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Bioethanol Recovery and Dehydration Techniques

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Bioethanol: A Green Energy Substitute for Fossil Fuels

Part of the book series: Green Energy and Technology ((GREEN))

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Abstract

Within the framework of the circular economy, bioethanol made from biological resources is regarded as a viable renewable energy option. However, the dehydration process is critical to bioethanol production suitable for use as fuel. Due to the ever-increasing demands placed on the yield and purity of anhydrous bioethanol, numerous methods have been developed and improved over time to achieve the desired product. In this chapter, we first briefly reviewed the conventional distillation method for bioethanol recovery, which results in azeotropic ethanol. Second, for industrial applications, we assessed the mode of operation, benefits and drawbacks of past and current purification technologies used in bioethanol dehydration, such as the adsorption process, extractive distillation, azeotropic distillation, membrane process, supercritical fluid extraction and hybrid process. The review showed that the membrane technique might significantly increase the efficiency of bioethanol purification because it offers the benefits of high selectivity, energy-efficient, eco-friendly (low waste generation) and cost-effective continuous operation to handle large volumes of feedstock. The economic impacts and future directions of bioethanol recovery and dehydration processes were also appraised.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Bellville Campus, Bellville, Cape Town, 7535, South Africa

    Babatunde Oladipo & Tunde V. Ojumu

  2. Faculty of Engineering, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Durban, 4000, South Africa

    Abiola E. Taiwo

Authors
  1. Babatunde Oladipo
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  2. Abiola E. Taiwo
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  3. Tunde V. Ojumu
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Correspondence to Tunde V. Ojumu .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria

    Eriola Betiku

  2. Stockholm, Sweden

    Mofoluwake M. Ishola

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Oladipo, B., Taiwo, A.E., Ojumu, T.V. (2023). Bioethanol Recovery and Dehydration Techniques. In: Betiku, E., Ishola, M.M. (eds) Bioethanol: A Green Energy Substitute for Fossil Fuels. Green Energy and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36542-3_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36542-3_9

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-36541-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-36542-3

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