Feasibility study for a 10-MM-GPY fuel ethanol plant, Brady Hot Springs, Nevada. Volume 1. Process and plant design

Technical Report · Mon Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5985734· OSTI ID:5985734

An investigation was performed to determine the technical and economic viability of constructing and operating a geothermally heated, biomass, motor fuel alcohol plant at Brady's Hot Springs. The results of the study are positive, showing that a plant of innovative, yet proven design can be built to adapt current commerical fermentation-distillation technology to the application of geothermal heat energy. The specific method of heat production from the Brady's Hot Spring wells has been successful for some time at an onion drying plant. Further development of the geothermal resource to add the capacity needed for an ethanol plant is found to be feasible for a plant sized to produce 10 million gallons of motor fuel grade ethanol per year. A very adequate supply of feedgrains is found to be available for use in the plant without impact on the local or regional feedgrain market. The effect of diverting supplies from the animal feedlots in Northern Nevada and California will be mitigated by the by-product output of high-protein feed supplements that the plant will produce. The plant will have a favorable impact on the local farming economies of Fallon, Lovelock, Winnemucca and Elko, Nevada. It will make a positive and significant socioeconomic contribution to Churchill County, providing direct employment for an additional 61 persons. Environmental impact will be negligible, involving mostly a moderate increase in local truck traffic and railroad siding activity. The report is presented in two volumes. Volume 1 deals with the technical design aspects of the plant. The second volume addresses the issue of expanded geothermal heat production at Brady's Hot Springs, goes into the details of feedstock supply economics, and looks at the markets for the plant's primary ethanol product, and the markets for its feed supplement by-products. The report concludes with an analysis of the economic viability of the proposed project.

• Research Organization: Geothermal Food Processors, Inc., Fernley, NV (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: FG07-80RA50354
• OSTI ID: 5985734
• Report Number(s): DOE/RA/50354-T1-Vol.1; ON: DE82003805
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
090222* -- Alcohol Fuels-- Preparation from Wastes or Biomass-- (1976-1989)
140504 -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
151000 -- Geothermal Energy-- Direct Energy Utilization
ALCOHOLS
ANIMAL FEEDS
AVAILABILITY
BARLEY
BIOCONVERSION
BIOMASS CONVERSION PLANTS
BY-PRODUCTS
CEREALS
DESIGN
DISTILLATION
DISTILLERS DRIED GRAINS
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ETHANOL
ETHANOL PLANTS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
FERMENTATION
FOOD
GEOTHERMAL PROCESS HEAT
GRAMINEAE
GRASS
HEAT
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
MAIZE
MARKET
NEVADA
NORTH AMERICA
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
PROCESS HEAT
PRODUCTION
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
USA
WESTERN REGION