Abstract
This thesis follows the design process for an ethanol distillation column to provide fuel for an ethanol powered generator previously developed as a senior capstone project which runs on 80% (v/v) ethanol. This column will run on heat provided by the engine which would have previously been discarded as waste heat and released to the environment via a radiator, turning the system into a combined heat and power system with focus on low initial investment. The process takes an existing system and follows the mass and energy balance design process to demonstrate how producing 80% (v/v) rather than pushing it to its azeotropic point at 95.2% (v/v) requires 48% the number of trays and requires 62% less energy than anhydrous ethanol. The same process is then carried out for a column with the minimum requirements set to satisfy the fuel consumption of the generator engine, which results in an 8ft column with 11 trays and a production capacity of 4.08 gal/hr. Additional design iterations are performed which prioritize different economical aspects, a 15 tray column which focuses on long-term productivity, a 24 tray column which attempt to balance low initial investment with long-term energy efficiency, and a final iteration with 29 trays which focuses on maximizing the long-term production capability and energy efficiency of the system.