Re: Has anyone came across this dot point in the far right column- production of mate
– The industrial production of ethanol from sugar-cane uses a few more chemicals (some of which are toxic) and processes compared to ethanol produced for consumption; also sugarcane is higher in simple sugars compared to corn starch.
– This is a summary of the process:
1. The sugar-cane crop is harvested; the whole plant is then crushed and grinded to create a cellulose/sugar pulp.
2. The pulp is heated to 100°C, and dilute sulfuric acid is added. This hydrolyses the cellulose and sucrose into glucose molecules.
3. The mixture is filtered to separate the glucose solution from the solid residues of lignin and unbroken cellulose.
4. The solids residue is further hydrolysed with stronger acids and filtered again.
5. Calcium hydroxide is added to the sugar solution remaining to neutralise the sulfuric acid; an insoluble salt (precipitate) of calcium sulfate is formed.
6. The solution is filtered again to remove solid calcium sulfate particles.
7. The solution is then placed in an oxygen-free tank, warmed to 37°C, and suitable yeast cultures are added.
8. After 15% concentration is reached, the solution is distilled to produce high concentration industrial grade ethanol.
Distillation of the aqueous ethanol product (96% ethanol and 4% water) to obtain almost pure ethanol can take half as much energy as that released when the ethanol is burnt. Distillation is being replaced by low energy methods such as passing the aqueous ethanol through special zeolite filters that act as molecular sieves. The more polar water molecules are strongly attracted to polar parts of the zeolite while the less polar ethanol passes through thus separating pure ethanol.