Energy assessment and heat integration of biofuel production from bio-oil produced through fast pyrolysis of sugarcane straw, and its upgrading via hydrotreatment

Bruna Stella De Freitas Santos, Milagros Cecilia Palacios-Bereche, Antonio Garrido Gallego, Silvia Azucena Nebra and Reynaldo Palacios-Bereche

Renewable Energy, 2024, vol. 232, issue C

Abstract: Sugarcane processing is one of the most important economic activities in Brazil, producing ethanol and sugar for domestic and international markets. Utilising the lignocellulosic residues of this industry, specifically bagasse and straw, would increase the second-generation biofuel production without increasing the sugarcane planted area. Among the processes available, the fast pyrolysis is a thermochemical conversion process that produces mainly bio-oil, a liquid with several advantages over solid biomass, regarding transportation, pumping, storage, and handling. Moreover, the bio-oil can be upgraded to obtain biofuels of higher added-value. Among feasible upgrading technologies, the hydrotreatment is one of the most promising methods for eliminating the reactive functionalities of the bio-oil by removing oxygen or cracking large molecules in the presence of hydrogen; however, this comes at the expense of a significant hydrogen consumption. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the biofuel production through the fast pyrolysis of sugarcane straw, followed by the upgrading of the produced bio-oil via hydrotreatment. The evaluation is carried out by way of energy and mass balances of the processes, performed using the software Aspen Plus. Furthermore, the possibilities of integrating the bio-oil production and upgrading into the conventional ethanol and sugar production process will also be assessed through heat integration, applying the Pinch analysis. Results showed the potential for renewable gasoline and diesel production with yields of 0.086 kg/kg of dry straw and 0.08 kg/kg of dry straw, respectively. Additionally, integrating the pyrolysis process, including the bio-oil upgrading, into the ethanol production process can achieve a liquid fuel production (ethanol, gasoline and diesel) of 2289.8 MJ/t cane, which represents an increase of 29 %, while the surplus electricity increases in 5.3 %, when compared to the conventional ethanol production plant.

Keywords: Sugarcane; Straw; Fast pyrolysis; Bio-oil; Hydrotreatment; Energy analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:renene:v:232:y:2024:i:c:s0960148124010899

DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2024.121021

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