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Bioethanol Production Optimization: A Thermodynamic Analysis

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Abstract

In this work, the phase equilibrium of binary mixtures for bioethanol production by continuous extractive process was studied. The process is composed of four interlinked units: fermentor, centrifuge, cell treatment unit, and flash vessel (ethanol-congener separation unit). A proposal for modeling the vapor–liquid equilibrium in binary mixtures found in the flash vessel has been considered. This approach uses the Predictive Soave–Redlich–Kwong equation of state, with original and modified molecular parameters. The congeners considered were acetic acid, acetaldehyde, furfural, methanol, and 1-pentanol. The results show that the introduction of new molecular parameters r and q in the UNIFAC model gives more accurate predictions for the concentration of the congener in the gas phase for binary and ternary systems.

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Abbreviations

ϕ i :

Fugacity coefficients of component i

q :

Area molecular parameters in the UNIFAC model

r :

Volume molecular parameters in the UNIFAC model

x i :

Mole fraction in the liquid phase

y i :

Mole fraction in the vapor phase

P :

Pressure of the system

T :

Temperature of the system

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa de Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, State University of Campinas, P.O. Box 6066, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brazil

    Víctor H. Álvarez, Elmer Ccopa Rivera, Aline C. Costa, Rubens Maciel Filho, Maria Regina Wolf Maciel & Martín Aznar

Authors
  1. Víctor H. Álvarez
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  2. Elmer Ccopa Rivera
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  3. Aline C. Costa
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  4. Rubens Maciel Filho
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  5. Maria Regina Wolf Maciel
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  6. Martín Aznar
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Elmer Ccopa Rivera.

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Álvarez, V.H., Rivera, E.C., Costa, A.C. et al. Bioethanol Production Optimization: A Thermodynamic Analysis. Appl Biochem Biotechnol 148, 141–149 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-008-8132-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12010-008-8132-4

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