In a recently signed contract with KAAPA Partners Aurora, LLC, ICM has agreed to be the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for a portion of an ethanol plant upgrade in Aurora, Nebraska. The plant, owned by KAAPA Partners Aurora, L.L.C., will be retrofitted with ICM’s P10 Process Optimization™, which is designed to reduce fouling and increase efficiencies in corn ethanol plants that use high-pressure distillation systems. This agreement will also include a Beer Degassing and Digital Control System upgrades.
In addition to delivering the evaporative capacity required to produce 200-proof ethanol, the upgrade reduces energy consumption by integrating heat from ethanol vapors into the production process. The recovered heat decreases the energy load on cooling towers, allowing them to chill the fermentation process faster and more efficiently.
According to Mitchell, ethanol producers can also expect to reduce syrup production by as much as 35%. When less syrup passes through the dyers, he explained, the dryers use less natural gas which contributes to lower carbon intensity scores.
This will be the second time that the two companies have collaborated on a project. ICM previously retrofitted KAAPA’s ethanol plant in Ravenna, Nebraska.
ICM’s P10 Process Optimization™ upgrade has been installed in several other plants. Three of those installations won the 2021 Ethanol Producer Magazine’s Project of the Year.
ICM has already completed two preliminary front-end loading engineering studies at KAAPA’s Aurora facility and plans to mobilize for construction in June. The project is expected to be completed in time for harvest.
