Recent advances in CFD modeling of bioethanol production processes

Abstract

Bioethanol is the alternative to fossil fuels for the transport sector's environmental sustainability. Scientific journals have disclosed a few works on modeling and enhancing bioethanol production processes. To industrialize these production processes, however, the modeling requires consideration for mass and heat transfer, mainly when applying intensification machinery. Consequently, CFD is preferable to a comprehensive analysis of fluids. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) configure the flowing progress of bioethanol production, the flow pattern distribution curve, and flow pattern visualization. This article reviews recent advances in CFD Modeling of bioethanol production processes in conventional and newly designed bioethanol production technologies, such as simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) and membrane bioreactor. None of other studies addressed a kinetic model of the fermentation process in the SSF and membrane bioreactors. For the design of new (SSF) and membrane bioreactors, CFD and its combination with other simulation software might deliver a wealth of useful data. The first section of this paper addresses the bioethanol production process of the second generation: pretreatment, enzymatic saccharification, and fermentation. The second section of this review discussed hydrodynamics, reaction kinetics, and bioreactor design, focusing on CFD models of the bioethanol production technology. A conclusion and a recommendation, this section concludes with a discussion of insights into unexplored areas of study and challenges in modeling bioethanol production processes.