Biofuel Fermentation & Distillation Simulator

Feedstock

Fermentation temp 35 °C

Enzyme / yeast dose 60%

Reactor

Fermentation

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Batches done

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Ethanol yield

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Energy balance

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How it works

Inside the reactor tank, yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) ferments dissolved sugar into ethanol and carbon dioxide. Gold particles are unfermented sugar; as the batch progresses they turn cyan (ethanol) and CO₂ bubbles rise and pop at the surface. The vapor is carried up the distillation column on the right, where it condenses into liquid bioethanol collected in the product tank.

C₆H₁₂O₆ → 2 C₂H₅OH + 2 CO₂
rate ∝ feedstock × exp(−((T−35)/8)²) × enzymeFactor

Feedstock — sugarcane ferments fastest and has the best energy balance (~8:1 output:input); corn is slower with a much weaker balance (~1.3:1); cellulose needs extra pretreatment so it starts slow but scales with enzyme dose.
Fermentation temperature — yeast activity peaks near 35 °C (mesophilic range); too cold slows metabolism, too hot denatures the enzymes and stalls the batch.
Enzyme / yeast dose — more active biomass converts sugar faster and lifts the final yield, up to a saturation point.
Energy balance (EROI) — the ratio of energy contained in the fuel produced to the energy spent growing, harvesting and processing the feedstock; this is the single biggest reason sugarcane ethanol scales better than corn ethanol.

Sugar (feedstock) Ethanol CO₂ bubble Product tank

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