Energy analysis and life cycle assessment of furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural integrated biorefinery processes with heat pump-assisted reactive distillation

Kunlanan Wiranarongkorn, Karittha Im-Orb, Dang Saebea, Yaneeporn Patcharavorachot and Amornchai Arpornwichanop

Energy, 2025, vol. 319, issue C

Abstract: Bio-based products, such as biochemicals and bioenergy, have received considerable attention in efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. In this study, an integrated biorefinery process for the production of furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) using sugarcane bagasse is proposed. Three process scenarios were compared: the integrated process of HMF and furfural production using (i) conventional reactive distillation (RD), (2) heat pump-assisted RD, and (3) heat pump-assisted RD with heat integration. The comparison focused on energy efficiency and life cycle analysis. The simulation results revealed that the overall energy efficiency of the proposed process could increase by 14.5 % with the additional heat pump to the RD column at a pressure ratio of 1.4 due to a reduction of external energy consumption. This improvement reduced the environmental impact of natural gas combustion for utility production. Specifically, the global warming potential of processes involving heat pump-assisted RD without and with heat integration decreased by 16.66 % and 80.08 %, respectively, compared to conventional RD. These results indicate that incorporating heat pump-assisted RD and implementing effective heat management within the integrated biorefinery process significantly decreased external energy consumption, leading to substantial environmental benefits.

Keywords: Biorefinery; Furfural; 5-hydroxymethylfurfural; Reactive distillation; Thermodynamic analysis; Life cycle assessment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:319:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225003627

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.134720

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