Assessing Solar Assisted Ethanol Production in the State of Iowa, Final Report, May 1981

(1981) Assessing Solar Assisted Ethanol Production in the State of Iowa, Final Report, May 1981. Iowa State University Extension

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Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to assess the role of solar energy in fuel alcohol (ethanol) production in the State of Iowa. The investigation examined literature for applications involving solar energy in production of fuel alcohol, availability of solar energy and corn to establish the potential to produce fuel alcohol from these quantities, fermentation process to optimize the liquefaction temperature and time to produce a mixture of water and alcohol, theory and experimental studies to distill a high proof alcohol, simulation models to enable system parameters and scale-up designs to be studied, energy balance associated with production of corn and fuel alcohol, conceptual designs of solar assisted fuel alcohol production, and economics related to production of fuel alcohol utilizing solar energy. The results of these studies are presented in this report. An overall summary of these findings indicate that the utilization of solar energy is technically feasible and yields a more favorable energy balance. However, the economics of these solar assisted systems are favorable only for certain applications and conditions.