Process Simulation of Fuel Ethanol Production from Lignocellulosics using Aspen Plus

Techno-Economic Analysis of Macroalgae Biorefineries: A Comparison between Ethanol and Butanol Facilities

Ulva rigida seaweed is constituted by ulvan, which is a sulfated polysaccharide with uses in a wide variety of applications. After the ulvan-oriented extraction process, a crystalline and recalcitrant residue, the so-called pulp, appears. In this work, this residue was valorized through a multiple-stage process. The total processing of the algae consists of hot water extraction, acid hydrolysis, ABE fermentation, and distillation in order to obtain not only ulvan but also butanol and bioethanol to be used as biofuels by simulating two third-generation algae-based biorefineries in Aspen Plus v10 software. Third-generation plants do not compete with food and algae biomass, and they do not require delignification nor pretreatment steps, which are usually the bottleneck of second-generation plants. A plant producing butanol as biofuel together with diluted ulvan, acetone, and ethanol as byproducts was modelled in Aspen Plus software. Regarding the profitability of the investment, the plants producing bioethanol and butanol were economically feasible. The economic parameters for the bioethanol and butanol plants were as follows: NPV equal to 27.66 M$ and 16.67 M$, and IRR equal to 46% and 37%, respectively. The discounted return period was acceptable for these types of plants, which were 4.11 and 3.16 years for the ABE biorefinery and the bioethanol biorefinery, respectively.

Accelerating Manufacturing for Biomass Conversion via Integrated Process and Bench Digitalization: A Perspective

We present a perspective for accelerating biomass manufacturing via digitalization. We summarize the challenges for manufacturing and identify areas where digitalization can help. A profound potential in using lignocellulosic biomass...

Analysis of the environmental impact using the waste reduction algorithm in polypropylene production by applying grade transitions strategies in Colombia

The global manufacturing sector faces a significant challenge about minimizing environmental impacts without witnessing the adverse effects on the market competitiveness. A cleaner production methodology must involve different approaches for minimizing or recycling waste streams, obtaining at the same time economical and environmental advantages for manufacturing companies (Severo et al., J Clean Prod 142:87-97, 2017). In the polypropylene production process, more than 60 grades of polypropylene are produced. To achieve this target, changes in the process variables are carried out, due to the continuous operation process. Those changes generate a mixture of resins with intermediate properties (transition), which must be minimized. Moreover, failures during the transitions process generate a large extra amount of material that represents a significant impact on the environment, when it is considered as waste. In this paper, an environmental analysis was made by applying a waste reduction algorithm (WAR) to establish the potential impact of a polypropylene production process over the environment, applying grade transitions strategies and then to demonstrate how the improvement of transition times implies a significant reduction of plastic waste. It was found that the reduction of transitions time minimizes the environmental impact based on real industry data. Last should be considered for the real polymer plant analyzed and future projects.

Lactic acid production from glucose and xylose using the lactogenic Escherichia coli strain JU15: Experiments and techno-economic results

In this work, d-lactic acid production was evaluated from a simulated hydrolysate of corn stover (32 g/L xylose, 42 g/L glucose) with the metabolically engineered Escherichia coli strain JU15. Based on the experimental results, a technical and economic analysis of the entire process was performed using the Aspen Plus software. As a result, it was possible to show that the strain can efficiently produce lactic acid from both sugars, reaching a final concentration of 40 g/L and a yield of 0.6 g lactic acid/g sugars. The process is economically viable at higher scales of 1000 tons/day. The cost distribution is influenced by the scale of the process; on a larger scale, the cost of raw materials represents a higher percentage of total cost than it does on smaller scales. The use of a metabolically engineered strain allows a better use of the sugars obtained from agroindustrial residues.

Energy Efficiency of Biorefinery Schemes Using Sugarcane Bagasse as Raw Material

The use of biomass to obtain value-added products has been a good alternative for reducing their environmental impacts. For this purpose, different studies have been carried out focused on the use of agro-industrial waste. One of the most commonly used raw materials has been bagasse obtained from the processing of sugarcane in high quantities in countries like Brazil, India, China, Thailand, Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia, Indonesia, Philippines, and the United States. From 1 ton of sugarcane, 280 kg of bagasse can be obtained. Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is a waste that is rich in polysaccharides, which makes it a promising raw material for obtaining products under biorefinery concept. The objective of this work was to analyze from the energetic point of view, different biorefinery schemes in which SCB is employed as a raw material. The design and simulation of the different biorefinery schemes is performed in Aspen Plus software. From this software, it was possible to obtain the different mass and energy balances, which are used in the technical and energetic analysis. Exergy is used as a comparison tool for the energy analysis. These analyses allowed for the selection of the best biorefinery configuration from SCB.

Techno-economic and environmental assessment of biogas production from banana peel (Musa paradisiaca) in a biorefinery concept

Two scenarios for the biogas production using Banana Peel as raw material were evaluated. The first scenario involves the stand-alone production of biogas and the second scenario includes the biogas production together with other products under biorefinery concept. In both scenarios, the influence of the production scale on the process economy was assessed and feasibility limits were defined. For this purpose, the mass and energy balances were established using the software Aspen Plus along with kinetic models reported in the literature. The economic and environmental analysis of the process was performed considering Colombian economic conditions. As a result, it was found that different process scales showed great potential for biogas production. Thus, plants with greater capacity have a greater economic benefit than those with lower capacity. However, this benefit leads to high-energy consumption and greater environmental impact.

Modeling and Simulation Environments for Sustainable Low-Carbon Energy Production – A Review

This paper reviews research trends in modeling for low-carbon energy production. The focus is on two currently significant low-carbon energy processes; namely, bioenergy and post-combustion carbon capture (PCC) processes. The fundamentals of these two processes are discussed and the role of modeling and simulation tools (MSTs) is highlighted. The most popular modeling software packages are identified and their use in the literature is analyzed. Among commercially available packages, it is found that no single software package can handle all process development needs such as, configuration studies, techno-economic analysis, exergy optimization, and process integration. This review also suggests that optimal modeling results reported in literature can be viewed as optimal at the individual plant level, but sub-optimal for plant superstructure level. This review has identified key gaps pertinent to developing hybrid models that describe integrated energy production processes. ASPEN Plus is found to be dominant for modeling both bioenergy and PCC processes for both steady-state and dynamic modes respectively.

Investigation of uncertainties associated with the production of n-butanol through ethanol catalysis in sugarcane biorefineries

This study evaluated the viability of n-butanol production integrated within a first and second generation sugarcane biorefinery. The evaluation included a deterministic analysis as well as a stochastic approach, the latter using Monte Carlo simulation. Results were promising for n-butanol production in terms of revenues per tonne of processed sugarcane, but discouraging with respect to internal rate of return (IRR). The uncertainty analysis determined there was high risk involved in producing n-butanol and co-products from ethanol catalysis. It is unlikely that these products and associated production route will be financially attractive in the short term without lower investment costs, supportive public policies and tax incentives coupled with biofuels' production strategies.