot be used for their petrol or diesel variants.
· It can negatively affect electric fuel pumps by increasing internal wear and undesirable
spark generation.
· It is not compatible with capacitance fuel level gauging indicators and may result in
erroneous fuel quantity indications in vehicles that employ that system.
· phosphorous and nitrogen used in the production have negative effect on the
environment
· Transportation – ethanol is hygroscopic, it means that it absorbs water from the air
and thus has high corrosion aggressiveness. That’s why it is transported only by auto
transport or railroad.
· Pure ethanol is also difficult to vaporise which can make starting a car in cold weather
difficult and that is why most fuels retain at least a small amount of petrol – such as E85
cars with 85% ethanol and 15% petroleum.

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disadvantages/
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bioethanol-in-brie

BOI approves P490-M sugar plant in Negros

Oriental
By
Interaksyon
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December 28, 2017 - 4:10 PM
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 A sugar
farmer is seen in file photo from Phil. Star.
MANILA – The Philippine Board of Investments (BOI) recently approved the P490 million sugar mill
plant of HDJ Bayawan Agri-venture Corp. (HBAC), which qualified in the 2017 Investment Priorities
Plan (IPP) under the manufacturing activities agro-processing category.
The sugar mill plant is located on a five-hectare area in Barangay Bugay, Bayawan City, Negros
Oriental. It is scheduled to produce 427,050 50-kilogram bags (LKG) of raw sugar annually and 7,665
metric tons per year (MTPY) of molasses (its by-product). With 151 personnel, the plant has started
operating commercially this month.
Trade Undersecretary for Industry Development and BOI Managing Head Ceferino Rodolfo said the
new plant, being first in many years will address the needs of Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)
beneficiaries and other small sugarcane farmers located within the 15-kilometer radius of the plant.

“The establishment of the new sugar mill plant will dramatically reduce the cost of transporting
sugarcane among farmers within the area by as much as P600 per ton. Farmers will now have greater
flexibility on where to send their sugarcanes for milling,” Undersecretary Rodolfo said.
Before this project, the nearest existing sugar mill sites were in Sta. Catalina, Bai City and Kabankalan
City which are 50 kilometers away; and the cost of transporting sugarcane to these sites is around P650
per ton.

Sugar is the generic name for sweet, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. There are
various types of sugar derived from different sources. Simple sugars are called monosaccharides and
include glucose (also known as dextrose), fructose, and galactose. The most widely used sugar which is
used in a wide variety of foods is sucrose, commonly known as “table sugar” or “granulated sugar.”
To make molasses, sugar cane is harvested and stripped of leaves. Its juice is extracted, usually by
cutting, crushing, or mashing. The juice is then boiled to concentrate it, promoting sugar crystallization.
The result of this first boiling is called syrup and has the highest sugar content. Molasses is created
from a second boiling and sugar extraction and has a slightly bitter taste. Sugar by-products such as
molasses are commonly used to make rum and are also used to make ethanol for fuel.
National production of sugarcane for July-September 2017 increased by 63.5 percent to 783,370 MT
compared to 479,000 MT in the same period last year, according to figures from the Sugar Regulatory
Administration and Philippine Statistics Authority. Western Visayas which includes Negros Oriental
and Occidental produced over half of the national output with 54.4 percent.
Overall, the country’s sugar output has reached 2.5 million metric tons (MMT) as of August 2017,
surpassing the production target for the current crop year 2016-2017. It is already the highest recorded
figure in 40 years (since 1976-1977).
SRA data showed that the total sugarcane areas reached 419,207 hectares, higher than the 411,502
hectares in the previous crop year. The sugar industry has around 700,000 workers in 19 sugar-
producing provinces in the country, according to the Department of Labor and Employment.