Economic and environmental multi-criteria approach to assess the viability of the biobutanol production in a Brazilian sugarcane biorefinery

• Grant number: 12/15192-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: January 01, 2013
• End date: June 30, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Antonio Maria Francisco Luiz Jose Bonomi
• Grantee: Lucas Gonçalves Pereira
• Host Institution: Centro Nacional de Pesquisa em Energia e Materiais (CNPEM). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 13/20308-0 - Investigation of uncertainties associated with the production of butanol in sugarcane biorefineries: techno-economic and marketing challenges, BE.EP.PD

Abstract

New sugarcane biorefinery routes considering the integral use of biomass have become more important to the strategic objectives of the bioenergy production expansion in Brazil. Among these new products that may be aggregated to the sugarcane biorefinery one could highlight the butanol, because, as well as the butanol produced by petrochemical routes, it has its use established as solvent in many chemical processes and has liquid fuel potential for transportation. If compared to ethanol, butanol presents some important advantages such as higher energy content value; it may be used to directly replace gasoline with no need to change the vehicles or the supply systems; may be mixed with gasoline in higher proportions than ethanol's; or may be used as an additive to ethanol. In view of its physic-chemical characteristics, its fuel and chemical product potential, and the green route production possibility (from biomass), it becomes interesting and necessary to assess the viability of the production of biobutanol in a sugarcane refinery. In this project, the alcohol chemical and sugar chemical routes for the production of biobutanol from sugarcane will be evaluated considering various arrangements for the integration of this process in the existing sugarcane biorefineries. Technical-economical viability indicators will be assessed and environmental impacts will be calculated by the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. The Ecological Footprint and the Emergy Evaluation will be also applied using the LCA approach in order to implement a multi-criteria evaluation of the environmental performance. The results obtained in this project will allow identifying the critical economical and environmental impacts of each step of the productive process, with respect to the different biobutanol production routes.

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

PEREIRA, LUCAS G.; DIAS, MARINA O. S.; JUNQUEIRA, TASSIA L.; PAVANELLO, LUCAS G.; CHAGAS, MATEUS F.; CAVALETT, OTAVIO; MACIEL FILHO, RUBENS; BONOMI, ANTONIO. Butanol production in a sugarcane biorefinery using ethanol as feedstock. Part II: Integration to a second generation sugarcane distillery. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN, v. 92, n. 8, SI, p. 1452-1462, AUG 2014. (12/15192-0, 11/19396-6, 10/17139-3)

PEREIRA, L. G.; DIAS, M. O. S.; MARIANO, A. P.; MACIEL FILHO, R.; BONOMI, A.. Economic and environmental assessment of n-butanol production in an integrated first and second generation sugarcane biorefinery: Fermentative versus catalytic routes. APPLIED ENERGY, v. 160, p. 120-131, DEC 15 2015. (12/15192-0)

PEREIRA, LUCAS G.; DIAS, MARINA O. S.; MACLEAN, HEATHER L.; BONOMI, ANTONIO. Investigation of uncertainties associated with the production of n-butanol through ethanol catalysis in sugarcane biorefineries. Bioresource Technology, v. 190, p. 242-250, AUG 2015. (12/15192-0, 13/20308-0)

PEREIRA, LUCAS G.; DIAS, MARINA O. S.; JUNQUEIRA, TASSIA L.; PAVANELLO, LUCAS G.; CHAGAS, MATEUS F.; CAVALETT, OTAVIO; MACIEL FILHO, RUBENS; BONOMI, ANTONIO. Butanol production in a sugarcane biorefinery using ethanol as feedstock. Part II: Integration to a second generation sugarcane distillery. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN, v. 92, n. 8, p. 11-pg., 2014-08-01. (11/19396-6, 12/15192-0, 10/17139-3)

PEREIRA, LUCAS G.; CHAGAS, MATEUS F.; DIAS, MARINA O. S.; CAVALETT, OTAVIO; BONOMI, ANTONIO. Life cycle assessment of butanol production in sugarcane biorefineries in Brazil. JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION, v. 96, p. 12-pg., 2015-06-01. (11/19396-6, 12/15192-0, 10/17139-3)

DIAS, MARINA O. S.; PEREIRA, LUCAS G.; JUNQUEIRA, TASSIA L.; PAVANELLO, LUCAS G.; CHAGAS, MATEUS F.; CAVALETT, OTAVIO; MACIEL FILHO, RUBENS; BONOMI, ANTONIO. Butanol production in a sugarcane biorefinery using ethanol as feedstock. Part I: Integration to a first generation sugarcane distillery. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN, v. 92, n. 8, SI, p. 1441-1451, AUG 2014. (12/15192-0, 11/19396-6, 10/17139-3)

PEREIRA, LUCAS G.; CHAGAS, MATEUS F.; DIAS, MARINA O. S.; CAVALETT, OTAVIO; BONOMI, ANTONIO. Life cycle assessment of butanol production in sugarcane biorefineries in Brazil. JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION, v. 96, n. SI, p. 557-568, JUN 1 2015. (12/15192-0, 11/19396-6, 10/17139-3)

DIAS, MARINA O. S.; PEREIRA, LUCAS G.; JUNQUEIRA, TASSIA L.; PAVANELLO, LUCAS G.; CHAGAS, MATEUS F.; CAVALETT, OTAVIO; MACIEL FILHO, RUBENS; BONOMI, ANTONIO. Butanol production in a sugarcane biorefinery using ethanol as feedstock. Part I: Integration to a first generation sugarcane distillery. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN, v. 92, n. 8, p. 11-pg., 2014-08-01. (11/19396-6, 12/15192-0, 10/17139-3)