Process Design Strategies for Biomass Conversion Systems

This book covers recent developments in process systems engineering (PSE) for efficient resource use in biomass conversion systems. It provides an overview of process development in biomass conversion systems with focus on biorefineries involving the production and coproduction of fuels, heating, cooling, and chemicals. The scope includes grassroots and retrofitting applications. In order to reach high levels of processing efficiency, it also covers techniques and applications of natural-resource (mass and energy) conservation. Technical, economic, environmental, and social aspects of biorefineries are discussed and reconciled. The assessment scales vary from unit- to process- and life-cycle or supply chain levels. The chapters are written by leading experts from around the world, and present an integrated set of contributions. Providing a comprehensive, multi-dimensional analysis of various aspects of bioenergy systems, the book is suitable for both academic researchers and energy professionals in industry.

Table of Contents:
List of Contributors xiii Preface xvii Acknowledgments xxi Part 1 Process Design Tools for Biomass Conversion Systems 1 1 Early-Stage Design and Analysis of Biorefinery Networks 3 Peam Cheali, Alberto Quaglia, Carina L. Gargalo, Krist V. Gernaey, Gürkan Sin, and Rafiqul Gani 1.1 Introduction 3 1.2 Framework 5 1.2.1 Sustainability Analysis 10 1.2.2 Environmental Impact Assessment 12 1.3 Application: Early-Stage Design and Analysis of a Lignocellulosic Biorefinery 15 1.3.1 Biorefinery Networks and Identification of the Optimal Processing Paths 15 1.3.2 Sustainability Analysis with Respect to Resource Consumption and Environmental Impact 29 1.4 Conclusion 34 Nomenclature 35 References 37 2 Application of a Hierarchical Approach for the Synthesis of Biorefineries 39 Carolina Conde-Mejía, Arturo Jiménez-Gutiérrez, and Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi 2.1 Introduction 39 2.2 Problem Statement 41 2.3 General Methodology 42 2.4 Simulation of Flowsheets 44 2.5 Results and Discussion 49 2.5.1 Level 1 49 2.5.2 Level 2 51 2.5.3 Level 3 51 2.5.4 Level 4 53 2.5.5 Level 5 55 2.5.6 Level 6 56 2.6 Conclusions 57 References 57 3 A Systematic Approach for Synthesis of an Integrated Palm Oil-Based Biorefinery 63 Rex T. L. Ng and Denny K. S. Ng 3.1 Introduction 63 3.2 Problem Statement 66 3.3 Problem Formulation 67 3.4 Case Study 70 3.5 Conclusions 75 References 75 4 Design Strategies for Integration of Biorefinery Concepts at Existing Industrial Process Sites: Case Study of a Biorefinery Producing Ethylene from Lignocellulosic Feedstock as an Intermediate Platform for a Chemical Cluster 77 Roman Hackl and Simon Harvey 4.1 Introduction 77 4.1.1 Biorefinery Concepts 77 4.1.2 Advantages of Co]locating Biorefinery Operations at an Industrial Cluster Site 79 4.1.3 Ethylene Production from Biomass Feedstock 79 4.1.4 Design Strategy 82 4.2 Methodology 84 4.2.1 Process Simulation 85 4.2.2 Performance Indicator for Heat Integration Opportunities 88 4.3 Results 90 4.3.1 Process Simulation 90 4.3.2 Integration of Separate Ethanol and Ethylene Production Processes 90 4.3.3 Material and Heat Integration of the Two Processes 92 4.3.4 Integration Opportunities with the Existing Chemical Cluster 93 4.3.5 Performance Indicator for Heat Integration Opportunities 96 4.4 Conclusions and Discussion 96 Acknowledgements 97 Appendix 98 Nomenclature 100 References 100 5 Synthesis of Biomass-Based Tri-generation Systems with Variations in Biomass Supply and Energy Demand 103 Viknesh Andiappan, Denny K. S. Ng, and Santanu Bandyopadhyay 5.1 Introduction 103 5.2 Problem Statement 106 5.3 Multi]period Optimization Formulation 107 5.3.1 Material Balance 108 5.3.2 Energy Balance 109 5.3.3 Economic Analysis 110 5.4 Case Study 112 5.5 Analysis of the Optimization Results 122 5.6 Conclusion and Future Work 123 Appendix A 124 Nomenclature 128 References 129 Part 2 Regional Biomass Supply Chains and Risk Management 133 6 Large-Scale Cultivation of Microalgae for Fuel 135 Christina E. Canter, Luis F. Razon, and Paul Blowers 6.1 Introduction 135 6.2 Cultivation 137 6.2.1 Organisms for Growth 137 6.2.2 Selection of a Species for Growth 138 6.2.3 Types of Growth Systems 139 6.2.4 Nutrients, Water, and Carbon Dioxide for Growth 142 6.2.5 Large]Scale Commercial Microalgae Growth 143 6.3 Harvesting and Dewatering 144 6.3.1 Separation Characteristics of Various Species 144 6.3.2 Gravity Sedimentation 144 6.3.3 Flocculation 144 6.3.4 Dissolved Air Flotation 145 6.3.5 Centrifugation 145 6.3.6 Filtration 146 6.3.7 Electrocoagulation 146 6.4 Conversion to Products 146 6.4.1 Utilization of the Lipid Fraction (Biodiesel) 146 6.4.2 Utilization of the Carbohydrate Fraction (Bioethanol and Biogas) 151 6.4.3 Utilization of the Protein Fraction (Nitrogenous Compounds) 153 6.4.4 Thermochemical Conversion 154 6.5 Conclusions 156 Acknowledgments 157 References 157 7 Optimal Planning of Sustainable Supply Chains for the Production of Ambrox based on Ageratina jocotepecana in Mexico 161 Sergio I. Martínez-Guido, J. Betzabe González-Campos, Rosa E. Del Río, José M. Ponce-Ortega, Fabricio Nápoles-Rivera, and Medardo Serna-González 7.1 Introduction 161 7.2 Ambrox Supply Chain 162 7.3 Biomass Cultivation 163 7.4 Transportation System 165 7.5 Ambrox Production 165 7.6 Bioethanol Production 168 7.7 Supply Chain Optimization Model 168 7.8 Case Study 175 7.9 Conclusions 179 Acknowledgments 179 Nomenclature 179 References 181 8 Inoperability Input-Output Modeling Approach to Risk Analysis in Biomass Supply Chains 183 Krista Danielle S. Yu, Kathleen B. Aviso, Mustafa Kamal Abdul Aziz, Noor Azian Morad, Michael Angelo B. Promentilla, Joost R. Santos, and Raymond R. Tan 8.1 Introduction 183 8.2 Input-Output Model 186 8.3 Inoperability Input-Output Modeling 188 8.3.1 Inoperability 189 8.3.2 Interdependency Matrix 189 8.3.3 Perturbation 189 8.3.4 Economic Loss 189 8.4 Illustrative Example 190 8.5 Case Study 1 193 8.6 Case Study 2 195 8.7 Conclusions 203 8.8 Further Reading 204 Appendix A LINGO Code for Illustrative Example 204 Appendix B LINGO Code for Case Study 1 206 Appendix C Interval Arithmetic 208 Appendix D Analytic Hierarchy Process 208 Nomenclature 210 References 210 Part 3 Other Applications of Biomass Conversion Systems 215 9 Process Systems Engineering Tools for Biomass Polygeneration Systems with Carbon Capture and Reuse 217 Jhuma Sadhukhan, Kok Siew Ng, and Elias Martinez-Hernandez 9.1 Introduction 217 9.2 Production Using Carbon Dioxide 218 9.2.1 Chemical Production from Carbon Dioxide 218 9.2.2 Material Production from Carbon Dioxide 219 9.3 Process Systems Engineering Tools for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Reuse 220 9.3.1 Techno]economic Analysis Tools for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Reuse in Integrated Flowsheet 220 9.4 CO2 Pinch Analysis Tool for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Reuse in Integrated Flowsheet 228 9.4.1 Overview of the Methodology for CO2 Integration 231 9.4.2 Case Study: CO2 Utilisation and Integration in an Algae]Based Biorefinery 236 9.5 Conclusions 244 References 244 10 Biomass-Fueled Organic Rankine Cycle]Based Cogeneration System 247 Nishith B. Desai and Santanu Bandyopadhyay 10.1 Introduction 247 10.2 Working Fluids for ORC 248 10.3 Expanders for ORC 250 10.4 Existing Biomass]Fueled ORC-Based Cogeneration Plants 251 10.5 Different Configurations of ORC 253 10.5.1 Regeneration Using an Internal Heat Exchanger 254 10.5.2 Turbine Bleeding 254 10.5.3 Turbine Bleeding and Regeneration 255 10.5.4 Thermodynamic Analysis of the ORC with Turbine Bleeding and Regeneration 255 10.6 Process Description 257 10.7 Illustrative Example 258 10.8 Conclusions 260 References 260 11 Novel Methodologies for Optimal Product Design from Biomass 263 Lik Yin Ng, Nishanth G. Chemmangattuvalappil, and Denny K. S. Ng 11.1 Introduction 263 11.2 CAMD 266 11.2.1 Signature-Based Molecular Design 267 11.2.2 Multi-objective Chemical Product Design with Consideration of Property Prediction Uncertainty 269 11.3 Two-Stage Optimisation Approach for Optimal Product Design from Biomass 270 11.3.1 Stage 1: Product Design 271 11.3.2 Stage 2: Integrated Biorefinery Design 280 11.4 Case Study 282 11.4.1 Design of Optimal Product 282 11.4.2 Selection of Optimal Conversion Pathway 288 11.5 Conclusions 295 11.6 Future Opportunities 295 Nomenclature 295 Appendix 297 References 306 12 The Role of Process Integration in Reviewing and Comparing Biorefinery Processing Routes: The Case of Xylitol 309 Aikaterini D. Mountraki, Konstantinos R. Koutsospyros, and Antonis C. Kokossis 12.1 Introduction 309 12.2 Motivating Example 310 12.3 The Three]Layer Approach 310 12.4 Production Paths to Xylitol 313 12.4.1 Catalytic Process 315 12.4.2 Biotechnological Process 316 12.5 Scope for Process and Energy Integration 317 12.5.1 Catalytic Process 318 12.5.2 Biotechnological Process 320 12.5.3 Summarizing Results 322 12.6 Conclusion 325 Acknowledgment 325 References 325 13 Determination of Optimum Condition for the Production of Rice Husk-Derived Bio]oil by Slow Pyrolysis Process 329 Suzana Yusup, Chung Loong Yiin, Chiang Jinn Tan, and Bawadi Abdullah 13.1 Introduction 329 13.2 Experimental Study 331 13.2.1 Biomass Preparation and Characterization 331 13.2.2 Experimental Procedure 332 13.2.3 Equipment 332 13.2.4 Characterization of Bio]oil 333 13.3 Results and Discussion 333 13.3.1 Characterization of RH 333 13.3.2 Characterization of Bio]oil 333 13.3.3 Parametric Analysis 335 13.3.4 Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope 336 13.3.5 Chemical Composition (GC-MS) Analysis 337 13.4 Conclusion 338 Acknowledgement 339 References 339 14 Overview of Safety and Health Assessment for Biofuel Production Technologies 341 Mimi H. Hassim, Weng Hui Liew, and Denny K. S. Ng 14.1 Introduction 341 14.2 Inherent Safety in Process Design 343 14.3 Inherent Occupational Health in Process Design 344 14.4 Design Paradox 345 14.5 Introduction to Biofuel Technologies 347 14.6 Safety Assessment of Biofuel Production Technologies 348 14.7 Health Assessment of Biofuel Production Technologies 350 14.8 Proposed Ideas for Future Safety and Health Assessment in Biofuel Production Technologies 351 14.9 Conclusions 354 References 354 Index 359