Multi-objective optimization of biofertilizer production considering economic and environmental aspects

• Grant number: 22/10900-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: December 30, 2022
• End date: December 29, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Cristiane Sanchez Farinas
• Grantee: Andrew Milli Elias
• Supervisor: Krist V. Gernaey
• Host Institution: Embrapa Instrumentação Agropecuária. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Brasil). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Denmark
• Associated to the scholarship: 20/15450-5 - Bioprocesses systems engineering applied to the production of biofertilizers: from integrated biorefinery to microorganisms, BP.PD

Abstract

This proposal of international cooperation entitled "multi-objective optimization of biofertilizer production considering economic and environmental aspects" in execution through the FAPESP grant 2020/15450-5. We aim to develop this proposal in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Krist V. Gernaey from the Technical University of Denmark. This international research internship has the objective, through processes systems engineering tools, to determine the optimal operating conditions for the production of biofertilizers in a plant annexed to a first-generation (1G) ethanol biorefinery. Due to the high mass and energy integration present in the 1G system, changes in the operating conditions of the biofertilizer production plant can have a significant impact on the production of ethanol and electricity, directly influencing the economic and environmental viability of the integrated process. Therefore, the study of biofertilizer production, considering a whole 1G ethanol plant, is necessary. For this, from a previously modeled steady-state 1G plant, the biofertilizer production step will be annexed, taking into account stages of growth and cultivation of the fungus as well as downstream stages. Metamodels of the microbial growth and cultivation stages will be created, intrinsically dynamic, to allow coupling with the steady-state modeled process. This approach will allow the accomplishment of multi-objective optimization, considering economic and environmental performance criteria. Additionally, global sensitivity analyzes will be performed, under a factor prioritization, to identify the main process variables. The expertise of Prof. Krist V. Gernaey and his group in the field of process system engineering and the facilities of the Technical University of Denmark will enable the accomplishment of the objectives of this proposal. These analyzes will allow the identification of operational bottlenecks, with a sieve of economic and environmental analyses, which allows for feedback to the research and development teams to produce biofertilizers with national technology. (AU)