Continuous ethanol production by immobilized yeast reactor coupled with membrane pervaporation unit.

A system comprised of an immobilized yeast reactor producing ethanol, with a membrane pervaporation module for continuously removing and concentrating the produced ethanol, was developed. The combined system consisted of two integrated circulation loops: In one the sugar-containing medium is circulated through the membrane pervaporation module. The two loops were interconnected in a way allowing for separate parameter optimization (e.