Technology Evaluation of Process Configurations for Second Generation Bioethanol Production using Dynamic Model-based Simulations

An assessment of a number of different process flowsheets for bioethanol production was performed using dynamic model-based simulations. The evaluation employed diverse operational scenarios such as, fed-batch, continuous and continuous with recycle configurations. Each configuration was evaluated against the following benchmark criteria, yield (kg ethanol/kg dry-biomass), final product concentration and number of unit operations required in the different process configurations. The results has shown the process configuration for simultaneous saccharification and co-fermentation (SSCF) operating in continuous mode with a recycle of the SSCF reactor effluent, results in the best productivity of bioethanol among the proposed process configurations, with a yield of 0.18 kg ethanol /kg dry-biomass.