An ethanol capture system

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for recovering valuable chemicals in the gaseous phase that are generated during food processing.

Description

[0001] AN ETHANOL CAPTURE SYSTEM

[0002] Technical Field of the Invention

[0003] The invention relates to a system for recovering valuable chemicals in the gaseous phase that are generated during food processing.

[0004] State of the Art of the Invention

[0005] Ethanol is a chemical used in many industrial, agricultural, and consumer applications. There are several ways to produce this valuable and common chemical, such as biological, chemical and thermochemical methods.

[0006] Ethylene reduction can be mentioned among chemical methods. In the process of obtaining ethanol through the reaction of ethylene with steam in the presence of a catalyst, not only is a large amount of water consumed, but since this method utilizes ethylene, which is a gas under ambient conditions, it is risky and laborious in terms of process safety. When the cost of catalysts is also taken into account, the unit price of ethanol obtained with high purity also increases.

[0007] Thermochemical methods include ethanol production from syngas derived from biomass under high temperature and pressure. Again, criteria such as high pressure and temperature in this method make the process costly and disadvantageous in terms of process safety and process control.

[0008] Among biological methods, the most common one is the fermentation of saccharides by yeasts such as S. cerevisiae, whereby the ethanol released in the fermentation medium is removed from the medium and made ready for use. This method requires a high amount of water during the raw material processing and fermentation process. Approximately 2.5 to 5 liters of water is consumed to produce 1 L of water. Moreover, raw material processing, fermentation, purification, and other processes have high energy requirements. To produce 1 liter of ethanol, approximately 6.94 kWh to 8.33 kWh of energy is consumed. Side wastes such as carbon dioxide and acetaldehyde produced during this process cause environmental pollution unless they are recycled, and when they are recycled, they are reflected as additional costs to the facilities.

[0009] Methods and systems for the separation of ethanol from fermentation media are known in the art. Pitt et al., 1983 [1] proposes a process design for the separation of ethanol from the fermentation medium using static and kinetic methods. This process design includes two absorption columns and molecular sorbent screens in these columns. In this two-stage design, the absorption taking place in the first stage recovers 66% purity by weight from the existing ethanol water mixture in the first step and 99% purity in the second step. At the end of the stages, desorption takes place using nitrogen gas to remove the absorbed ethanol. Since a mixture of water and ethanol is used in experiments with this method, it should be tested whether it is applicable to the fermentation medium.

[0010] In Vane et al., 2012 [2], which presents another alternative to obtain ethanol from fermentation medium, the medium containing ethanol resulting from S. cerevisiae fermentation is fed into a stripping column. Steam is injected into this column from the bottom. As the medium fed from the top of the column flows downwards, it comes into contact with steam and the fermentation medium is purified from ethanol. The membrane at the vapor outlet of the column separates the ethanol-rich and water-rich parts of the vapor. Thus, ethanol with a purity of 90% by weight can be obtained. The ethanol obtained contains impurities such as acetone, amyl acetates, ethyl acetate, amyl alcohols, isobutanol, 1 -butanol, 1 -propanol, acetic acid, butric acid and a large proportion of water from the fermentation medium.

[0011] The patent reference KR100983672 describes the production of bio-ethanol from food waste by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. In this method, the medium obtained by mixing S. cerevisiae, food waste, viscozyme, and buffer solution is transferred to a closed reactor filled with nitrogen. The bio-ethanol obtained as a result of fermentation is stripped with cold nitrogen circulating in the medium. The ethanol mixed with nitrogen is cooled, liquefied, and collected.

[0012] In most of the processes and methods mentioned, the desired impurity cannot be obtained or the purity is not specified. Furthermore, many of these applications mentioned do not mention the separation of ethanol from multicomponent blends or that the blend is in the gaseous phase prior to separation process.

[0013] As a result, all the above-mentioned problems have made it necessary to make a development in the relevant field.

[0014] Objects and Summary of the Invention

[0015] The main object of the invention is to develop a system and method for recovering gaseous phase ethanol produced during fermented food production processes.

[0016] The object of the invention is to reduce harmful chemicals released into the environment during food processing.

[0017] The object of the invention is to develop a system and method for recovering ethanol from the gas released during bread production.

[0018] The object of the invention is to develop an ethanol recovery system that can be integrated into the stack in bread production facilities.

[0019] The object of the invention is that the recovered ethanol is of high purity.

[0020] The object of the invention is to provide an efficient and continuous ethanol recovery by means of automated stages.

[0021] The object of the invention is to generate economic value by enabling recycled waste products to be recycled and rendered suitable for reuse.

[0022] Acetaldehyde, furan, ethyl formate, 2-propanone, 2-m ethylfuran, ethanol, 1 -propanol, 2-methyl-1 -propanol, 3 -methyl- 1 -butanol, water vapor, carbon dioxide, aldehydes, and ketones are released in food processes where fermented food products are produced. Especially in bread production, during baking following the fermentation of the dough; these components formed during the fermentation phase pass into the gaseous phase due to the increase in temperature. The methods known in the art are insufficient to obtain high purity ethanol from the gas having the mentioned content.

[0023] The invention departs from many of the documents mentioned in the prior art by gaseous phase ethanol separation, therefore these methods cannot be used to capture ethanol released in bread production. Only in Vane et al., 2012 [2], gaseous phase separation is used to remove ethanol from the fermentation medium. In this method, the liquid phase medium is taken into a separation column and ethanol is stripped from the medium with steam. The vapor output of the column is then enriched in ethanol by passing ethanol -containing vapor through the membrane.

[0024] Descriptions of the Drawings Describing the Invention

[0025] The figures and the related descriptions used in order to better describe the device designed with this invention are as follows.

[0026] Fig. 1. Image of the system used in the ethanol capture method of the invention.

[0027] Definitions of the Elements / Features / Parts of the Invention

[0028] In order to better describe the device developed with this invention, the features and parts in Fig. 1 are numbered and the equivalent of each number is given below.

[0029] 11. Gas inlet

[0030] 12. First region

[0031] 13. Equilibrium stage component

[0032] 14. Membrane filter

[0033] 15. Liquid discharge valve

[0034] 16. Gas discharge valve

[0035] 17. Second region

[0036] 18. Adsorption material

[0037] 19. Nozzles

[0038] 20. Third region

[0039] 21. Photocatalytic membrane-coated thermo-structures 22. UV radiation source

[0040] 23. Heat exchanger

[0041] 24. Filling point

[0042] Detailed Description of the Invention

[0043] The invention relates to the recovery of valuable chemicals in gaseous form released during food processing by separation. The gas released is a mixture of various components. All of these gases have different boiling points and vapor pressures. Therefore, at different temperatures, the phase in which each gas is present or the concentration of the gas will be different. The invention consists of a system that utilizes this principle to obtain a gas output at the desired concentration from the waste gas.

[0044] Gaseous waste from food processes can also contain solid particles. While the present invention achieves the desired concentration of gas, some of the elements in the system ensure that these solid particles are eliminated.

[0045] Specifically, the present invention can be integrated into stacks in bread production processes.

[0046] An illustration of the system of the invention is given in Figure 1. The system includes the first region (12), the second region (17), and the third region (20) physically connected to each other.

[0047] These three regions may either constitute a single structure, such as a housing / tube / tank, separated from one another by various elements, as shown in Fig. 1, or they may consist of multiple structures, such as housings / tubes / tanks, connected to each other by elements like pipes. In addition, two or more of these enclosures / tubes / tanks may be arranged side by side or one below the other.

[0048] As can be seen, the system includes a gas inlet (11) at the top for the entry of the waste gas generated in the plant into the first region (12).

[0049] The gas entering from here first arrives at the first region (12). In the first region (12), preferably the temperature is such that ethanol and at least two of the components in the gas remain in the gaseous phase, while the others transition to the liquid phase, and is lower than the inlet temperature but higher than the boiling point of ethanol. A heat exchanger (23) for adjusting the temperature thereof is provided in the first region (12) The heat exchanger (23) in the first region (12) is preferably a device for reducing the temperature.

[0050] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a jacket in which a cold fluid circulates is used for cooling. Preferably, water, glycol, water-glycol mixture or R-134 refrigerant circulates in this jacket as cooling fluid. This jacket includes at least one cooling fluid inlet and at least one cooling fluid outlet. Furthermore, these fluid inlets and outlets are preferably connected to a refrigeration loop, and this loop is powered by at least one recirculation motor. The set of elements required for the refrigeration cycle is preferably located outside the region and includes at least one compressor, at least one condenser, and at least one expansion valve. This cycle takes place as follows respectively:

[0051] • The cooling fluid enters the jacket through the cooling fluid inlet,

[0052] • The fluid that cools the region it enters heats up,

[0053] • The cooling fluid receiving heat leaves the jacket through the cooling fluid outlet, • The cooling fluid exiting the jacket enters the compressor where its pressure increases, • The cooling fluid exiting the compressor enters the condenser, where at least part of the cooling fluid transitions into liquid,

[0054] • The cooling fluid exiting the condenser enters the expansion valve where its pressure decreases,

[0055] • The cooling fluid exiting the expansion valve is ready to be reused in the jacket.

[0056] The equilibrium stage component (13) (plates, filler materials, etc.) located in the first region (12) and acting as gas-liquid equilibrium stages, allows the gas to move up and down in the evaporation and condensation equilibrium. The equilibrium stage component (13) increases the surface area in chemical processes and contributes to mass transfer by allowing phases to interact more. The gas moving downwards through the equilibrium stage component (13) in the first region (12) cools down, the components with relatively low boiling point in the gas liquefy and move towards the lower part of the first region (12), and the components with relatively high boiling point move towards the upper part of the first region (12). Solid impurities from stacks may be present in the waste gases released in food processes. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a membrane filter (14) is provided between the first region (12) and the second region (17). This filter ensures the separation of solid particles from the fluid from the first region (12).

[0057] The system disclosed in the present invention comprises, at the outlet of the first region (12) before the membrane filter (14), at least one liquid discharge valve (15) which preferably allows at least part of the liquid phase from the first region (12) to be discharged out of the system. Furthermore, the liquid discharge valve (15) may preferably be an electromechanical valve that can be remotely controlled. In some embodiments of the invention, the liquid mixture received from the liquid discharge valve (15) in the first region (12) is not discharged out of the system, but can be utilized for heating purposes in other regions.

[0058] Furthermore, the first region (12) is preferably provided with at least one gas discharge valve (16). This gas discharge valve (16) is activated when undesirable temperature or pressure values are reached, making the process safe.

[0059] In the second region (17), preferably at the beginning of this region, after the membrane filter (14), there is provided at least one gas discharge valve (16) which allows at least part of the gas present in the second region (17) to be preferably discharged out of the system. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the gas mixture removed via the gas discharge valve (16) in the second region (17) can then be used as cooling fluid in the system. Furthermore, the gas discharge valve (16) may preferably be an electromechanical valve that can be remotely controlled.

[0060] The ambient temperature of the second region (17) where the composition passing through the mentioned membrane filter (14) is transferred is lower than that of the first region (12). The temperature chosen at this stage was chosen to ensure that the composition to be purified transitions into the liquid phase and the composition to be removed remains in the gaseous phase. The second region (17) is therefore preferably operated at a temperature that allows ethanol and at least one component with a lower boiling point than ethanol to transition into the liquid phase. A heat exchanger (23) is provided in the second region (17) for adjusting the temperature there. This heat exchanger located in the second region (17) is preferably a jacket operated with a cooling liquid and preferably utilizes a refrigeration cycle. Preferably water, glycol, water-glycol mixture or R-134 refrigerant is used as the cooling fluid in this jacket.

[0061] A membrane filter (14) is provided at the outlet of the second region (17). The pores of this membrane filter (14) are smaller than those of the previous membrane filter (14). Thus, solid particles that were not separated in the previous membrane filter (14) and / or finer solid particles are retained.

[0062] At the exit of the second region (17) an adsorption material (18) is provided, which includes one or more of activated carbon, zeolites, silica gel, molecular sieves, modified cellulose derivatives, polymer adsorbents and metal-organic lattice structures. The adsorption material (18), thanks to its selectivity, does not allow the passage of unwanted molecules and ions, thus retaining some chemicals such as microorganisms, microbial debris and aldehydes and ketones in the composition from the second region (17).

[0063] The liquid mixture passing through the adsorption material (18) is supplied to the third region (20) via a liquid inlet. The third region (20) is operated at a temperature to transition at least one component with a lower boiling point than ethanol to the gaseous phase. In this part of the system, ethanol should be in the liquid phase while components with a lower boiling temperature than ethanol are in the gaseous phase. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, jacketed heaters are used as heat exchangers (23) for the heating process.

[0064] The hot fluid used in the jacketed heater is preferably gas supplied to the system. The liquid mixture from the liquid discharge valve (15) in the first region (12) is preferably included in a subsystem for circulating this gas. This subsystem works as follows:

[0065] • The liquid mixture used as hot fluid is taken from the liquid discharge valve (15) in the first region (12) and fed to the jacketed heater by means of at least one circulation motor and at least one pump,

[0066] • The liquid mixture used for heating is discharged through a discharge pipe located next to the jacketed heater. Thus, the energy to be used for heating is provided from the system itself. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, fluids supplied from outside the system, preferably vapor, may be used as the hot fluid.

[0067] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, fluid is introduced into the third region (20) via at least one nozzle (19). This increases the surface area of the composition transferred to the third region (20) in the third region (20).

[0068] The third region (20) of the system of the present invention comprises photocatalytic membrane-coated thermo-structures (21). There is also provide at least one UV radiation source (22) inside the third region (20) and / or on at least one of the walls thereof. By activating the photocatalytic properties of these thermo-structures (21) with UV irradiation, the contaminants bound to ethanol are removed through the conversion of water and oxygen molecules into reactive oxygen, thereby obtaining ethanol of higher purity. In other words, in the third region (20), ethanol-bound contaminants are broken down and microorganisms are inactivated. Furthermore, the thermo-structures increase the surface area of the medium, enabling higher molecular levels of ethanol bound to water to be obtained.

[0069] At least one gas discharge valve (16) at the top of the third region (20) removes gases other than ethanol from the system. The ethanol -containing fluid, which has now reached the desired composition, is preferably transferred to the heat exchanger (23) and brought to the desired outlet temperature.

[0070] The heat exchanger (23) at the outlet of the third region (20) preferably consists of cooling pipes.

[0071] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a refrigerant cycle is employed in which the cooling fluid in the cooling pipes is either the gas mixture received from the gas discharge valve (16) located in the second region (17) or another cooling fluid, or alternatively, both of these cooling methods may be used in combination. Preferably water, glycol, water-glycol mixture or R-134 refrigerant is used in the refrigerant cycle.

[0072] In order to utilize the gas mixture received from the gas discharge valve (16) in the second region (17), the cooling pipes in the third region (20) preferably comprise at least one cooling fluid inlet, at least one cooling fluid outlet, at least one recirculation motor, and at least one discharge pipe opening to the outside of the system and used to discharge the gas mixture from the system.

[0073] The adsorption material (18) through which the composition exiting the heat exchanger structure (23) located preferably at the outlet of the third region (20) passes, retains the undecomposed solid impurities present in the composition from the third region (20). Finally, the resulting ethanol-containing composition reaches the filling point (24).

[0074] The current system includes one processing unit. Said processing unit regulates the regional temperatures in the system by controlling the heat exchangers (23) and / or the discharge of the outputs to be discharged by controlling the liquid discharge valves (15) and / or gas discharge valves (16).

[0075] Here, the processing unit generates responses to control heat exchangers (23), liquid discharge valves (15) and / or gas discharge valves (16) based on external user input, predetermined values and / or the output of a pre-trained machine learning model.

[0076] The processing unit needs to receive data from the system in order to control the heat exchangers (23), liquid discharge valves (15) and / or gas discharge valves (16) according to predetermined values or according to the machine learning model. The current system therefore includes at least one, preferably both, pressure gauges or temperature gauges in at least one, preferably all, of the first region (12), second region (17) or third region (20). In addition, moisture meters and similar sensors can be used to generate supporting data.

[0077] In order to control the processing unit according to predetermined values, data from sensors / measuring instruments, such as pressure gauges or temperature gauges, are compared with various threshold values and according to this comparison, responses are generated to increase or decrease the ambient temperature of the heat exchangers (23), to open or close the liquid discharge valves (15) and gas discharge valves (16) or to configure them according to the passage of different types of gas or liquid.

[0078] Data from sensors / measurement instruments, such as pressure gauges or temperature gauges, are used for the processing unit to control heat exchangers (23), liquid discharge valves (15) and gas discharge valves (16) according to predetermined values and the machine learning model.

[0079] A model is trained via a machine learning algorithm using a dataset comprising previously obtained pressure and temperature data measured by similar or identical sensors, the states of the liquid discharge valves (15) and gas discharge valves (16), the resulting purity obtained therefrom, and preferably data related to the inputs. The machine learning algorithm used is preferably chosen from logistic regressions, decision trees or Support Vector Machine (SVM).

[0080] The trained model controls the heat exchangers (23), liquid discharge valves (15), and gas discharge valves (16) based on the desired purity value, taking into account the system’s pressure and temperature data and previously obtained data from sensors or measuring instruments such as pressure gauges or temperature sensors.

[0081] In an embodiment of the present invention, said processing unit is configured to execute said model and to feed data from sensors or measuring instruments into the

[0082] model.

[0083] In addition, the processing unit could generate responses to check other elements based on input from only one user input unit (preferably a keyboard, touch screen), but in this case the system would be more prone to human error.

[0084] In an embodiment of the invention, gas produced during bread production, at a temperature of 150-200 °C and containing components such as acetaldehyde, furan, ethyl formate, 2-propanone, 2-methylfuran, ethanol, 1 -propanol, 2-methyl-l -propanol, 3 -methyl- 1 -butanol, water vapor, carbon dioxide, aldehydes, and ketones is fed into the current system through the gas inlet (11).

[0085] In this embodiment of the invention, the temperature of the first region (12) is preferably adjusted to between 75-85 °C, in particular to 80 °C, preferably using a jacketed cooler. Thus, 2-methyl-propanol, 3 -methyl- 1 -butanol and 1 -propanol are in the liquid phase while the remaining compounds are in the gaseous phase. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dataset determining the temperature and pressure dependent configurations of the heat exchanger (23), the liquid discharge valve (15) and the gas discharge valve (16) in the first region (12) is shown in Table 1.

[0086] Table 1. Configurations of the heat exchanger (23), liquid discharge valve (15) and gas discharge valve (16) in the first region (12) according to temperature and pressure values

[0087] < < < < > >

[0088]

[0089] In the embodiment of the invention, horizontal plates are preferably used as the equilibrium stage component (13). These plates preferably have holes to allow the passage of material.

[0090] The gaseous mixture of acetaldehyde, furan, ethyl formate, 2-propanone, 2-methylfuran, ethanol and CO2 separated in the gaseous phase from the first region (12) was passed through an ultrafiltration membrane filter (14), preferably with 10-100 pm sized pores. At this stage, the aim is to retain the solid particles coming from the chimney stack in the membrane filter (14).

[0091] In said embodiment of the invention, the liquid phase in the first region (12) is removed from the first region (12) by means of sensors preferably located in the liquid discharge valve (15) to be used as hot fluid in jacketed heaters preferably located in the third region (20). The sensors used in the present invention may be one or more of thermocouples, resistance temperature detectors (RTD), ultrasonic level sensors, pressure-based level sensors, turbine flow sensors, electromagnetic flow sensors, ultrasonic flow sensors, pH electrodes, electrolytic conductivity sensors, differential pressure sensors, strain gauge pressure sensors, photoelectric sensors, infrared sensors, oxygen sensors, and carbon dioxide sensors. In said embodiment of the invention, acetaldehyde and CO2 in the medium are removed from the system, preferably by the processing unit, controlled according to the data received from the gas discharge valve (16) by means of smart sensors.

[0092] In said embodiment of the invention, the second region (17) is preferably operated at 21-27 °C, in particular at 24 °C, and wherein the cooling process is preferably carried out, preferably in jacketed coolers, preferably by means of a refrigeration cycle and the cooling fluid used in this cycle. Preferably, water, glycol, a water-glycol mixture or R-134 refrigerant can be used as the cooling fluid.

[0093] In said embodiment of the invention, between 21-27 °C, in the second region (17), acetaldehyde and CO2 are present in the gaseous phase and ethanol, furans, ethyl formate, 2- propanone, 2-methylfuran in the liquid phase. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dataset used to determine the temperature and pressure dependent configurations of the heat exchanger (23) and gas discharge valve (16) in the second region (17) is shown in Table 2. The gas mixture taken from the outlet of the gas discharge valve (16) in this region is preferably used as cooling fluid in the cooling pipes at the outlet of the third region (20).

[0094] Table 2. Configurations of the heat exchanger (23) and gas discharge valve (16) in the second region (17) according to temperature and pressure values < < < < < > > >

[0095]

[0096] Thanks to a second ultrafiltration membrane filter (14) having 0.1-10 pm sized pores and through which the composition exiting the second region (17) passes, solid impurities which are too fine to be retained in the first membrane filter (14) are retained. In said embodiment of the invention, the liquid mixture from the second region (17) is preferably passed through the adsorption material (18) consisting of activated carbon to retain microbial debris, aldehydes and ketones, yeast residues in the received composition.

[0097] In said embodiment of the invention, the liquid mixture passed through the adsorption material (18) consisting of activated carbon is preferably transferred to the third region (20) by means of nozzles (19) having a UV radiation source (22). The third region (20) contains preferably spherical shaped catalytic membrane coated thermo-structures (21) and these spheres are preferably made of glass and preferably coated with TiCh which gives the spheres photocatalytic properties. These spherical shaped catalytic membrane coated thermostructures (21) are activated by UV radiation (22).

[0098] The ambient temperature in the third region (20) is preferably raised to between 58-70 °C, particularly to 60 °C. In this region , a jacketed heater is preferably used as the heat source, and in this jacketed heater, the liquid mixture received from the outlet of the liquid discharge valve (15) in the first region (12) is preferably used as the hot fluid.

[0099] Thus, in the third region (20) the furans, ethyl formate, 2-propanone and 2-methylfuran are in the gaseous phase while ethanol is in the liquid state. At least one gas discharge valve (16) in the third region (20) removes gas-phase components other than ethanol from the medium. This region also preferably comprises at least one fluid discharge valve (15).

[0100] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, Table 3 shows the dataset determining the temperature and pressure dependent configurations of the heat exchanger (23) and gas discharge valve (16) in the third region (20) operated between 58-70 °C.

[0101] Table 3. Configurations of the heat exchanger (23) and gas discharge valve (16) in the third region (20) according to temperature and pressure values

[0102] < <

[0103]

[0104] < < < > > >

[0105]

[0106] In said embodiment of the invention, the ethanol-containing composition obtained by means of cooling tubes located after the third region (20) and preferably used as heat exchangers (23) is brought to the desired outlet temperature. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, this outlet temperature is 19-25 °C.

[0107] The temperature-adjusted ethanol-containing composition passes through another adsorption material (18), preferably consisting of activated carbon, to remove impurities escaping from the previous systems.

[0108] As a result, the ethanol collected at the filling point (24) is approximately at 96% purity by volume. REFERENCES

[0109] [1] Pitt, W. W., et al. “Recovery of Ethanol from Fermentation Broths Using Selective Sorption-Desorption.” Biotechnology and Bioengineering, no. 1, Wiley, Jan. 1983, pp. 123— 31. Crossref doi:10.1002 / bit.260250110.

[0110] [2] Vane, Leland M., et al. “Efficient Ethanol Recovery from Yeast Fermentation Broth with Integrated Distillation-Membrane Process.” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, no. 3, American Chemical Society (ACS), Feb. 2012, pp. 1033-41. Crossref, doi:10.1021 / ie2024917.

[0111] [3] Mulders, E. J. (1973). The odour of white bread IV. quantitative determination of constituents in the vapour and their odour values. Z. Lebensm. Unters, 151, 310-317.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A separation method for a gaseous-phase mixture comprising ethanol and at least three other components, characterized by:i. Adjusting the first region (12) to an ambient temperature such that at least one component with a boiling point higher than that of ethanol transitions to the liquid phase, and removing at least a portion of the liquid phase obtained using an equilibrium stage component (13) within this regionii. Passing the composition from the first region (12) through a membrane filter (14) iii. Adjusting the second region (17) to an ambient temperature such that ethanol and at least one component with a boiling point lower than ethanol transition to the liquid phase, and removing at least a portion of the gas phase from this region iv. Passing the composition coming from the second region (17) through another membrane filter (14) having smaller pores than the first membrane filter (14) to retain remaining solid particles, and through an adsorption material (18) to retain microbial residues, aldehydes, and ketonesv. Feeding the composition from the second region (17) to the third region (20) through at least one nozzle (19) to increase the surface area in the third region (20)vi. Adjusting the third region (20) to an ambient temperature at which at least one component with a lower boiling point than ethanol transitions to the gas phase, decomposing ethanol-bound contaminants and inactivating microorganisms in this region using photocatalytic membrane-coated thermo-structures (21) activated by UV irradiation (22), and removing at least a portion of the gaseous phase from this regionvii. Passing the final temperature-adjusted composition through another adsorption material (18) to capture microbial residues, aldehydes, and ketones that were not captured in the previous steps.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the ambient temperature in the first region (12) is set to 75-85 °C.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the ambient temperature in the second region (17) is set to 17-21 °C.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the liquid mixture taken from the liquid discharge valve (15) located in the first region (12) is used as the hot fluid in the jacketed heater.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the ambient temperature in the third region (20) is set to 58-70 °C.

6. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the composition from the first region (12) is passed through an ultrafiltration membrane filter (14) having 10-100 pm sized pores to retain solid particles larger than this size in the composition.

7. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the composition from the second region (17) is passed through a second ultrafiltration membrane filter (14) having 0.1-10 pm sized pores to retain solid particles that were not retained in the previous ultrafiltration membrane filter (14).

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the composition from the third region (20) is cooled by means of the heat exchanger (23) located before the final adsorption material (18).

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the composition exiting the third region (20) is cooled to a temperature between 19-25 °C by means of a heat exchanger (23) located before the final adsorption material (18).

10. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the gas mixture taken from the gas discharge valve (16) located in the second region (17) is used as the cooling fluid in the cooling pipes.

11. A system for executing the method of claim 1, characterized in that it comprises:i. A first zone (12) containing an equilibrium stage component (13), at least one liquid discharge valve (15), and at least one heat exchanger (23)ii. A membrane filter (14) through which the composition from the first region (12) passes before being transferred to the second region (17),iii. A second region (17) comprising at least one gas discharge valve (16) and a heat exchanger (23) located after said membrane filter (14),iv. Another membrane filter (14) with pores smaller in size than the previous membrane filter (14), through which the composition from the second region (17) passes, and an adsorption material (18) through which the composition exiting this filter (14) passesv. At least one nozzle (19) for transferring the composition passing through the adsorption material (18) to the third region (20),vi. A third region (20) containing photocatalytic membrane-coated thermo-structures (21), at least one UV radiation source (22), at least one gas discharge valve (16), and at least one heat exchanger (23),vii. Another adsorption material (18) through which the composition exiting the heat exchanger (23) passes,viii. At least one processing unit configured to control at least liquid discharge valves (15), gas discharge valves (16), and heat exchangers (23).

12. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that the equilibrium stage component (13) located in the first region (12) is a horizontal plate.

13. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that the heat exchangers (23) in the first region (12) and in the second region (17) are jacketed coolers each surrounding these regions.

14. The system according to claim 13, characterized in that the jacketed coolers in the first region (12) and the second region (17) comprise, for completion of the refrigeration cycle, outside of the said regions, at least one expansion valve, at least one condenser, and at least one compressor with its outlet connected via a line to the inlets of the jacketed coolers, respectively, which are connected via single lines to the liquid outlets of the jackets.

15. The system according to claim 11, characterized in that it comprises a jacketed heater surrounding the third region (20) and having at least one hot fluid inlet connected to theoutlet of the liquid discharge valve (15) located in the first region (12), at least one fluid outlet opening to outside the system, and at least one circulation motor and pump for circulating the hot fluid.

16. The system according to any one of claims 11-15, characterized in that the ultrafiltration membrane filters (14) through which the composition from the first region (12) passes comprises 10-100 pm sized pores.

17. The system according to claim 16, characterized in that the ultrafiltration membrane filter (14) through which the composition from the second region (17) passes comprises 0.1-10 pm sized pores.

18. The system according to any one of claims 11-17, characterized in that it comprises said adsorption material (18) made of activated carbon.

19. The system according to any one of claims 11-17, characterized in that it comprises said UV radiation source (22) positioned on the nozzle (19).

20. The system according to any one of claims 11-19, characterized in that it comprises glass spheres as thermo-structures (21) located in the third region (20).

21. The system according to any one of claims 11-20, characterized in that it comprises titanium oxide (TiCh) photocatalytic membrane coated thermo-structures (21) in the third region (20).

22. The system according to any one of claims 11-21, characterized in that it comprises a heat exchanger (23) for cooling the composition from the third region (20) and positioned before the final adsorption material (18).

23. The system according to claim 22, characterized in that it comprises cooling tubes as heat exchanger (23) located before the final adsorption material (18).

24. The system according to any one of claims 11-23, characterized in that it comprises at least one sensor in said first region (12), second region (17), and third region (20).

25. The system according to claim 24, characterized in that it comprises said sensors selected from thermo-couples, resistance temperature detectors (RTD), ultrasonic level sensors, pressure-based level sensors, turbine flow sensors, electromagnetic flow sensors, ultrasonic flow sensors, pH electrodes, electrolytic conductivity sensors, differential pressure sensors, strain gauge pressure sensors, photoelectric sensors, infrared sensors, oxygen sensors, or carbon dioxide sensors.

26. The system according to claim 29, characterized in that it comprises said processing unit configured to control liquid discharge valves (15), gas discharge valves (16) and / or heat exchangers (23) according to data provided from said sensor.

27. The system according to claim 30, characterized in that it comprises said processing unit configured to control liquid discharge valves (15), gas discharge valves (16) and / or heat exchangers (23) by comparing data provided at said sensor with predetermined pressure and / or temperature values.

28. The system according to claim 31, characterized in that it comprises said processing unit configured to control liquid discharge valves (15), gas discharge valves (16) and / or heat exchangers (23) with the response it generates according to the output of a pre-trained machine learning model fed with data provided by said sensor.

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