THE IMPORTANCE IS GIANT.

FIRST A LITTLE HISTORY

In October 1919, the chairman of the Petrograd Soviet received a letter from Lenin. Vladimir Ilyich wrote: “They say Zhuk (killed) degal sugar from sawdust? Is this true? If true, it is necessary to find his assistants. to continue the work. The importance is gigantic. Hello! Lenin"

Involuntarily, questions arise: who is the Beetle? Who killed? What is this way of making sugar from sawdust? Why did Vladimir Ilyich attach "giant importance" to this matter?

If anyone happened to be in small town Petrokrepssti (former Shlisselburg) near Leningrad, he could see a sign on one of the streets: “I. Zhuk Street”. Justin Zhuk was born and raised in Ukraine. For active participation in the revolution of 1905, he was sentenced to eternal hard labor. And only the revolution freed the fighter for the people's cause.

The country was going through a difficult time. There was not enough bread and fuel. There was no more sugar. Its production has decreased almost 15 times compared to pre-war. And then the food commissar remembered a long-heard story about an eccentric engineer who got sugar by cooking sawdust with sulfuric acid.

And now yesterday's commander of the Red Guard becomes a chemist, On the shores of Lake Ladoga, he organizes a workshop, days and nights he makes experiments. Finally here it is - success! Zhuk gets a sweet, molasses-like syrup from sawdust, but... General Yudenich approaches Petrograd. And the food commissar again becomes a military commissar.

On the Karelian sector of the Petrograd Front, a White Guard bullet overtakes a brave commissar ...

Ki NOW FOR A LITTLE CHEMISTRY

did it turn out "Justin's Sugar"? wood is mainly composed of fiber (cellulose) and a small amount of lignin. Here in it, in cellulose, and the whole thing. Fiber belongs to the same class of organic compounds as starch, sugar, and some other substances known in chemistry as "carbohydrates". For example, the formula for one of the simplest glucose sugars is CeHuOg. But this formula can also be represented as follows: C 6 (H20) in, where 6 carbon atoms and 6 water molecules. In a word, carbohydrate.

But back to cellulose. It, like starch, is classified as a non-sugar-like carbohydrate. Their molecules are natural polymers. Both starch and fiber are made from the dehydrated residues of grape sugar (glucose). If one molecule of water is taken away from a glucose molecule, we get:

C in H, 2 0 6 -H 2 0 \u003d C 6 H | o0 5.

Cellulose is built from such glucose residues. But how many of these

1 V. I. Lenin, Poln. coll. cit., ed. 5th, vol. 51, p. 74.

residues is part of one molecule of starch or cellulose? Unfortunately, it has not yet been determined exactly. That is why the formula of starch and cellulose is written like this: (C e HioOj) p. The “p” sign indicates a certain number of glucose residues. It is believed that in a cellulose molecule n is equal to 3000 or more.

Nature has managed to build giant structures from many hundreds or thousands of bricks - glucose molecules - starch and cellulose. Why don't we try to do the opposite? Destroy complex molecules, get bricks out of buildings - glucose, that is, grape sugar?

AGAIN A LITTLE HISTORY

This happened more than 150 years ago, more precisely - in 1811 in St. Petersburg. The main metropolitan pharmacy was then in charge of K. S. Kirchhoff. Engaged in experiments in the production of porcelain, he tried to find a cheap and affordable substitute for gum arabic. Having tried various materials, the scientist settled on starch.

After diluting the starch with water and adding sulfuric acid to it, Kirchhoff began to boil the mixture over a fire. The result was a thick viscous mass, similar to gum. She turned out to be sweet. Kirchhoff immediately realized: part of the starch turned into sugar! Of course, he could not then explain the chemistry of this process, as well as the role of sulfuric acid. Today?

From what we know about the structure of starch, it is clear that a large starch molecule has been split. A water molecule has been attached to each glucose residue. This process is called hydrolysis. As for sulfuric acid, it acts as a catalyst.

Kirchhoff's discovery underlies the entire modern production of starch syrup and glucose. But if starch can be broken down, why not cellulose?

The first experiments in this direction were made by the Frenchman Braconno; he was followed by the Russian chemist I. Vogel, who, back in 1822, obtained a sweet substance from linen and paper, that is, from the same cellulose. In 1837, I. Chirvinsky, a professor at the St. Petersburg Forestry Institute, did a solid job on the hydrolysis of sawdust and obtained fodder sugar from them. And at the end of the last century, at one of the sawmills in Arkhangelsk, the world's first wood hydrolysis plant was equipped.

So there is nothing surprising in the fact that the "eccentric engineer" that Justin Zhuk heard about, at the beginning of our century, received sugar (of course, grape) from sawdust.

A LITTLE ECONOMY

Another reader may notice: Lenin wrote about sugar from wood in a difficult year for the country in 1919. But why bring this up now? Indeed, our country does not lack sugar. In 1964, the Soviet Union produced 8.2 million tons of sugar - 92 times more than in 1920. In 1965, sugar production increased by about a quarter. That's not counting molasses and glucose!

And yet it's time to talk about the chemical processing of wood into glucose. After all, sugar beet is an expensive raw material. To produce 10 million tons of sugar, about 80 million tons of beets will be required. The area for growing such a quantity of beets will be almost 4 million hectares! Can you imagine how much work you have to spend to process such a bad

spare? It is also expensive and time-consuming to obtain starch for the production of food glucose. In addition, both the starch itself and the materials from which it is made (potatoes and corn grains) are themselves food products. Meanwhile, for glucose, obtained by chemical hydrolysis of cellulose, we have as many raw materials as we like, and, moreover, free of charge! After all, in the sawmill and woodworking industry alone, about 70 million cubic meters are thrown into the landfill every year. m of waste. Just make sure you recycle them! That is why, after the full development of glucose production, it seems expedient and profitable to replace part of beet sugar with glucose obtained from wood.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, in France, and in other countries, there are already plants for processing wood into food glucose.

FINALLY TECHNOLOGY

Today, a paved hydrolysis industry has been created in our country. Using vast resources of wood raw materials and agricultural waste, hydrolysis plants convert cellulose into valuable products such as ethyl alcohol (an excellent raw material for making polymers) and protein yeast (an excellent livestock feed). Well, what about sawdust sugar? After all, alcohol and yeast are still not sugar! This question can be answered as follows: both alcohol and yeast are obtained from those sugars that are formed during the hydrolysis of cellulose. The production of food sugar (glucose) has not been practiced until recently, since it required a relatively complex technological process. wood processing. Two years ago, the difficulties were overcome.

In the city of Kansk Krasnoyarsk Territory, not far from the places where Lenin once served a link, the first experimental industrial workshop in the Soviet Union was built. There food sugar (glucose) is obtained from wood. Here is what the chief engineer of the plant, G. Gorokhov, told me.

Wood (spruce, pine) is crushed into chips, which is then subjected to preliminary hydrolysis in the presence of weak hydrochloric acid. In this case, everything that is easily hydrolyzed passes into the solution. And cellulose and lignin remain. After filtration, they are dried and treated with strong acid. Hydrolysis takes place. At this stage of the technological process, the main task is solved: cellulose is converted into glucose. The glucose solution is purified and boiled down. Glucose crystals fall out of the thick syrup. They are dried - and the sugar is ready!

Of course, in reality, everything is somewhat more complicated, but the fact remains: the Kansk hydrolysis plant is already producing glucose from wood, which is even suitable for medical purposes.

Thus, after four and a half decades, the deed about which Vladimir Ilyich wrote: "The importance is gigantic" was realized.

Leningrad

Domestic chemical science is credited with the development of the industrial production of sugar from wood. Alcohol and other substances are produced from such sugar.

The formation of sugar substances in the plant occurs according to the following scheme. From carbon dioxide and water in a green leaf, simple sugary substances are built, such as grape sugar - glucose and fruit sugar - fructose. When glucose and fructose combine together, sucrose is formed - the sugar with which we drink tea. More complex substances formed in plants - starch, cellulose and others - no longer have sweetness.

The transformation of starch into a sugary substance - glucose - was carried out by the Russian academician K. S. Kirchhoff.

This transformation was carried out by him in 1811 by heating starch with dilute acids. The process was called hydrolysis. K. S. Kirchhoff, immediately seeing in his discovery large practical possibilities, developed on the basis of his technological process for obtaining molasses and crystalline glucose.

Soon the first factories of the starch-treacle industry were already operating. And its development, in turn, posed a new interesting task for chemical science - the transformation of wood into sugary substances.

Chemists turn sawdust into valuable products.

Finished products that are produced green leaf, is a starch made up of large molecules, each with thousands of glucose residues. The plant stores it in its reserve food "warehouses" or uses it to expand and grow or restore its body. But the more the sugar building becomes larger and more complicated, the less sweetness remains in it. Cellulose is also a complex molecular structure of glucose residues. From it, the plant builds its skeleton.

Simple sugars dissolve in water, but starch and cellulose built from them do not dissolve. This is very important for the plant, otherwise its entire body and skeleton would melt from the first rain.

To destroy the skeleton of a plant and turn its solid unsweetened body into sugary substances with the help of hydrolysis - this is the task facing science in our time. And this problem was solved by our domestic chemistry. The conversion of cellulose into a sugary substance was achieved in 1931 by V. I. Sharkov and other Soviet scientists.

Once upon a time, sawmills accumulated whole mountains of sawdust. It was necessary to invent special incinerators for their destruction.

Waste, which was previously tried to get rid of, is now a valuable raw material for the hydrolysis industry. Wood is converted either into food products for livestock - sugar, protein and fatty yeast, or into technical raw materials - alcohol, glycerin, furfural and others, for which potatoes and grain were previously spent.

One ton of sawdust normal humidity replaces a ton of potatoes or 300 kilograms of grain and yields 650 kilograms of sugar or 220 liters of alcohol.

A small sawmill equipped with two sawmills can provide sawdust for the production of a million liters of alcohol in a year.

Hundreds of millions of tons of plant waste - straw, chaff, husks, grains - remain annually in agriculture. Now they have found application in industrial chemistry. Our scientists N. A. Sychev, N. A. Chetverikov and Academician A. E. Porai-Koshits developed a method by which up to 100 liters of alcohol are obtained from a ton of dry straw.

The alcohol produced by the hydrolysis industry serves as a raw material for the production of the most valuable products, including synthetic rubber.

Untreated sawdust can be used as roughage in the diet of beef cattle. Wood sawdust of both coniferous and deciduous species, used as a feed additive in an amount of up to 25%, does not damage the digestive tract of calves and does not have a toxic effect. Although they provide normal scar function, they are not a source of nutrients. Wood polysaccharides, especially conifers, are almost not digested in the rumen of ruminants. The highest digestibility, which reaches 37%, is observed only in aspen wood. In conifers, it is 5-7% > in birch 6-8 and in poplar different types- from 4 to 25%

Exist various ways wood processing to improve its digestibility. Chopping wood, for example by grinding aspen sawdust, somewhat improves the absorption of nutrients. The critical particle size of such feed meal is 2 mm. Smaller particles, due to the accelerated passage through the scar, are not properly exposed to the microflora and are digested worse. It has been experimentally proven that cellulose obtained by delignification of wood is almost completely digested by ruminants and is equated to feed from barley grain. However, feeding technical pulp is relatively expensive and unprofitable. Feed with increased nutritional value is obtained from wood by hydrothermal, thermochemical and microbiological methods of deep processing. As a result, the wood is partially delignified and hydrolyzed. Removal of lignin promotes access of the enzyme to the cellulose molecule and better digestibility. Hydrolysis of polysaccharides increases the nutritional value of feed.

Sawdust, any shredded wood waste, green and technological chips can serve as raw materials for obtaining fodder products. Hydrothermal treatment of raw materials, which are pre-moistened to 70-75%, is carried out in autoclaves. Here, at elevated pressure (0.6-0.9 MPa) and a temperature of 158-165 ° C, the reaction of hydrolysis of polysaccharides occurs, as a result of which, in 2-3 hours, the content of simple sugars - easily digestible carbohydrates - in the finished product increases to 7-9 %. The resulting food is a brown mass, smelling good, soft and crumbly. The digestibility of such feed from coniferous species is 35%, from deciduous species 55%. It can be stored dry as hay or subjected to briquetting and granulation. For hydrothermal treatment, batch and continuous autoclaves used in various industries can be used, as well as technological equipment hydrolysis and pulp and paper industries: hydrolysis apparatuses and apparatus for the production of cellulose in a continuous way.

Thermochemical treatment of carefully chopped wood is carried out in the same apparatus using mineral acids - sulfuric or hydrochloric - as chemical reagents. Such processing is more effective, contributes to obtaining a product with a high yield of easily digestible sugars.

Feed products in the form of fibrous mass can be obtained in the production of fibreboard. Having obtained a coarser grinding of chips with a distance between the grinding discs increased to 1 mm, the fibrous mass is diluted with water and used to cast the carpet, bypassing the gluing pool. After pressing on forpresses, the surface of the carpet is abundantly watered with a 15-30% solution of fodder hydrolytic sugar. The impregnated carpet is cut into pieces and dried in a roller dryer. There are other options for the production technology of fodder fiber mass, which is fed to animals in the form of a mixture with feed.

By deep chemical processing of crushed wood in hydrolyzers, fodder hydrolytic sugar is obtained. The product is a dark brown, viscous, well-flowing syrupy liquid with a characteristic caramel odor. The density of hydrolytic sugar at a temperature of 20 °C is 1150-1220 kg/m3, the dry matter content is at least 30%. Technological process fodder sugar production includes neutralization of the hydrolyzate, clarification and evaporation of the neutralizate, removal of slag, purification and selection of the finished product. The amount of feed sugar, subject to certain requirements, is maintained for a long time. It is stored and transported in special tanks or barrels. fed hydrolysis sugar as a substitute for easily digestible carbohydrates in feed root crops or as an addition to feed rations. Based on the products of hydrolysis production, a carbohydrate-protein feed was obtained, which is a thick paste with the smell of burnt bread. The dry matter of such feed is 40-50%, and the amount of protein reaches 20%.

Feed yeast is a product of biochemical processing of hydrolytic sugars obtained from wood. They contain up to 52% of well-digestible protein and a group of B vitamins. The natural combination of proteins and vitamins in yeast makes them an exceptionally valuable feed product for animals and birds. Yeast is used as a protein-vitamin supplement in feed rations. The fodder yeast production technology includes the preparation of a hydrolyzate and the cultivation of yeast on it in a special yeast-growing vat - an inoculator. The yeast grown in the inoculator with intensive aeration is continuously selected, removed from the mash by flotation, subjected to thickening in separators and evaporation. Dried to a moisture content of 8-10%, the yeast is packed in paper bags and sent to the consumer.

Blogger Sergey Anashkevich writes:

Do you remember the anecdote how Vasily Ivanovich asked Petka to hide a tank of alcohol from the soldiers, and he painted over the inscription "ALCOL", writing "C2H5OH" instead? And the soldiers in the morning were in the insole. How - it is written OH. It turned out, indeed, he is!

Surprisingly, there are practically no detailed reports on the network about how HIM is made - the main raw material for vodka.

As do the vodka itself - full. From fuselage to elite brands. Alcohol is not!

We have to fill this gap, fortunately for last week I visited the Usad distillery not far from Kazan, which is part of the Tatspirtprom concern.

They make alcohol here high category"Alpha", which is gradually replacing the once top "Lux" from the production of high-quality vodka brands. All the same ancient method, invented before our era, implemented on an industrial scale in the XIV century and widely practiced in sheds and garages during the restructuring. Good old distillation...

At the entrance - grain from a bag, at the exit - the purest 96-degree liquid ...

As you know, fun action alcoholic beverages and the ways of obtaining them have been known to mankind since biblical times: remember, Noah accidentally drank fermented fruit juice and became drunk. In general, scientists suggest that the idea of ​​chemical distillation of liquids arose as early as the 1st millennium BC. The distillation process was first described by Aristotle (384–320 BC). Many alchemists of that time were engaged in improving the technique of distillation, believing that by distillation they were able to isolate the soul of wine. Due to this, the distillation product was called the "spirit of wine" (from the Latin "spiritus vini").

The process of obtaining alcohol was discovered in different regions the globe almost simultaneously. In 1334, the alchemist from Provence Arnaud de Villeger (France) first obtained wine spirit from grape wine, considering it a healing agent. In the middle of the XIV century, some French and Italian monasteries produced wine alcohol called "Aquavitae" - "water of life", and in 1386, thanks to Genoese merchants, alcohol reached Moscow.

The production of ethyl alcohol began in Europe after the invention of the distillation apparatus in Italy in the 11th century. For several centuries, ethyl alcohol was almost never used in pure form, except perhaps in the laboratories of alchemists. But in 1525, the famous Paracelsus noticed that the ether obtained by heating alcohol with sulfuric acid has a hypnotic effect. He described his experiences with poultry. And on October 17, 1846, the surgeon Warren put the first patient to sleep with ether.

Gradually, alcohol was divided into food and technical, obtained by splitting wood waste. In England, technical alcohol was exempted from increased sales taxes, since the market value of alcoholic beverages paid off government fees, but doctors and industrialists could not afford such a price. To prevent food consumption of toxic industrial alcohol, it was mixed with methanol and other malodorous additives.

Subsequently, alcohol received instant spread in medicine due to constant wars. In 1913, about 2,400 factories were recorded on the territory of the Russian Empire, producing mainly vodka and wine. Later there was a separation of the production of alcohol and vodka.

With the outbreak of the First World War, the production of vodka actually stopped, the production of alcohol also decreased. Production began to recover only in 1925-1926, and the grandiose restoration of the alcohol industry began only in 1947, new scientific and technical technologies and achievements began to be intensively applied. In 1965, there were 428 plants operating in the USSR with an annual output of 127.8 million deciliters of alcohol, and by 1975 the production of alcohol had increased to 188.1 million deciliters. In subsequent years, this production gradually decreased due to the increasing production of drinks with a lower strength.

Depending on the raw material, alcohol can be food and technical.

Food is made only from food raw materials. The most common and economical raw material for the production of alcohol is potatoes. Potato starch is easily boiled soft, gelatinized and saccharified. In addition to potatoes, grains are used for the production of alcohol - wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, millet, as well as sugar beet, sugar syrup or molasses.

Technical alcohol is obtained from wood or petroleum products subjected to acid hydrolysis.

Now about the categories of alcohol and why Alpha is replacing Lux. The thing is that Alpha alcohol must be produced from wheat, rye or from a mixture of them, that is, exclusively from grain raw materials, unlike other alcohols, which can also be produced from a mixture of grain and potatoes.

The second important difference between Alpha and Lux ​​is the reduced content of toxic methyl alcohol: the norm of its content is only 0.003% in terms of anhydrous alcohol, while for Lux alcohol it is 0.02%. This is essential!

At the Usladsky distillery, alcohol is produced exclusively from wheat and only one category - "Alpha".

Wheat is brought in special grain trucks and placed in high barrels-elevators, from where it is further fed to production.

Grain for the production of alcohol must be good quality and moisture content of not more than 17%, otherwise there is a high risk of spoilage, which will affect the quality of the final product.

From the storage tanks, with the help of a huge and powerful pump-turbine, the grain is “pumped” through tall speakers for primary processing.

Pump for "pumping" grain from storage for cleaning:

The first task is to clean the grain from all impurities, both solid and ordinary rubbish, husks, etc.

So at the very beginning it gets to the separator.

First, the wheat is sifted through a sieve, on which all large objects remain.

This rubble accumulated near the separator in just half a day!

Here is what remains after the grain has "left" further through the pipes for crushing:

The crusher turns the grain into coarse flour. This is necessary for further cooking of the grain and the release of starch from it.

Boiling grain occurs in order to destroy its cell walls. As a result, the starch is released and converted into a soluble form. In this state, it is much easier to saccharify with enzymes. The grain is processed with steam overpressure 500 kPa. When the boiled mass leaves the brewer, the reduced pressure leads to the formation of steam (from the water contained in the cells).

Such an increase in volume breaks the cell walls and turns the grain into a homogeneous mass. The boiling temperature is 172°C and the cooking time is about 4 minutes.

The crushed grain is mixed with water in a proportion of 3 liters per 1 kg of grain. The grain mixture is heated by steam (75°C) and pumped into the contact hole of the plant. It is here that the instant heating of the slurry to a temperature of 100 ° C occurs. After that, the heated batch is placed in the cooking machine.

During the saccharification process, malted milk is added to the chilled mass to break down the starch. Active chemical interaction leads to the fact that the product becomes absolutely suitable for the further fermentation process. The result is a wort that contains 18% dry sugar.

When an iodine test is made from the mass, the color of the wort must remain unchanged.

Fermentation of the wort begins with the introduction of commercial yeast into the saccharified mass. Maltose is broken down to glucose, which in turn is fermented into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Secondary fermentation products (essential acids, etc.) also begin to form.

The fermentation process takes place in huge closed fermentation units, which prevent the loss of alcohol and the release of carbon dioxide into the production hall.

The units are so big that the top and bottom parts are on different floors!

This is what the braga looks like in the installation. You should look very carefully so as not to inhale carbon dioxide vapors.

The carbon dioxide and alcohol vapor released during the fermentation process from the fermentation unit enter special compartments, where the water-alcohol liquid and carbon dioxide are separated. The content of ethyl alcohol in the mash should be up to 9.5 vol.%.

By the way, at the factory we were offered to try the brew.

Everywhere in the shops you can see such fountains. They are designed to wash the eyes in case of contact with them. hazardous products production, which is lacking here.

Next, proceed to the distillation of alcohol from the mash and its rectification. Alcohol begins to stand out from the mash as a result of boiling at different temperatures. The distillation mechanism itself is based on the following pattern: alcohol and water have different boiling points (water - 100 degrees, alcohol - 78 ° C). The released steam begins to condense and collect in a separate container. Purification of alcohol from impurities is carried out at a distillation plant.

Above us is the floor with distillation units. There's a whole network of pipelines running down here, some for alcohol, some for water, some for steam, some for by-products.

And it's hot in the rectification room!!!

Raw alcohol (raw alcohol) obtained at the main stage of production cannot be used for food purposes, as it contains many harmful impurities (fusel oils, methyl alcohol, esters). Many impurities are poisonous and give alcohol bad smell, which is why raw alcohol is subjected to purification - rectification.

This process is based on different temperature boiling of ethyl, methyl and higher alcohols, esters. In this case, all impurities are conditionally divided into head, tail and intermediate.

Head impurities have more low temperature boiling point than ethyl alcohol. These include acetaldehyde and individual esters (ethyl acetate, ethyl formate, etc.) formed during distillation.

Tail impurities are different elevated temperature boiling compared to ethyl alcohol. They mainly contain fusel oils and methyl alcohol.

The most difficult to separate fraction are intermediate impurities (ethyl ester of isobutyric acid and other esters).

When purifying raw alcohol for distillation apparatus harmful impurities are separated and the concentration of alcohol in the finished product increases (from 88% in raw alcohol to 96-96.5% in rectified product).

Ready alcohol with a strength of 96% is pumped into storage tanks.

You should look into these containers even more carefully than into containers with mash. Here you can get drunk in an instant ...

Ready alcohol is sent for control measurements and, if everything is in order, it is assigned the Alpha category, and then it will go to the production of vodka or other purposes ...

Sawdust is a valuable raw material for the production of various alcohols that can be use as fuel.

Such biofuels can run:

• automobile and motorcycle gasoline engines;
• power generators;
• household gasoline equipment.

Main problem one that has to be overcome in the manufacture of biofuels from sawdust is hydrolysis, that is, the conversion of cellulose into glucose.

Cellulose and glucose have the same basis - hydrocarbons. But for the transformation of one substance into another, various physical and chemical processes are necessary.

The main technologies for converting sawdust into glucose can be divided into two types:

• industrial requiring complex equipment and expensive ingredients;
• homemade that do not require any sophisticated equipment.

Regardless of the method of hydrolysis, sawdust must be crushed as much as possible. For this, various crushers are used.

How smaller size sawdust, topics more efficient there will be a decomposition of wood into sugar and other components.

You can find more information about sawdust grinding equipment here:. No other preparation of sawdust is required.

industrial way

Sawdust is poured into a vertical hopper, then filled with sulfuric acid solution(40%) in a ratio of 1:1 by weight and, having closed hermetically, is heated to a temperature of 200–250 degrees.

In this state, sawdust is kept for 60–80 minutes, constantly stirring.

During this time, the process of hydrolysis takes place and cellulose, absorbing water, breaks down into glucose and other components.

The substance obtained as a result of this operation filter, obtaining a mixture of glucose solution with sulfuric acid.

The purified liquid is poured into a separate container and mixed with a solution of chalk, which neutralizes acid.

Then everything is filtered and get:

• toxic waste;
• glucose solution.

Flaw this method in:

• high requirements for the material from which the equipment is made;
• high costs for acid regeneration,

therefore it was not widely used.

There is also a less expensive method., in which a solution of sulfuric acid with a strength of 0.5–1% is used.

However, effective hydrolysis requires:

• high pressure (10–15 atmospheres);
• heating up to 160-190 degrees.

The process time is 70–90 minutes.

Equipment for such a process can be made from less expensive materials, because such a dilute acid solution is less aggressive than the one used in the method described above.

BUT pressure of 15 atmospheres is not dangerous even for conventional chemical equipment, because many processes also take place at high pressure.

For both methods use steel, hermetically sealed containers up to 70 m³, lined with acid-resistant bricks or tiles from the inside.

This lining protects the metal from contact with acid.

The contents of the containers are heated by supplying hot steam into them.

A drain valve is installed on top, which is adjusted to required pressure. Therefore, excess steam escapes into the atmosphere. The rest of the steam creates the necessary pressure.

Both methods involve the same chemical process.. Under the influence of sulfuric acid, cellulose (C6H10O5)n absorbs water H2O and turns into glucose nC6H12O6, that is, a mixture of various sugars.

After purification, this glucose is used not only to obtain biofuels, but also for the production of:

• drinking and technical alcohol;
• Sahara;
• methanol.

Both methods allow you to process wood of any species, therefore they are universal.

As a by-product of processing sawdust into alcohol, lignin is obtained - a substance that sticks together:

• pellets;
• briquettes.

Therefore, lignin can be sold to enterprises and entrepreneurs who are engaged in the production of pellets and briquettes from wood waste.

Another a by-product of hydrolysis is furfural. It is an oily liquid, an effective wood preservative.

Furfural is also used for:

• oil refining;
• purification of vegetable oil;
• plastics production;
• development of antifungal drugs.

In the process of processing sawdust with acid toxic gases are released, that's why:

• all equipment must be installed in a ventilated workshop;
• workers must wear safety goggles and respirators.

The yield of glucose by weight is 40–60% of the weight of sawdust, but taking into account the large amount of water and impurities the weight of the product is several times greater than the initial weight of the raw material.

Excess water will be removed during the distillation process.

In addition to lignin, the by-products of both processes are:

• alabaster;
• turpentine,

which can be sold for some profit.

Purification of glucose solution

Cleaning is carried out in several stages:

1. Mechanical cleaning using a separator removes lignin from the solution.
2. Treatment chalky milk neutralizes the acid.
3. settling divides the product into liquid solution glucose and carbonates, which are then used to produce alabaster.

Here is a description of the technological cycle of wood processing at a hydrolysis plant in the city of Tavda (Sverdlovsk Region).

home method

This easier way, but takes an average of 2 years. Sawdust is poured in a large pile and watered abundantly with water, after which:

• cover with something
• leave spitting.

The temperature inside the heap rises and the process of hydrolysis begins, as a result of which cellulose is converted to glucose which can be used for fermentation.

The disadvantage of this method The fact is that at a low temperature the activity of the hydrolysis process decreases, and at a negative temperature it completely stops.

Therefore, this method is effective only in warm regions.

Besides, there is a high probability of degeneration of the hydrolysis process into decay, because of which it will turn out not glucose, but sludge, and all cellulose will turn into:

• carbon dioxide;
• not a large number of methane.

Sometimes in houses they build installations similar to industrial ones. . They are made from of stainless steel, which withstands the impact without consequences weak solution sulfuric acid.

Heat up the contents such devices with:

• open fire (bonfire);
• stainless steel coil with hot air or steam circulating through it.

By pumping steam or air into the container and monitoring the readings of the pressure gauge, the pressure in the container is regulated. The hydrolysis process starts at a pressure of 5 atmospheres, but proceeds most efficiently at a pressure of 7–10 atmospheres.

Then, just as in industrial production:

• purify the solution from lignin;
• processed with a solution of chalk.

After that, the glucose solution is settled and fermented with the addition of yeast.

Fermentation and distillation

For fermentation into glucose solution add regular yeast that activate the fermentation process.

This technology is used both in enterprises and in the production of alcohol from sawdust at home.

Fermentation time 5–15 days, depending on the:

• air temperature;
• types of wood.

The fermentation process is controlled by the amount of formation of carbon dioxide bubbles.

During fermentation, such a chemical process occurs - glucose nC6H12O6 breaks down into:

• carbon dioxide (2CO2);
• alcohol (2C2H5OH).

After the end of fermentation material is distilled- heating to a temperature of 70–80 degrees and cooling the exhaust steam.

At this temperature evaporate from the solution:

• alcohols;
• ethers,

while water and water-soluble impurities remain.

• steam cooling;
• alcohol condensation

use a coil immersed in cold water or cooled by cold air.

For strength increase the finished product is distilled 2-4 more times, gradually lowering the temperature to a value of 50-55 degrees.

The strength of the resulting product determined with an alcohol meter which estimates the specific gravity of a substance.

The product of distillation can be used as a biofuel with a strength of at least 80%. A less strong product has too much water, so the technique will work inefficiently on it.

Although the alcohol obtained from sawdust is very similar to moonshine, its cannot be used for drinking due to great content methanol, which is a strong poison. In addition, a large amount of fusel oils spoils the taste of the finished product.

To clean from methanol, you must:

• the first distillation is carried out at a temperature of 60 degrees;
• drain the first 10% of the resulting product.

After distillation remain:

• heavy turpentine fractions;
• yeast mass, which can be used both for the fermentation of the next batch of glucose, and for the production of fodder yeast.

They are more nutritious and healthy than any grain cereal crops, so they are willing to buy farms raising large and small livestock.

Biofuel application

Compared to gasoline, biofuels (alcohol made from recycled waste) have both advantages and disadvantages.

Here Main advantages:

• high (105-113) octane number;
• lower combustion temperature;
• lack of sulfur;
• lower price.

Due to the high octane number, increase compression ratio, increasing the power and efficiency of the motor.

Lower combustion temperature:

• increases service life valves and pistons;
• reduces engine heat in maximum power mode.

Due to the absence of sulfur, biofuels does not pollute the air and does not shorten engine oil life, because sulfur oxide oxidizes the oil, worsening its characteristics and reducing the resource.

Due to the significantly lower price (except for excises), biofuel saves the family budget.

Biofuels have limitations:

• aggressiveness towards rubber parts;
• low fuel/air mass ratio (1:9);
• weak evaporation.

biofuel damages rubber seals , therefore, during the conversion of the motor to run on alcohol, all rubber seals are changed to polyurethane parts.

Due to the lower fuel-to-air ratio, normal biofuel operation requires reconfiguration fuel system, that is, installing larger jets in the carburetor or flashing the injector controller.

Due to low evaporation Difficulty starting a cold engine at temperatures below plus 10 degrees.

To solve this problem, biofuels are diluted with gasoline in a ratio of 7:1 or 8:1.

To run on a mixture of gasoline and biofuel in a ratio of 1: 1, no engine modification is required.

If there is more alcohol, then it is desirable:

• replace all rubber seals with polyurethane;
• grind the cylinder head.

Grinding is necessary to increase the compression ratio, which will allow realize higher octane. Without such alteration, the engine will lose power when alcohol is added to gasoline.

If biofuels are used for electric generators or household gasoline appliances, then it is desirable to replace rubber parts with polyurethane ones.

In such devices, head grinding can be dispensed with, because a small loss of power is compensated by an increase in fuel supply. Besides, need to reconfigure the carburetor or injector, any specialist in fuel systems can do this.

For more information about the use of biofuel and the alteration of motors to work on it, read this article (Application of biofuel).

Related videos

You can see how to make alcohol from sawdust in this video:

conclusions

Production of alcohol from sawdust - difficult process , which includes a lot of operations.

If there are cheap or free sawdust, then by pouring biofuel into the tank of your car, you will save a lot, because its production is much cheaper than gasoline.

Now you know how to get alcohol from sawdust used as biofuel and how you can do it at home.

Also, did you know about by-products that arise during the processing of sawdust into biofuels. These products can also be sold for a small but still profit.

Thanks to this, the biofuel business from sawdust is becoming highly beneficial, especially if you use fuel for your own transport and do not pay excise duty on the sale of alcohol.

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