TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - INORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Components: The carrier gas is nitrogen, argon, helium, carbon dioxide, or Freon (RTM: Chlorofluorocarbon).    TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Process: The method further comprises: recycling a raffinate from the beer still to the fermenter; removing water from the raffinate from the extractive distillation column; recycling water from the raffinate from the extractive distillation column to the fermenter; drying the solvent of the raffinate from the extractive distillation column; and recycling the dry solvent to the extraction distillation column. The method comprises: producing a fermentation product comprising ethanol, water, microorganisms and a biomass material in a fermenter; delivering at least a portion of the fermentation product to a solvent extraction column; delivering a solvent to the solvent extraction column; extracting at least a portion of the ethanol from the fermentation product to produce an extract comprising ethanol, water, and solvent; delivering at least a portion of the extract to an extractive distillation column; delivering additional solvent to the extractive distillation column; distilling at least a portion of the ethanol from the extractive distillation column, leaving a raffinate comprising water and the solvent; and collecting at least a portion of the ethanol from the extractive distillation column, where the collected ethanol is (I). The method further comprises recycling a raffinate from the solvent extraction column to the fermenter; recycling the dry solvent to the extraction distillation column and/or to the solvent extraction column; and recycling the solvent of the raffinate from the extractive distillation column to the solvent extraction column. The method comprises: producing a fermentation product comprising ethanol, water, microorganisms and a biomass material in a fermenter; delivering at least a portion of the fermentation product to a beer still to produce a distillate mixture comprising ethanol and water while leaving a raffinate comprising water, ethanol, microorganisms and the biomass material; recycling at least a portion of the raffinate of the beer still comprising water, ethanol, microorganisms and the biomass material into the fermenter; delivering at least a portion of the distillate mixture comprising ethanol and water to an extractive distillation column; delivering a solvent to the extractive distillation column; distilling at least a portion of the ethanol from the extractive distillation column, leaving a raffinate comprising water and the solvent; collecting the at least the portion of the ethanol from the extractive distillation column, where the collected ethanol is (I); discharging the raffinate of the extractive distillation column from the extractive distillation column; removing at least a portion of water from the discharged raffinate of the extractive distillation column, leaving a wet solvent; recycling at least a portion of the removed water from the discharged raffinate of the extractive distillation column into the fermenter; delivering at least a portion of the wet solvent to a carrier gas stripper; delivering a carrier gas to the carrier gas stripper; discharging a dry solvent from the carrier gas stripper (320), leaving a wet carrier gas; discharging at least a portion of the wet carrier gas from the carrier gas stripper; removing water from the wet carrier gas to leave a dry carrier gas; recycling at least a portion of the water removed from the wet carrier gas into the fermenter; and recycling at least a portion of the dry carrier gas into the carrier gas stripper. Preferred Components: The solvent does not adversely affect the microorganisms.