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Graphical Analysis of Plant-Wide Heat Cascade for Increasing Energy Efficiency in the Production of Ethanol and Sugar from Sugarcane

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Abstract

Increased energy efficiency in the production of renewable energies can contribute to sustainable economic growth, with less consumption of fossil resources, less greenhouse gas emissions, and more energy supply certainty. The most abundant bio-based fuel for automobile transportation is presently ethanol. Brazil is an important producer of ethanol and uses sucrose from sugarcane, which is currently the most efficient feedstock for bioethanol production. The improvement of ethanol production in existing plants by heat integration can lead to a significant increase in energy efficiency. This paper presents diagrams in which data necessary for heat integration are organized in a new way. For the first time, the entire heat cascade through the individual components of ethanol and sugar production is analyzed, including the boiler, steam turbine, heat exchangers, and process operations. In autonomous plants, the produced ethanol and electricity correspond to about 35 and 8% of the inlet energy, respectively; in combined ethanol-sugar plants, the produced ethanol, sugar, and electricity correspond to about 16, 22, and 9% of the inlet energy, respectively. The remaining energy (53–57%) leaves the plant as residues or is rejected to the ambient as heat. Opportunities for increasing the plant energy efficiency by modifying the process operations, heat exchangers, turbine system, and boiler are identified and discussed. The analysis of the plant-wide heat cascade makes it possible to understand the relation between the combustion energy in a boiler, the exergy of combustion gases and high-pressure steam, the production of electricity through a turbine, and the thermal energy consumption in heat exchangers and process operations. This holistic perspective helps improve the energy performance in the production of ethanol and sugar.

Graphical abstract

Energy transfer diagram (ETD) of plant-wide heat cascade through ethanol production.

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Abbreviations

C:

Cooler, exchanger between a process heat source and a cooling utility

CCC:

Cold composite curve

dct:

Dry cane ton

E:

Heat exchanger between a process heat source and a process heat demand

ETD:

Energy transfer diagram

ETR:

Energy transfer region

fΔT :

Temperature difference factor

H:

Heater, exchanger between a heating utility and a process heat demand

\( \dot{\mathrm{H}} \) :

Enthalpy rate

HCC:

Hot composite curve

HEN:

Heat exchanger network

HP:

High-pressure steam

kWe:

Kilowatt of exergy

kWt:

Kilowatt of thermal energy

LP:

Low-pressure steam

Min IΔT:

Minimum individual temperature difference (stream-specific contribution)

MP:

Medium-pressure steam

MJe:

Mega joule of exergy

MJt:

Mega joule of thermal energy

MWe:

Megawatt of exergy

MWt:

Megawatt of thermal energy

PD:

Process heat demand

PS:

Process heat source

PO:

Process operations

SPP:

Simple payback period

T:

Temperature

Ta:

Ambient temperature

Tc:

Cold-end temperature

TFCC:

Total fixed capital costs

Th:

Hot-end temperature

VLP:

Very low-pressure steam

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) for grants 2017/27092-3 and 2017/03091-8. In addition, this work was carried out within the framework of a FAPESP-BIOEN thematic research project, process 2015/20630-4.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP, Brazil

    Jean-Christophe Bonhivers, Pablo Andrés Silva Ortiz, Adriano Pinto Mariano & Rubens Maciel Filho

  2. Universite de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada

    Christopher Reddick

  3. Núcleo Interdisciplinar de Planejamento Energético—NIPE, UNICAMP, Campinas, SP, Brazil

    Carlos Eduardo Vaz Rossell

Authors
  1. Jean-Christophe Bonhivers
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  2. Pablo Andrés Silva Ortiz
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  3. Christopher Reddick
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  4. Carlos Eduardo Vaz Rossell
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  5. Adriano Pinto Mariano
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  6. Rubens Maciel Filho
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Correspondence to Jean-Christophe Bonhivers.

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Highlights

• Boiler-turbine-process ETD for improving energy integration in production plants

• Flow rate of cascaded heat through each component of ethanol and sugar production

• Graphical relation between electricity production and heat consumption

• Analysis of exergy decrease through boiler, turbine, and process

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Bonhivers, JC., Ortiz, P.A.S., Reddick, C. et al. Graphical Analysis of Plant-Wide Heat Cascade for Increasing Energy Efficiency in the Production of Ethanol and Sugar from Sugarcane. Process Integr Optim Sustain 5, 335–359 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41660-020-00149-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41660-020-00149-0

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