Fluid Quip Technologies Surpasses Capacity and Yield Projected at São Martinho Ethanol Facility

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fluid Quip Technologies (FQT) is pleased to announce that the São Martinho Boa Vista unit in Quirinópolis, Goiás, Brazil is exceeding projected performance including capacity and ethanol output.

The São Martinho plant utilizes FQT’s proprietary corn ethanol technologies, from corn receiving to DDGS drying. FQT integrated its Low Energy Distillation (LED)™ system to achieve one of the lowest steam usage rates in the bioethanol industry while using low pressure steam from the São Martinho cogeneration turbines. The unit also utilizes FQT’s patented Selective Grind Technology™, Fiber ByPass™, and BOS Oil System™ which has allowed São Martinho to achieve ethanol and distillers corn oil yields among the highest in the industry.

“São Martinho saw the need for a low pressure and low energy distillation system allowing for a substantial reduction in energy usage, due to limitations on steam generation capacity and biomass availability,” said John Kwik, Executive Vice President of Fluid Quip Technologies. “This was a first of a kind distillation system operating at 1.5 bar making anhydrous ethanol, so we worked together to make the necessary adjustments that allowed the FQT engineering team to achieve the goals of maximizing ethanol and corn oil yields and substantially reducing energy usage. This is a real technology disruptor for the South American ethanol market.”

“The FQT designed distillation system has allowed us to get a very low steam usage, avoiding the need of investment on steam generation or additional biomass acquisition,” said Agenor Pavan, Chief Operations Officer at São Martinho. “We accomplished a plant that utilizes the latest ethanol technology for corn and have designed features and systems to integrate it into our existing cane unit to make the most thermically efficient cane and corn ethanol facility. The output capacity and yield of ethanol we are achieving with FQT are above the designed levels.”

São Martinho is a high-performing plant that has both cane and corn ethanol producing approximately 200 million liters of ethanol per year from corn. FQT provided the technology package, process engineering, procurement of key equipment, startup support, and training for this project.

About Fluid Quip Technologies

Fluid Quip Technologies® (FQT) is a premier technology and process engineering firm based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. FQT’s skilled engineering and technical teams have been developing new technologies and providing unique process engineering solutions to the beverage, biofuels and bio-chemical markets for more than 30 years. For more information, visit www.fluidquiptechnologies.com.

About São Martinho

São Martinho is one of the largest sugar and ethanol groups in Brazil, reference in agricultural and industrial management, with approximate crushing capacity of 27 million tons per crop year, comprising of 24.5 million tons of sugarcane and 2.5 million tons of corn equivalent (500 thousand tons of corn), and a maximum mechanized harvesting rate of 100%. São Martinho has a unique logistics platform for product distribution, high storage capacity and proximity to key highway and rail systems, including its own rail branch. A publicly held corporation since 2007, its shares trade on the Novo Mercado, the listing segment of the B3 with the highest corporate governance standards, under the ticker SMTO3. For more information, visit: www.saomartinho.com.br