Abstract: In the production of ethanol by continuous fermentation in a fermentor (4) with continuous stillage recirculation (19, 20) to the fermentor, the fermentation liquid (6) continuously withdrawn from the fermentor is first sieved in a straining step (7) for separation of coarse solid particles. Then the fermentation liquid (11) is separated in a yeast separation step (12), from which a yeast stream (13) is recirculated to the fermentor (4) and a yeast-free stream (14) is fed to a primary distillation step (9). From the bottom stream (16) from the distillation step (9) a part (19, 20) is recirculated to the fermentor and another part is subjected to final stripping in a secondary distillation step (10).