Bioethanol production from cassava fed-batch fermentation in pervaporation membrane bioreactor with permeate fractional condensation

Abstract

A new type pervaporation membrane bioreactor was developed by coupling cassava-based fed-batch fermentation and pervaporation membrane separation technology for bioethanol production. Membrane separation slowed down broth accumulation rate and mitigated ethanol product inhibition. The fermentation time, average sugar consumption rate, ethanol production and ethanol productivity were 131h, 6.6 gL-1h−1, 149.4 gL-1 and 2.5 gL-1h−1, respectively. They were improved by 55.9 %, 73.2 %, 32.3 % and 49.7 %, respectively, compared to those of conventional fed-batch fermentation. The average membrane flux and separation factor were 711.3 gm-2h−1 and 6.5, respectively, with an ethanol concentration of 24.4 wt% in the permeate. Throughout fermentation, the total mass transfer coefficient remained constant at 9.6 × 10-6 ms−1, with the convection mass transfer coefficient decreasing as the broth viscosity increasing while the membrane mass transfer coefficient slightly increasing. A two-stage condensation downstream the membrane achieved fractional vapor recovery. The primary condensate with low ethanol concentration (1.6 wt%) can be used for cassava hydrolyzation, saving 14.0 % of water requirement. Recovering ethanol from the high-concentration (32.6 wt%) secondary condensate required lower energy (46 %) compared to direct recovery from the total permeate.