(196a) Bourbon Production Engineering: Teaching Cheme Concepts to Anyone through the Science of Bourbon

Over the past 20 years, bourbon production has quadrupled, with 95% of the world’s bourbon supply being produced in the state of Kentucky. As a result, distilleries have undergone significant expansions resulting in increased workforce demands. Additionally, increased product demands have necessitated the improvement of process efficiencies, resulting in the hiring of an engineering focused workforce. In 2019, the University of Kentucky formed the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits with the commitment to support the growth of the Kentucky spirits industry through innovation in research and development of the state’s distillery workforce. With the development of this institute, a focus has been placed on curriculum development to train undergraduate students for work in the distillery industry as well as provide continuing education for existing workers. As a result, a Bourbon Production Engineering course was developed which focuses on the teaching of chemical engineering concepts to students and workers from outside the field of chemical engineering. This presentation will provide an overview of the bourbon production process, with an emphasis on how bourbon production can be used to teach chemical engineering concepts to a general audience. Key concepts integrated into the course include material balances, heat transfer, diffusion and separation processes. By the end of the course, students have the skills necessary to design and estimate the costs associated with a bourbon production facility, including modeling a distillation column through basic McCabe-Thiele analysis.