Reynaldo Palacios-Bereche1, Adriano Ensinas2, Marcelo Modesto1, Silvia Nebra1,3,*
Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.6, No.2, pp. 183-194, 2018, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634175
Abstract The aim of this study is to assess the possibility of increasing ethanol production by introducing the bagasse hydrolysis process into conventional distilleries. Simulations were performed for mass and energy balances using Aspen Plus® software. It was assumed that sugarcane trash and lignin cake—hydrolysis process residues—are available as supplementary fuel. Several cases were evaluated, including: (a) conventional ethanol distillery, (b) conventional plant combined with a hydrolysis process without heat integration, with different solid contents in the hydrolysis reactor, and (c) conventional plant combined with the hydrolysis process applying heat integration by pinch analysis. The highest More >