Fluid Quip Technologies (FQT) is continuing to support the biofuels sector’s push toward greater efficiency and lower carbon intensity with the commercial deployment of its patented Low Energy Distillation™ (LED™) system at United Ethanol’s facility in Milton, Wisconsin.
The LED™ system is a next-generation distillation platform engineered to cut steam demand, reduce water use, eliminate unnecessary phase changes, and enable continuous, reliable operations. By removing direct-inject steam from the distillation process and incorporating advanced heat-integration techniques, the technology significantly lowers energy consumption, helping ethanol producers reduce operating costs while improving carbon intensity (CI) scores.
The platform is the result of a multi-year collaboration between Fluid Quip Technologies and RCM Thermal Kinetics. It combines FQT’s system integration capabilities with RCM’s proprietary Distillation, Dehydration and Evaporation (DDE) process design and intellectual property. The approach reimagines traditional ethanol distillation by tightly integrating heat recovery, allowing facilities to achieve substantial energy savings.
“Each LED installation shows that ethanol production can be more efficient, profitable, and sustainable,” said Neal Jakel, president of Fluid Quip Technologies. “Producers are seeing real energy reductions, higher uptime, and measurable carbon benefits without sacrificing throughput or reliability.”
United Cooperative also highlighted the strategic value of the project. “We are excited to move forward with the LED system,” said Dan Wych, vice president of Wisconsin ethanol operations at United Cooperative. “Lowering our energy demand is a key priority, and FQT’s LED technology supports our goals for efficiency, reliability, and CI reduction.”
The Milton project represents the fourth commercial deployment of the LED™ system, further strengthening FQT’s position as a leading provider of energy-reduction technologies for the ethanol industry and demonstrating the system’s ability to integrate smoothly into existing plant infrastructure.
