US-headed ethanol plant process technology developer Fluid Quip Technologies LLC (Fluid Quip) has announced that São Martinho SA, one of Brazil’s largest sugar and ethanol groups has selected and contracted Fluid Quip’s Flex Plant Technology to be installed at its Boa Vista sugarcane ethanol facility in Quirinópolis, Goiás. São Martinho owns the single largest sugarcane facility in the world, and the group has a crushing capacity of 24 million tonnes per harvest.
Fluid Quip has commercialized multiple technologies to enhance the base corn-to-ethanol dry grind process, create new and novel alternative feed products, and supply the growing need for carbohydrate feedstocks into the biochemical market.
In January 2021, São Martinho announced that it will build a new corn ethanol plant at the Boa Vista location as part of an overall BRL 1.2 billion (≈ EUR 184.5 million) productivity and efficiency investment program across all of its facilities.
Our global leading Flex Plant Technology in Brazil allows existing sugarcane ethanol plants to be used year-round by adding corn processing capabilities at considerably lower capital expenditures than comparable standalone corn installations, said John Kwik, Managing Director of Fluid Quip Technologies.
Fluid Quip will provide process engineering, key equipment, field engineering support, startup, and commissioning services as part of the package. The project is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of 2022, and when completed, the Boa Vista mill will have the capacity to grind approximately 60 000 bushels of corn per day year-round to supplement its sugarcane processing capacity.
Our technology increases ethanol and corn oil yields, while simultaneously reducing the carbon intensity of the processes, in part by using significantly less steam than the next closest technology available today. We are excited to bring this technology to a third plant in South America, and we believe this underscores the value we bring to our customers, not only in Brazil but also globally with our suite of IP and ag technologies that have broad application across agricultural and biochemical markets worldwide, said John Kwik.
