BIOMASS POWER IN BIOETHANOL
Colombia
An industrial complex for the production of bioethanol from sugar cane is being constructed in Colombia. The complex includes a bioethanol plant, a cogeneration plant that will produce 40 MW of power and 180 tph of steam for the Bioethanol plant and facilities for the treatment of waste from sugar cane. The milling of sugar cane, the process of extracting the juice from which ethanol is obtained, also produces a solid residue (bagasse) which can be used as fuel in the biomass boiler to produce steam. The output of electricity generated from this steam will be more than sufficient to meet the supply needs of the industrial complex; with any remaining power being exported to the Colombian grid. The complex will also include a system for the treatment of vinasse, a liquid by-product of the distillation of ethanol, which will then be mixed with ash from the combustion of bagasse to produce fertilizer.
