Method and system for distilling alcohol in an alcohol production process utilizing mechanical vapor recompression

A method for distilling alcohol in an alcohol production process, the method comprising:

• fermenting a mixture of water and milled grain to produce alcohol-laden beer;
• distilling the alcohol-laden beer in a beer column maintained at a subatmospheric pressure to produce a vapor, including alcohol, and whole stillage;
• separating thin stillage from the whole stillage;
• evaporating water from all or a portion of the separated thin stillage via one or more evaporators to produce a first effect steam from evaporation of the water from the thin stillage to produce a first-concentrated thin stillage from the evaporation of the thin stillage, wherein the one or more evaporators and the one or more other evaporators together define a first effect evaporator system;
• evaporating water from the first-concentrated thin stillage via one or more additional evaporators defining a second effect evaporator system with heat from the first effect steam to produce second-concentrated thin stillage and second effect steam;
• supplying at least a portion of the second effect steam, which defines incoming second effect steam, to a mechanical vapor recompression device to produce outgoing steam with increased vapor pressure and increased temperature relative to the incoming second effect steam;
• and
• cooling the outgoing steam from the mechanical vapor recompression device and supplying the cooled steam to the beer column or a rectifier column for distilling the alcohol-laden beer to produce alcohol whereby throughput of the beer column is increased.

A system for distilling alcohol in an alcohol production process, the system comprising:

• a beer column that receives alcohol-laden beer, the beer column distills the alcohol-laden beer at a subatmospheric pressure to produce a vapor, including ethanol, and whole stillage;
• a separation device that is situated after the beer column and that receives the whole stillage and separates thin stillage from the whole stillage;
• a first effect evaporator system that includes one or more evaporators that receive all or a portion of the thin stillage from the separation device, the one or more evaporators configured to evaporate water from the thin stillage to produce first-concentrated thin stillage, the first effect evaporator system configured to produce a first effect steam from the evaporation of the water from the thin stillage;
• a second effect evaporator system that is situated after the first effect evaporator system and includes one or more evaporators, which receive the first-concentrated thin stillage and evaporate water from the first-concentrated thin stillage with heat from the first effect steam to produce second-concentrated thin stillage and second effect steam;
• a mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) device that is situated after the second effect evaporator system and that receives at least a portion of the second effect steam, which defines incoming second effect steam, the MVR device configured to produce outgoing steam with increased vapor pressure and increased temperature relative to the incoming second effect steam;
• and
• a distillation column for distilling the alcohol-laden beer to produce alcohol selected from the beer column or a rectifier column, the distillation column receives the outgoing steam from the MVR device such that throughput of the beer column is increased.