PRELIMINARY COST ANALYSIS ON BIOETHANOL PLANT A REPORT ON THE COURSE BIOETHANOL DESIGN

The need for alternative energy has been on sharp increase in the recent past (although the oil crisis of the early 1970s has called for concern in this aspect). This is due to increased instability in energy supply from oil producing regions of the world and the environmental impact associated with use of fossil fuel as energy source. It has therefore become necessary to sort for alternative energy sources which are sustainable as well as reliable. One of such alternative energy source is the use of biofuels, which includes bioethanol. World ethanol demand has been on a gradual increase since the mid 1970s; however, there has been a rapid increase in the demand for ethanol since the year 2000. This is as result of the environmental impact associated with the use of MTBE as a gasoline additive for improved octane rating; ethanol which is another alternative for this purpose, is now preferred due to its less impact on the environment and its high octane rating. Today, different blends of ethanol (E5, E10, E85 etc) are used. Consumption of higher blend of ethanol in cars has less impact to environment. Modern cars are being designed to be able to use higher proportions of ethanol (flexi fuel) or only ethanol as fuels. Equally contributing to the world increase in ethanol demand is the dustrial growth in the Asian countries specially China and India where automobile is becoming a fashionable means of transport. Thus ethanol production has become an investment worthy to consider.