Advanced Process Control Chats: Biofuels Industry

Our Interviewee

Today, we’re talking to Dr. Srinivas Budaraju, principal engineer at Rockwell Automation. Srinivas joined Rockwell as the industry lead for biofuels 25 years ago and has been a principal engineer since 2012.

What are the key challenges you typically face in your role as an engineering consultant?

As an engineering consultant in the biofuel industry, there are a few challenges we deal with regularly. This includes understanding market dynamics and industry focus. The industry has traditionally focused on specific feedstocks, like corn, sugarcane, vegetable oil and animal fat, which shape the kind of projects we take on. The economy also impacts what we do; sometimes clients need to ramp up production, and other times, they need to slow things down.

For example, when corn prices go up, we focus on yield, and when gasoline prices go up, we focus on throughput.

What are the most important skills and qualities for success in your role?

To succeed in this role, industry knowledge and analytical skills are vital. Having deep expertise and hands-on experience helps us quickly identify areas where we can make a difference. We're really great at preliminary analyses, like spotting bottlenecks or energy inefficiencies.

At Rockwell, we also have a number of patents in the space as well such as plant-wide control and fermentation processes. Our intellectual capital and established presence in the industry give us an edge.

It’s also important for us to keep an eye on what competitors are doing and find areas where there are opportunities for innovation that others might not be looking at or prioritizing.

When you meet with a client, walk us through how you approach a problem.

First, we dig into the data. We start by looking at three months of their operational data. This helps us figure out things like:

Next, we propose solutions. Based on what we find, we estimate potential savings and calculate their return on investment.

What are some trends you’re seeing in the industry?

There are some exciting (and challenging) shifts happening right now, including organizations exploring new feedstocks, yeast strains and enzymes. The industry is exploring alternatives to corn, like grass clippings and other fibers. In Brazil, Australia, SE Asia, etc., sugarcane is a big player, but it’s seasonal. One workaround is producing sugar syrup to use year-round. In India, rice is being explored, but it’s tricky due to historical sensitivities around famine and the need for new enzymes and processes.

There's also the growth of biodiesel. We’ve done some projects with great results converting animal fats to biodiesel, and there’s room for more impactful work in this space.

There are also technology updates that as industry experts we need to consider. Yeast strains and enzymes are constantly improving, but that also means plants need to adjust their processes, which can create challenges for them. Enzymes convert starch to sugar and yeast must convert sugar to ethanol simultaneously, so processes must be adjusted to ensure proper coordination of those reactions. Yeast strains are also being developed to withstand higher temperatures to decrease the use of cooling controller temperature monitoring.

Like in other industries, there’s also been an increased interest in sustainability efforts. Starting in 2005, there was a move to conversation about renewable fuels related to mandate and a rush by farmers to build ethanol plants, but no technical experience. That’s where we stepped in with how to run the plant with APC. While subsidies helped kickstart the industry, mandates from different countries are now driving these efforts. For example, organizations can look to the Renewable Fuels Association for timely, comprehensive industry information regarding the U.S. ethanol industry. This is impacting trade and creating new opportunities for us to help clients adapt. We offer standard solutions that are ready to implement, which saves time and effort for our clients.

Yield, quality and recovery are very important to clients in this field. How do you think about these goals when approaching a new project? How is this industry transforming to align with market trends and government regulations?

When we start a new project, we think about these goals every step of the way. Here’s how we tackle it:

1. Milling or Grinding: This is where it all starts, setting the stage for efficient starch extraction.
2. Fermentation: This is the area with the most potential for improvement, where we focus on converting starch as efficiently as possible.
3. Ethanol Extraction: We work to optimize distillation, keeping energy usage low for cost savings and environmental benefits.
4. Co-Products: We must consider the co-products of these processes such as wet cake, dried distillers grains (DDGs), corn syrup, carbon dioxide and glycerine.

By looking at every step in the process, we help clients stay ahead of market trends and meet regulatory demands.