Methodology for Minimising the Utility Consumption of a 2G Ethanol Process

Abstract

The production of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass has gained increased interest in recent years, notably in the context of valorising agricultural by-products and providing fuels from renewable sources In order to increase their competitiveness, the energy demand of such processes needs to be minimised. This issue procures two benefits : (1) reduce utility consumption and (2) increase cogeneration possibility. In the present article we investigate this problem for a study process: ethanol production from sugarcane bagasse by enzymatic hydrolysis and glucose fermentation. We therefore apply a rigorous optimisation methodology in which we control certain design parameters in order to maximize the net production of utility. As a result, we obtain a design for our process which (1) eliminates the need for an external hot utility, (2) minimizes the need for the cold utility and (3) maximises the cogeneration possibility.As a conclusion, the proposed methodology provides a strong tool for minimising the utility consumption for a 2G ethanol plant. Considering its key components, it can further be applied in the context of a multi-objective problem.