Replacing hexane by ethanol for soybean oil extraction: Modeling, simulation, and techno-economic-environmental analysis

Author(s)

Potrich, Erich ^[1] ; Miyoshi, Simone C. ^[2] ; Machado, Paula F. S. ^{[1, 3]} ; Furlan, Felipe F. ^[2] ; Ribeiro, Marcelo P. A. ^{[2, 1]} ; Tardioli, Paulo W. ^{[2, 1]} ; Giordano, Raquel L. C. ^{[2, 1]} ; Cruz, Antonio J. G. ^{[2, 1]} ; Giordano, Roberto C. ^{[2, 1]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, UFSCar, Chem Engn Grad Program, Via Washington Luiz, Km 235, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, UFSCar, Chem Engn Dept, Via Washington Luiz, Km 235, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[3] Intecso, Rua Natal Cecone 145, BR-81200330 Curitiba, Parana - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION; v. 244, JAN 20 2020.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

During the transition to a low carbon economy, techno-economic-environmental analyses of industrial processes will have increasing relevance. Within this context, the replacement of hexane by ethanol (either hydrous or anhydrous) as solvent for soybean oil extraction is assessed. Sugarcane bagasse was the fuel for cogeneration of energy. All processes were implemented and simulated in EMSO, Environment for Modeling, Simulation and Optimization, which is an equation-oriented process simulator. For ethanol, four different methods of solvent recovery were evaluated. An economic analysis and a Life Cycle Assessment of the processes were performed. Net Present Value (NPV) and of Global Warming Potential (GWP) were adopted for economic and environmental metrics, respectively. The results showed that all scenarios were economically feasible, with positive NPV, but hexane presented an approximately 10.2% higher NPV then the best-case ethanol process (hydrous). However, the replacement of hexane by ethanol resulted in lower GWP, avoiding the emission of approximately 10,600 ton of CO2eq. per year in an industry that crushes 125 ton per hour of soybean. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 17/13993-9 - Technical-economic-environmental reverse analysis of integrated industrial processes using bioethanol for extracting vegetable oils and biodiesel production
• Grantee: Simone de Carvalho Miyoshi
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 14/21252-0 - Equilibrium and production processes of biofuels and bioproducts
• Grantee: Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/10636-8 - From the cell factory to the Biodiesel-Bioethanol integrated biorefinery: a systems approach applied to complex problems in micro and macroscales
• Grantee: Roberto de Campos Giordano
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Thematic Grants