A New Methodology to Calculate the Ethanol Fermentation Efficiency at Bench and Industrial Scales

Author(s)

Pereira, Rauber D. ^[1] ; Rodrigues, Kaio C. S. ^[1] ; Sonego, Jorge L. S. ^{[1, 2]} ; Cruz, Antonio J. G. ^[1] ; Badino, Alberto C. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Grad Program Chem Engn, CP 676, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Oeste Bahia, Dept Engn Biotecnol, Rua Itabuna S-N, Luis Eduardo Magalhaes, BA - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research; v. 57, n. 48, p. 16182-16191, DEC 5 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Ethanol is the biofuel with the greatest global consumption. Brazil is the largest sugar cane ethanol producer in the world. In the 2017-2018 harvest, 27.9 billion liters of ethanol were produced. Accurate determination of the fermentation efficiency value of an industrial unit is therefore essential for evaluation of the performance of an ethanol production process. The present work proposes a new methodology to calculate the fermentation efficiency discounting the volume occupied by yeast cells. Data from fed-batch fermentations performed at bench and industrial scales were used to estimate the ethanol fermentation efficiency, using classical industrial methodologies as well as the new method. The results showed that the former overestimated the ethanol fermentation efficiency values, while the new method provided greater accuracy. The use of this new technique could justify investments in the fermentation unit, with the aim of improving the process. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 18/11405-5 - Extractive Ethanol Fermentation in Pneumatic Bioreactors with Removal by CO2 Stripping Integrated to Recovery Units
• Grantee: Alberto Colli Badino Junior
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants