Full valorization of sugarcane bagasse: Pilot-validated and industrially profitable integrated biorefinery platform.

IMMOBILIZATION of yeast cells for continuous ethanol production has been extensively studied worldwide during the past few years because it showed significant advantages compared to the production by free cell system. Using renewable substrates such as Egyptian cane and beet molasses becomes necessary to reduce food crops for bioethanol production. This study investigates the immobilization of commercial strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on different carriers (sugarcane bagasse, rice straw, wheat straw, and Na-alginate) for continuous ethanol production on a pilot scale. The results demonstrated that sugarcane bagasse was the best carrier for yeast cell immobilization. This substrate produced 66.30g/ L ethanol, 2.76g/ L/ hr as ethanol productivity, and 81% fermentation efficiency from the theoretical value, using a mixture of Egyptian cane and beet molasses with 16% initial sugar at 30°C and pH 4.5. Also, the production process is retained until 18 days continuously. From this study, it was clear that lignocellulosic materials provide suitable, cheap, and renewable carriers for immobilization of yeast cells used in the continuous ethanol production process.

Techno-economic analysis of integrating sweet sorghum into sugar mills: The Central American case

Scale-up of two-step acid-catalysed glycerol pretreatment for production of oleaginous yeast biomass from sugarcane bagasse by Rhodosporidium toruloides

Techno-economic uncertainty analysis of wet waste-to-biocrude via hydrothermal liquefaction

Linze-Donawitz gas (LDG) adjunctively produced in the steel mill contains over 60% of CO. Two processes that recover high purity CO from LDG were considered: COSORB and CO-Pressure swing adsorption (PSA). This study aimed to decide which one is more economically feasible than the other by techno-economic analysis (TEA). From the technical point of view of TEA, the process flow diagram (PFD) was constructed, the mass and energy balances were calculated, and the equipment type and size were determined in order to estimate the total capital investment (TCI) and the total production cost (TPC). From the economic point of view of TEA, economic performance such as return on investment (ROI) and payback period (PBP) was evaluated, and the sensitivity analysis was carried out to identify key factors influencing ROI and PBP. It was found that CO-PSA is more economically feasible due to higher ROI and lower PBP. The CO price highly influenced ROI and PBP.

The hydrodealkylation (HDA) is a petrochemical process widely used in industry to produce benzene from toluene. This work aimed to improve a simulation design and investigate the techno‐economic analysis (TEA) of the HDA process for treating toluene to produce benzene, considering different purchasing prices of toluene using SuperPro Designer. The benzene production capacities (50,000–110,000 MT/year) were also simulated to determine the effect on payback time (PBT). The toluene prices between 690 and 790 USD/MT were used to determine the production costs of benzene for a 70,000 MT/year capacity. The costs of the raw materials (86.372%) and labor‐dependent (6.796%) were defined as the most significant expenses for a capacity of 70,000 MT/year. The HDA process’s total capital investment and annual operating costs are 22.02 million USD and 99.94 million USD for a 70,000 MT/year capacity, respectively. The production cost of benzene is 1427.800 USD/MT for the benzene production of 70,000 MT/year based on a 735 USD/ton purchase cost for toluene. An acceptable payback period is 5.010 based on the TEA. TEA and description of the HDA process using SuperPro Designer add value to this research by supplying practical guidelines for researchers and process analysts/engineers.

Generation of surplus electricity in sugarcane mills from sugarcane bagasse and straw: Challenges, failures and opportunities

Techno-economic analysis of municipal solid waste treatment for poly-generation system

Furfural is a base chemical with a wide range of applications and with a great opportunity for market growth in the near term. Derived from biomass, its production may be incorporated to the Brazilian chemical industry using sugarcane bagasse as feedstock. In this context, the integration of a furfural plant to a first generation bioethanol facility, within the biorefinery concept, was simulated considering different scenarios compared to an autonomous bioethanol distillery. The economic analysis of the different scenarios showed that the revenues from furfural commercialization increase the internal rate of return of the project for maximum furfural production (22.0%) in comparison to a conventional ethanol distillery (13.5%), despite the decrease in electricity output. Moreover, the economic analysis of the results pointed out the possibility of lowering furfural prices to levels that could lead to its use as a precursor for biofuels.

This research focuses on sustainable process design of ethanol from lignocellulosic biomass in Thailand. Feedstocks used to produce bioethanol are cassava rhiome, corn stover and sugarcane bagasse as they are agricultural residues that are abundantly available, avoid competition with food industries, reduce CO2 emission because of open burning, and independent of fossil fuel resources. For each feedstock, process design alternative cases were first established. Each case was investigated through a four-part method. The first part dealt with simulation to evaluate different process design alternatives. The second part dealt with economic evaluation in term of, total capital investment, total operating cost, net revenue and so on. The third part dealt with sustainability analysis to analyze three main factors (mass, energy and water usage) in the process and through the analysis identify the process bottleneck. The fourth part dealt with life cycle assessment (LCA) to analyze environmental impacts of the process such as acidification, eutrophication, global warming potential, and else. A sustainability metrics was generated after finishing the four main parts. Results from the studies were divided into two sections, one where each feedstock was considered separately and another where the feedstocks were combined into an optimal mixed feed. Attention was given to the second combined feed option because it enhances long-term security of feedstocks supply for sustainable bio-ethanol production, which is a critical factor for sustainability of biofuels. Finally, alternatives for the combined cases were generated and improved to determine the best sustainable process design.

Techno – Economic analysis of activated carbon production from spent coffee grounds: Comparative evaluation of different production routes

Due to the lack of grid power availability in rural areas, hybrid renewable energy sources are integrated with microgrids to distribute reliable power to remote locations. This optimal hybrid system is created using a solar photovoltaic system, wind turbine, diesel generator, battery storage system, converter, electrolyzer and hydrogen tank to provide uninterrupted power and meet different load demands of different communities in Doddipalli village, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India. Optimization and techno-economic analysis are performed to design the proposed system using HOMER Software. Various configurations are obtained from the software among which the best four combinations are considered for case studies. This research article aims to design the optimal hybrid renewable energy system, wherein the design consists of PV/BS (1476 kW-solar PV, 417 batteries, electrolyser-200 kW, hydrogen tank-20 kg and 59.6 kW-converter) by comparing the minimum net present cost (NPC: $7.01 M), levelized cost of energy (LCOE: 0.244 $/kWh), and the high renewable fraction (RF: 84.1%). In this research, the proposed system would be more economical when solar energy becomes the primary source and is integrated with the battery. This research also presents a sensitivity analysis of the off-grid HRES system with various electrical load demands, project lifetime, and derating factors.

The Techno-Economic Analysis (TEA) is extensively carried out in the engineering world, and many methodologies exist for conducting it. For selecting a proper TEA methodology, an adequate knowledge of existing methodologies, including the most recent and innovative ones, can represent a useful tool for both scholars and practitioners. To facilitate this learning process, this research study aims to provide a schematic and effective guide for selecting the proper TEA methodology, highlighting their key features in a concise overview. This is the first literature review that collect and summarize different existing TEA methodologies for a specific sector, offering a thorough guide for their application. In this study, the considered area of application is represented by the entire mobility sector. In particular, it is intended to provide to the reader a list of articles that include reproducible methodologies. Therefore, only articles that clearly and explicitly describe the mathematical algorithm or the functionality of software are selected. The analysis and the comparison of the various research papers showed that TEA is mainly used for feasibility studies, optimization, best-case scenario selection and benefit analysis. TEA is also commonly carried out together with a sensitivity analysis. In addition, it can be detected that, in the last 10 years, TEA has been mostly applied to electrified vehicles. This result demonstrates a desire to promote renewable solutions through evidence-based analysis. Other mobility sub-sectors promoting renewable solutions are the biofuel production and the infrastructures (hydrogen refueling stations and BEVs charging stations) for the mobility support. Results of the work also highlight how TEA applied to biofuel production mostly includes the minimization of environmental impacts.

Techno-economic feasibility and exergy analysis of bioethanol production from waste

Process and technoeconomic analysis of leading pretreatment technologies for lignocellulosic ethanol production using switchgrass