Furfural Production Through Two Bioconversion Routes: Experimental Optimization and Process Simulation

Autor(es)

Almeida, S. G. C. ; Mello, G. F. ; Kovacs, T. K. ; Silva, D. D., V ; Costa, M. A. M. ; Dussan, K. J.

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: WASTE AND BIOMASS VALORIZATION; v. N/A, p. 13-pg., 2022-06-01.

Resumo

Purpose Furfural is a furanic aldehyde obtained from the acid treatment of pentoses found in lignocellulosic material. It has excellent physical and chemical properties that allow its application in the generation of fertilizers, antacids, plastics, paints, fungicides, among many others, besides having important derivatives for the chemical industry, such as furfuryl alcohol and tetrahydrofuran. The production potential of this compound in Brazil is enormous as the country is the world's largest producer of sugarcane, and the surplus bagasse of this activity is a source of lignocellulosic biomass. Methods This work experimentally optimized two routes for furfural production: (1) from sugarcane biomass and (2) from the hemicellulosic hydrolysate. Additionally, techno-economic analyses of the optimal sceneries were developed. Results For the simulation, an initial flow of 71 tonne h(-1) of sugarcane biomass was used: case 1 produced 3.93 tonne h(-1) of furfural with a heating demand of 44.7 MJ kg(-1) (688.7 kW tonne(-1) of feed); case 2 produced 2.96 tonne h(-1) of furfural with a heating demand of 106.3 MJ kg(-1) (1230.3 kW tonne(-1) of feed). An economic evaluation of two cases resulted in revenues of U$ 50 million and U$ 31 million for cases 1 and 2, respectively. Furthermore, the internal rate of return (IRR, %) for both cases (72 and 56%, respectively) was greater than the rate of return (ROR = 15%), indicating that the investment will earn profits. Conclusion Likewise, the integration of furfural production to the first and second-generation (1G and 2G) ethanol production chain could sustain the process, favoring the full use of biomass generating higher value-added bioproducts. [GRAPHICS] . (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 17/14389-8 - Produção biotecnológica de furfural a partir da mistura de palha e bagaço de cana-de-açúcar
• Beneficiário: Giuliano Formaggio de Mello
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica
• Processo FAPESP: 17/19145-0 - Otimização da etapa de pré-tratamento ácido da biomassa de cana-de-açúcar visando a obtenção de um hidrolisado hemicelulósico rico em xilose
• Beneficiário: Bruna Gava Floriam
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Iniciação Científica
• Processo FAPESP: 16/23209-0 - Implantação de nova linha de aproveitamento integral da mistura palha/bagaço de cana-de-açúcar via conversão termoquímica e química
• Beneficiário: Kelly Johana Dussán Medina
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOEN - Regular