Designation: E 1344 - 90 (Reapproved 2006) INTERNATIONAL Standard Guide for Evaluation of Fuel Ethanol Manufacturing Facilities1 This standard is ssued under the fixed designation E 1344; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this guide is to provide guidelines and evaluation criteria to enable a prospective purchaser, or lender, or both, to effectively review the plans, specifications, and plant operating concept of a mass produced fuel ethanol manufacturing facility (FEMF) and to determine whether its design, as proposed, meets the requirements of ASTM design practice standards. ASTM Practice E 1117 is a recognized standard for the evaluation of performance and design practices for fuel alcohol manufacturing facilities. 1. Scope it is expected that the majority of plants proposed in the near future will be largely based on these abundant feedstocks. This 1.1 This guide shall apply to FEMF as defined in Terminol- guide concentrates on the use of corn, milo, and barley as ogy E 1126. The guide is primarily intended for, but not feedstocks, exclusively limited to the evaluation of fermentation ethanol 1.4.3 Normal Process Fue/s: Natural gas, propane, fuel oil, (ethyl alcohol) processes. This guide is primarily intended for, wood, or coal, but not exclusively limited to, fermentation ethanol processes 1.4.4 Products: Ethanol at 190-proof or less. Distillers for small scale (less than 1 000 gal/day capacity) plants. grains at 60 to 75 % moisture by weight and thin stillage, for 1.2 This guide applies to both batch process and continuous use as animal grade feed and not human grade food, process FEMF systems. Since a wide variety of equipment 1.4.5 Process: The ethanol production process referred to in configurations can exist, this guide will describe the necessary this guide involves dry milling of grain, batch or continuous general requirements common to all FEMF facilities. cooking, enzyme hydrolysis, batch fermentation, continuous 1.3 This guide is to be used in conjunction with applicable distillation, and pressing or centrifuging for dewatering of local, state, and Federal codes for designing, constructing, and stillage (for example, separating suspended solids from the operating FEMF facilities. stillage), and 1.4 This guide is limited to use with plants possessing the 1.4.6 Variations:One variation in the ethanol production following operational characteristics, which are fairly typical process is addressed in this guide. This variation allows for the of small scale ethanol plants and are as follows: cooking, hydrolysis, and fermentation processes to be com- 1.4.1 Capacity: Up to 500 000-proof gal/year of 190-proof pleted either as a batch in the same process vessel or in separate ethanol, vessels. 1.4.2 Normal Feedstocks: No. 2 yellow corn, or other 1.4.6.1 With limitations, this guide can be used to evaluate suitable sample grade corn, barley, or grain sorghum (also facilities with operating characteristics that differ from those referred to as milo). There are other starch grains such as just listed. However, variations from those characteristics listed wheat, rye, or oats, and starch tubers such as potatoes that can will tend to lessen the reliability of the guide. be used as feedstocks. Sugar crops (sugar cane, sugar beets, 1.4.6.2 An example of a fairly minor variation would be the and molasses, that is a by-product of sugar plants) and substitution of wheat as a feedstock. Wheat processing char- cellulose crops (wood chips, straw, etc.) are also potential acteristics are reasonably similar to those of corn, barley or feedstock sources. However. since much of the interest in milo. However, wheat tends to foam considerably m