Promill – UTC. Drying of distiller’s grains
for the bioethanol plant
Cristal Union/France
In the third quarter of 2020, UTC, at the invitation of Promill (France), is carrying out a joint project to manufacture and install a drum dryer for distiller’s grains at a bioethanol plant belonging to the Cristal Union group (France).
As part of the project, a three-stage drum dryer manufactured by Promill will be delivered to and installed on site at the plant in Bazancourt, France.
- Drum diameter – 7 metres
- Total weight of the unit – 300 tonnes
- Drum length – 18 metres
- Moisture evaporation – up to 45 tonnes per hour
The drying of alcohol distiller’s grains (the main waste product of bioethanol production) takes place using hot flue gases at a temperature of XX°C in a 54-metre-long closed circuit.
The process enables the efficient evaporation of between 30 and 45 tonnes of water per hour and completely eliminates product scorching, unpleasant odours and CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere.
The drying process produces a uniform end product with a crude protein (CP) content of 90 per cent, fully ready for granulation into DDGS.
Components of the production line:
- three-way drum with main drive
- aerohydraulic system with cyclones
- ID ventilation
- recirculation
The heat exchanger’s special design ensures maximum energy recovery and prevents the tubes from becoming blocked. Any uncondensed vapour residues are combusted within the system itself.
The drum dryer, boiler and economiser will form a single system and supply process heat to the main production facility – the bioethanol plant.
Some of the components are manufactured in Ukraine by UTC’s production division — KEMP, based in Koziatyn:
- drum rotation
- set of blades
- fluid discharge mechanism
The plant is being installed directly at the customer’s factory in Bazancourt, France. The work is being carried out by a UTC installation team, alongside design engineers and process engineers.
The project to supply a three-pass drum dryer with a capacity of — tonnes per day to the Cristal Union bioethanol plant is the third joint project between Promill and UTC in the field of processing distiller’s grains for the production of DDGS.