Projeto de destilação do álcool neutro para a produção de bebidas alcoólicas retificadas

Abstract

According to data from ABRABE, the Brazilian beverage association, in 2018, in Brazil, the alcoholic beverages sector had a gross revenue of 23.3 billion reais, producing about 4.1 billion liters. In this scenario, distilled beverages represented about 11% of the market and rectified beverages, gin and vodka, 35% of this share. In addition, according to Euromonitor International, these drinks showed an increase in consumption in the period from 2015 to 2019, indicating a new world trend, and in Brazil, gin consumption had a 66% growth. In addition, changes in habits regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages have been impacting the sector, mainly in the search for higher quality drinks. Thus, the study of neutral alcohol was carried out, mainly responsible for the composition and quality of rectified drinks. The main characteristics of this component and the entire manufacturing process of rectified drinks, vodka and gin, were studied. Thus, a neutral alcohol distillation plant was designed, in which the battery limit includes the stages of distillation and purification of the intermediate product, not including the treatment of effluents generated in the process and the fermentative process of the wine to be distilled, its composition being determined through data obtained from the literature. The production capacity relies on the processing of 50,000 kg of wine per hour, resulting in the production of 3.786,4 kg/h of neutral alcohol at 91.9% mass purity. The project included pre-sizing of 5 distilling columns and other equipment like pumps and heaters exchange and pricing of equipment. In the preliminary economic analysis, the Net Present Value was 10 million reais for a Minimum Attractiveness Rate of 9%, with a payback of 4 years and the Intern Rate Return (IRR) of 22% over a 10-year horizon. Finally, there was the elaboration and description of the process flowchart, such as preliminary analysis of the process control for the projected plant.