Retro-Techno-Economic-Environmental Analysis (RTEEA) from the cradle: a new approach for process development

Author(s)

Elias, Andrew M. ; Furlan, Felipe F. ; Ribeiro, Marcelo P. A. ; Giordano, Roberto C. ; Friedl, A ; Klemes, JJ ; Radl, S ; Varbanov, PS ; Wallek, T

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: 28TH EUROPEAN SYMPOSIUM ON COMPUTER AIDED PROCESS ENGINEERING; v. 43, p. 6-pg., 2018-01-01.

Abstract

The chance of a successful industrial implementation of innovative or unconventional processes can be greatly enhanced if the analysis of economic feasibility and environmental impacts is performed from the beginning. In this study, Retro-Techno-Economic Analysis was expanded into Retro-Techno-Economic-Environmental Analysis (RTEEA), combining Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) metrics with economic ones, in order to define regions of feasible operation for the process. In addition, the selection of key process variables was done through global sensitivity analysis (GSA). RTEEA was applied to the case study, the production of succinic acid (SAc) from sugarcane sucrose. Greenhouse gases emissions (GHG, in kg CO2 eq./kg SAc) and the process Net Present Value (NPV) were chosen as performance metrics. For mapping the GSA response surface, Latin hypercube sampling was used. Sensitivity analysis pointed out that GHG is only influenced by yeast selectivity while NPV was more sensitive to concentration, productivity and yeast selectivity (99.6% of explained variance). The feasible region is bounded by the limits in yeast selectivity and by the infinite productivity curve (obtained assuming instantaneous reaction). The methodology was able to identify the main process variables that influence the process economic and environmental performance, derive their threshold values, and make explicit their relations. (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