Abstract
Fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis has the potential to improve the overall process of converting cellulosic biomass into ethanol. This paper utilizes a process simulation approach to identify and quantify techno-economic differences between batch and fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis in cellulosic ethanol production. The entire process of converting corn stover into ethanol was simulated using SuperPro Designer simulation software. The analysis was conducted for a plant capacity of 2000 metric tons of dry biomass per day. A literature review was used to identify baseline parameters for the process. The sensitivity of the ethanol production cost to changes in sugar conversion efficiency, plant capacity, biomass cost, power cost, labor cost, and enzyme cost was evaluated using the process simulation. For the base scenario, the ethanol unit production cost was approximately $0.10/gallon lower for fed-batch hydrolysis. The greatest differences were seen in facilities costs, labor costs, and capital costs. Using a fed-batch operation decreased facilities costs by 41%, labor costs by 21%, and capital costs by 15%. The sensitivity analysis found that cost of biomass had the greatest effect on ethanol production cost, and in general, the results support the proposition that fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis does improve the techno-economics of cellulosic ethanol production.
Highlights
Ethanol production capacity in the United States has increased for seven consecutive years [1].production of cellulosic ethanol continues to fall short of reaching target production goals established by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and the U.S EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) has offered cellulosic waiver credits to reach Renewable Fuel Standard requirements since 2010 [2]
Equipment is the largest contributor to capital costs, and the batch process required one additional granular activated carbon (GAC) column and five additional stirred tank reactors, compared to the fed-batch process
This study examined the techno-economic differences between cellulosic ethanol production using batch enzymatic hydrolysis and production using fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis
Summary
Ethanol production capacity in the United States has increased for seven consecutive years [1].production of cellulosic ethanol continues to fall short of reaching target production goals established by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and the U.S EnvironmentalProtection Agency (EPA) has offered cellulosic waiver credits to reach Renewable Fuel Standard requirements since 2010 [2]. Ethanol production capacity in the United States has increased for seven consecutive years [1]. Production of cellulosic ethanol continues to fall short of reaching target production goals established by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, and the U.S Environmental. Protection Agency (EPA) has offered cellulosic waiver credits to reach Renewable Fuel Standard requirements since 2010 [2]. The EPA website for the waivers states, “Cellulosic fuels have not yet been produced in sufficient amounts to satisfy the volume levels listed in the Clean Air Act” [3]. There are many opportunities for optimizing the cellulosic ethanol production process. This research aims to optimize the hydrolysis step in cellulosic ethanol production. Most cellulosic ethanol production uses a batch method for hydrolysis. Previous work in this lab and other studies [4,5,6,7] has investigated the potential benefits of utilizing fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis instead
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