Butanol production in a sugarcane biorefinery using ethanol as feedstock. Part II: Integration to a second generation sugarcane distillery

Author(s)

Pereira, Lucas G. ; Dias, Marina O. S. ; Junqueira, Tassia L. ; Pavanello, Lucas G. ; Chagas, Mateus F. ; Cavalett, Otavio ; Maciel Filho, Rubens ; Bonomi, Antonio

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: CHEMICAL ENGINEERING RESEARCH & DESIGN; v. 92, n. 8, p. 11-pg., 2014-08-01.

Abstract

Production of second generation ethanol and other added value chemicals from sugarcane bagasse and straw integrated to first generation sugarcane biorefineries presents large potential for industrial implementation, since part of the infrastructure where first generation ethanol is produced may be shared between both plants. In this context, butanol from renewable resources has attracted increasing interest, mostly for its use as a drop in liquid biofuel for transportation, since its energy density is greater than that of ethanol, but also for its use as feedstock in the chemical industry. In this paper, vapor-phase catalytic production of butanol from first and second generation ethanol in a sugarcane biorefinery was assessed, using data available from the literature. The objective is to evaluate the potential of butanol either as fuel or feedstock for industry, taking into account economical/environmental issues through computer simulation. The results obtained show that, although promising, butanol sold as chemical has a limited market and as fuel presents economic constraints. In addition, investments on the butanol conversion plant could be an obstacle to its practical implementation. Nevertheless, environmental assessment pointed out advantages of its use as fuel for road transportation, if compared with gasoline in terms of global environmental impacts such as global warming. (C) 2014 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/19396-6 - Simulation and evaluation of sugarcane biorefineries for the production of bioethanol and its derivatives (alcoholchemistry route)
• Grantee: Marina Oliveira de Souza Dias
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 12/15192-0 - Economic and environmental multi-criteria approach to assess the viability of the biobutanol production in a Brazilian sugarcane biorefinery
• Grantee: Lucas Gonçalves Pereira
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 10/17139-3 - Environmental impact assessment of different sugarrcane biorefinery configurations with integral use of biomass
• Grantee: Otavio Cavalett
• Support Opportunities: Program for Research on Bioenergy (BIOEN) - Young Investigators Grants