The article presents technology used in alcohol-distilling industry producing ethanol for industrial and food purposes. The introduction presents the fermentation process and the factors affecting the technological process, its efficiency and quality of the obtained distillate. In order to evaluate the potential of technological and economic benefits, in the following sections there were made comparative characteristics of the methods for the preparation of starch raw materials to ethanol fermentation, commonly used in Polish distilleries, such as pressure cooking, pressureless starch liberation method and the technologies used in global production plants of ethanol such as: Stargen, Biostil, SSF. Emphasis was placed on i.e. process parameters, used enzymes and care of environment. Summary points out potential benefits of further technological development for the alcohol-distilling industry.

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