Analysis of Ethanol Dehydration using Membrane Separation Processes.

Carolina Conde-Mejía,Arturo Jiménez-Gutiérrez

doi:10.1515/biol-2020-0013

Abstract

After the biomass pretreatment and fermentation processes, the purification step constitutes a major task in bioethanol production processes. The use of membranes provides an interesting choice to achieve high-purity bioethanol. Membrane separation processes are generally characterized by low energy requirements, but a high capital investment. Some major design aspects for membrane processes and their application to the ethanol dehydration problem are addressed in this work. The analysis includes pervaporation and vapor permeation methods, and considers using two types of membranes, A-type zeolite and amorphous silica membrane. The results identify the best combination of membrane separation method and type of membrane needed for bioethanol purification.

Highlights

IntroductionBecause of the high purity required for bioethanol for several applications, including its use as fuel, the dehydration step represents a major challenge in its production process
After the biomass pretreatment and fermentation processes, the purification step constitutes a major task in bioethanol production processes
The results identify the best combination of membrane separation method and type of membrane needed for bioethanol purification

Summary

Introduction

Because of the high purity required for bioethanol for several applications, including its use as fuel, the dehydration step represents a major challenge in its production process. One problem with this purification step is the azeotrope for the ethanol-water mixture that requires a special separation process. The difference between the pervaporation (PV) and vapor permeation (VP) separation processes relies on the feed condition, liquid for PV and vapor for VP. The feed stream side is at high pressure, while the other side is at low pressure, producing a low-pressure vapor. The vapor generated is called permeate, while the stream that remains in the feed side is known as retentate. Some variations of the model have been developed [3-6]

Methods

Results

Conclusion