Case study: Biocarburantes de Castilla y Leon Biomass-to-Ethanol Plant

Renewable Fuels & Chemicals

Biocarburantes de Castilla y Leon Biomass-to-Ethanol Plant

Customer: Abengoa Bioenergy

Project Location:Babilafuente, Spain

Abengoa Bioenergy is currently the 5th largest producer of bioethanol in the United States with a significant presence in Europe and Brazil as well. This production is based exclusively on cereal crop fermentation but the company’s strategic plan is to develop and commercialize cost-competitive biomass conversion technologies. Of particular interest is the application of enzymatic hydrolysis to a wide range of cellulosic biomass materials such as crop residues, wood residues and energy crops such as switchgrass and poplar.

The Challenge

Abengoa required the design and construction of the world’s first commercial scale demonstration plant using Abengoa’s enzymatic biomass-to-ethanol technology with the added goal of generating fermentation residues for the development and testing of co-products such as animal feed and chemicals. Abengoa required design flexibility in order to accommodate different feed materials and facilitate process optimizations now and in the future.

The Solution

Harris Group provided a broad range of Owner’s Engineering services including the process design for a 5 million liter per year demonstration facility co-located with a new conventional cereal-to-ethanol plant. This work included development of an Aspen Plus process model, process flow diagrams, piping and instrumentation diagrams, equipment specifications and a capital cost estimate.

Harris Group collaborated with a Spanish engineering firm for the execution of detailed design in accordance with the laws, codes, and regulations affecting the plant.

The Benefits

The design of the plant incorporates various elements to provide flexibility in accommodating various feedstocks and future process changes.

Harris Group engineers possess a broad base of experience and knowledge of general process design, plant design, equipment capabilities, materials of construction and off-site/environmental issues. Coupled with our expertise in the biomass-to-biofuels arena, Harris Group was able to provide Abengoa with the right plant design to enable them achieve their strategic goals.

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Overview Services Case Studies ...more White Papers Contacts	Biocarburantes de Castilla y Leon Biomass-to-Ethanol Plant Customer: Abengoa Bioenergy Project Location:Babilafuente, Spain Abengoa Bioenergy is currently the 5th largest producer of bioethanol in the United States with a significant presence in Europe and Brazil as well. This production is based exclusively on cereal crop fermentation but the company’s strategic plan is to develop and commercialize cost-competitive biomass conversion technologies. Of particular interest is the application of enzymatic hydrolysis to a wide range of cellulosic biomass materials such as crop residues, wood residues and energy crops such as switchgrass and poplar. The Challenge Abengoa required the design and construction of the world’s first commercial scale demonstration plant using Abengoa’s enzymatic biomass-to-ethanol technology with the added goal of generating fermentation residues for the development and testing of co-products such as animal feed and chemicals. Abengoa required design flexibility in order to accommodate different feed materials and facilitate process optimizations now and in the future. The Solution Harris Group provided a broad range of Owner’s Engineering services including the process design for a 5 million liter per year demonstration facility co-located with a new conventional cereal-to-ethanol plant. This work included development of an Aspen Plus process model, process flow diagrams, piping and instrumentation diagrams, equipment specifications and a capital cost estimate. Harris Group collaborated with a Spanish engineering firm for the execution of detailed design in accordance with the laws, codes, and regulations affecting the plant. The Benefits The design of the plant incorporates various elements to provide flexibility in accommodating various feedstocks and future process changes. Harris Group engineers possess a broad base of experience and knowledge of general process design, plant design, equipment capabilities, materials of construction and off-site/environmental issues. Coupled with our expertise in the biomass-to-biofuels arena, Harris Group was able to provide Abengoa with the right plant design to enable them achieve their strategic goals.