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Techno-economic analysis of organosolv pretreatment process from lignocellulosic biomass

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Abstract

Lignocellulosic ethanol is a promising alternative to replace liquid fossil fuels for the transportation sector in the near future. Organosolv pretreatment has been tested as a method for separating lignin from the biomass and commercializing it as a biopolymer. Based on published laboratory scale data, we propose a feasible process flowsheet for organosolv pretreatment. Simulation of the pretreatment process provided mass and energy balances for a techno-economic analysis, and the values were compared with the most prevalent and mature pretreatment method: diluted acid. Organosolv pretreatment required more energy, 578.1 versus 213.8 MW for diluted acid pretreatment, but resulted in a higher ethanol concentration after the biomass fermentation, 11.1% compared to 5.4%. Total annual costs (TACs) calculations showed advantages for diluted acid pretreatment, but future improvements explored in the sensitivity analysis turned into possible savings of 42.8% in the minimum ethanol selling price for organosolv pretreatment.

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Acknowledgements

André Rodrigues Gurgel da Silva thanks the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development—Brazil (CNPq) for the Ph.D. scholarship for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology and Environmental Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark

    André Rodrigues Gurgel da Silva, Massimiliano Errico & Ben-Guang Rong

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  1. André Rodrigues Gurgel da Silva
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  2. Massimiliano Errico
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  3. Ben-Guang Rong
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Correspondence to Ben-Guang Rong.

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Rodrigues Gurgel da Silva, A., Errico, M. & Rong, BG. Techno-economic analysis of organosolv pretreatment process from lignocellulosic biomass. Clean Techn Environ Policy 20, 1401–1412 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-017-1389-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-017-1389-y

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