A process arrangement for distilling fuel grade ethanol includes a
fermentation portion, a distillation portion, a condensation and
dehydration portion, a separation and drying portion and an evaporation
portion. The fermentation portion produces beer. The distillation
portion, the condensation and dehydration portion and the separation and
drying portion receives beer from the fermentation portion and produces
hot ethanol vapor and thin stillage. In the evaporation portion, a set of
first effect evaporators which are heated either by plant steam or hot
ethanol vapor, concentrate thin stillage into mid stillage while
producing first effect steam. The first effect steam from the first
effect evaporators provides heat to a set of second effect evaporators
which concentrate the mid stillage into a syrup for further drying. The
second effect evaporators produce second effect steam which is used to
heat the distillation portion of the process arrangement. The multiple
evaporators of the first and second effects of the evaporation portion
can be selectively taken off-line for maintenance while the evaporation
portion and the remainder of the process arrangement continue to operate
at full capacity.