Techno-Economic Feasibility of Biomass Washing in 1G2G Sugarcane Biorefineries

Author(s)

Pinto, Ariane S. S. ^{[1, 2]} ; Elias, Andrew M. ^[1] ; Furlan, Felipe F. ^[3] ; Ribeiro, Marcelo P. A. ^{[1, 3]} ; Giordano, Roberto C. ^{[1, 3]} ; Farinas, Cristiane S. ^{[1, 2]}

Affiliation

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

^[2] Embrapa Instrumentat, Rua 15 Novembro, BR-13560970 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Chem Engn Dept, POB 676, BR-13565905 Sao Carlos, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BioEnergy Research; v. 14, n. 4, p. 1253-1264, DEC 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 1

Abstract

There are still bottlenecks to be overcome for the feasible industrial production of first- and second-generation ethanol (1G2G EtOH). One of them is the pretreatment stage. Washing is a candidate strategy to remove lignocellulose-derived byproducts from pretreated biomass, in order to reduce the negative effects of furaldehydes and phenolic compounds in the downstream biochemical reactions. However, the effectiveness of the removal of these inhibitors is highly influenced by the operational conditions of the washing process. Here, evaluation was made of the techno-economic impacts of including a washing operation after hydrothermally pretreating sugarcane bagasse for 2G EtOH production in an integrated 1G2G biorefinery. Different washing protocols were tested, considering their effects on the enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation, and experimental data were used for simulation of process scale-up. The removal of inhibitors improved the glucose yield by 40%, followed by an increase of similar to 30% in EtOH productivity. These findings showed that washing is a cost-competitive option for a 1G2G biorefinery, with a net present value for the industrial unit of similar to US\$ 2.3E + 8, which was the highest among the 1G2G scenarios analyzed. (AU)

• 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
• FAPESP's process: 17/21173-1 - Mitigation of inhibitors generated in the pre-treatment of vegetal biomass: technical-economic-environmental impact of different processing routes in the biorefinery
• Grantee: Ariane Silveira Sbrice Pinto
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate