Optimization of the bioethanol dehydration process using MgCl2 as mass separating agent

Abstract

Ethanol derived from lignocellulosic sources is an important chemical that can have several uses such as biofuel that can be blended with gasoline, as sanitizer for the disinfection of surfaces, or as additive in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry. Nevertheless, its separation poses a challenge because it must be separated from water and this mixture forms an azeotrope. This research focuses on the ethanol dehydration using magnesium chloride (MgCl2) as a mass separating agent, which is an innocuous chemical used in the food industry to process Tofu. Therefore, it does not have any side effect, or it is not harmful for humans. Therefore, the use of this salt makes possible to use the purified ethanol as an additive in the food, cosmetic, or pharmaceutical industry. The proposed separation process is optimized using surrogate nonlinear models for the preconcentration and salt evaporation units. The results showed that using magnesium chloride dodecahydrate is a feasible alternative to bioethanol valorization.