Process Systems Engineering for Biofuels Development
Description
Process Systems Engineering for Biofuels Development brings together the latest and most cutting-edge research on the production of biofuels. As the first book specifically devoted to process systems engineering for the production of biofuels, Process Systems Engineering for Biofuels Development covers theoretical, computational and experimental issues in biofuels process engineering.
Written for researchers and postgraduate students working on biomass conversion and sustainable process design, as well as industrial practitioners and engineers involved in process design, modeling and optimization, this book is an indispensable guide to the newest developments in areas including:
* Enzyme-catalyzed biodiesel production
* Process analysis of biodiesel production (including kinetic modeling, simulation and optimization)
* The use of ultrasonification in biodiesel production
* Thermochemical processes for biomass transformation to biofuels
* Production of alternative biofuels
In addition to the comprehensive overview of the subject of biofuels found in the Introduction of the book, the authors of various chapters have provided extensive discussions of the production and separation of biofuels via novel applications and techniques.
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Persons
Editors
Adrián Bonilla-Petriciolet, Department of Chemical Engineering, Instituto Tecnológico de Aguascalientes, Mexico
Gade Pandu Rangaiah, Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore and School of Chemical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, India
Series Editor
Christian Stevens, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Belgium
Content
List of Contributors xiii
Series Preface xv
Preface xvii
1 Introduction 1
Adrián Bonilla-Petriciolet and Gade Pandu Rangaiah
1.1 Importance of Biofuels and Overview of their Production 1
1.2 Significance of Process Systems Engineering for Biofuels Production 3
1.2.1 Modeling of Physicochemical Properties of Thermodynamic Systems Related to Biofuels 4
1.2.2 Intensification of the Biomass Transformation Routes for the Production of Biofuels 5
1.2.3 Computer-Aided Methodologies for Process Modeling, Design, Optimization, and Control Including Supply Chain and Life Cycle Analyses 7
1.3 Overview of this Book 9
References 11
2 Waste Biomass Suitable as Feedstock for Biofuels Production 15
Maria Papadaki
2.1 Introduction 15
2.1.1 The Need for Biofuels 15
2.1.2 Problem Definition 17
2.1.3 The Biomass Pool 18
2.2 Kinds of Feedstock 20
2.2.1 Spent Coffee Grounds 21
2.2.2 Lignocellulose Biomass 22
2.2.3 Palm, Olive, Coconut, Avocado, and Argan Oil Production Residues 25
2.2.4 Citrus 33
2.2.5 Grape Marc 36
2.2.6 Waste Oil and Cooking Oil 37
2.2.7 Additional Sources 38
2.3 Conclusions 40
Acknowledgment 40
References 40
3 Multiscale Analysis for the Exploitation of Bioresources: From Reactor Design to Supply Chain Analysis 49
Antonio Sánchez, Borja Hernández, and Mariano Martín
3.1 Introduction 49
3.2 Unit Level 50
3.2.1 Short Cut Methods 50
3.2.2 Mechanistic Models 51
3.2.3 Rules of Thumb 56
3.2.4 Dimensionless Analysis 56
3.2.5 Surrogate Models 56
3.2.6 Experimental Correlations 59
3.3 Process Synthesis 60
3.3.1 Heuristic Based 60
3.3.2 Supestructure Optimization 61
3.3.3 Environmental Impact Metrics 65
3.3.4 Safety Considerations 66
3.4 The Product Design Problem 66
3.4.1 Product Design: Engineering Biomass 66
3.4.2 Blending Problems 68
3.5 Supply Chain Level 68
3.5.1 Introduction 68
3.5.2 Modeling Issues 70
3.6 Multiscale Links and Considerations 71
Acknowledgment 74
Nomenclature 74
References 75
4 Challenges in the Modeling of Thermodynamic Properties and Phase Equilibrium Calculations for Biofuels Process Design 85
Roumiana P. Stateva and Georgi St. Cholakov
4.1 Introduction 85
4.2 Thermodynamic Modeling Framework: Elements, Structure, and Organization 86
4.3 Thermodynamics of Biofuel Systems 88
4.3.1 Phase Equilibria 88
4.3.2 Thermodynamic Models 90
4.4 Sources of Data for Biofuels Process Design 98
4.5 Methods for Predicting Data for Biofuels Process Design 102
4.5.1 Group Contribution Methods for Biofuels Process Design 103
4.5.2 Quantitative Structure-Property Relationships for Biofuels Process Design 105
4.6 Challenges for the Biofuels Process Design Methods 109
4.7 Influence of Uncertainties in Thermophysical Properties of Pure Compounds on the Phase Behavior of Biofuel Systems 112
4.8 Conclusions 114
Acknowledgment 114
Exercises 114
References 115
5 Up-grading ofWaste Oil: A Key Step in the Future of Biofuel Production 121
Luigi di Bitonto and Carlo Pastore
5.1 Introduction 121
5.2 Physicochemical Pretreatments of Waste Oils: Removal of Contaminants 124
5.3 Direct Treatment and Conversion of FFAs into Methyl Esters 125
5.3.1 Homogeneous Catalysis: Brønsted and Lewis Acids 125
5.3.2 Heterogeneous Catalysis 127
5.3.3 Enzymatic Biodiesel Production 128
5.3.4 ILs Biodiesel Production 130
5.3.5 Use of Metal Hydrated Salts 133
5.4 Future Trends of the Pretreatments of Waste Oils 139
5.5 Conclusions 140
Acknowledgment 141
Abbreviations 141
References 142
6 Production of Biojet Fuel from Waste Raw Materials: A Review 149
Ana Laura Moreno-Gómez, Claudia Gutiérrez-Antonio, Fernando Israel Gómez-Castro, and Salvador Hernández
6.1 Introduction 149
6.2 Waste Triglyceride Feedstock 150
6.3 Waste Lignocellulosic Feedstock 159
6.4 Waste Sugar and Starchy Feedstock 164
6.5 Main Challenges and Future Trends 165
6.6 Conclusions 167
Acknowledgments 167
References 167
7 Computer-Aided Design for Genetic Modulation to Improve Biofuel Production 173
Feng-Sheng Wang and Wu-Hsiung Wu
7.1 Introduction 173
7.2 Method 175
7.2.1 Flux Balance Analysis 175
7.2.2 Flux Variability Analysis 176
7.2.3 Minimization of Metabolic Adjustment 176
7.2.4 Regulatory On-Off Minimization 177
7.2.5 Optimal Strain Design Problem 177
7.3 Computer-Aided Strain Design Tool 179
7.4 Examples 181
7.4.1 E. coli Core Model 181
7.4.2 Genome-Scale Metabolic Model of E. coli iAF1260 183
7.5 Conclusions 185
Appendix 7.A: The SBP Program 187
References 187
8 Implementation of Biodiesel Production Process Using Enzyme-Catalyzed Routes 191
Thalles Allan Andrade, Massimiliano Errico, and Knud Villy Christensen
8.1 Introduction 191
8.2 Biodiesel Production Routes: Chemical versus Enzymatic Catalysts 194
8.2.1 Chemical Catalysts 195
8.2.2 Enzymatic Catalysts 196
8.3 Optimal Reaction Conditions and Kinetic Modeling 198
8.3.1 Evaluation of the Reaction Conditions 199
8.3.2 Kinetic Modeling 201
8.4 Process Simulation and Economic Evaluation 205
8.5 Reuse of Enzyme for the Transesterification Reaction 210
8.5.1 Recovery of Eversa Transform by Means of Centrifugation 210
8.5.2 Recovery of Eversa Transform by Means of Ceramic Membranes 211
8.6 Environmental Impact and Final Remarks 215
Acknowledgments 217
Nomenclature 217
References 217
9 Process Analysis of Biodiesel Production - Kinetic Modeling, Simulation, and Process Design 221
Bruna Ricetti Margarida, Wanderson Rogerio Giacomin-Junior, Luiz Fernando de Lima Luz Junior, Fernando Augusto Pedersen Voll, and Marcos Lucio Corazza
9.1 Introduction 221
9.1.1 Homogeneous-Based Reactions 222
9.1.2 Heterogeneous-Based Reactions 223
9.1.3 Enzyme-Catalyzed Reactions 224
9.1.4 Supercritical Route Reactions 224
9.1.5 Methanol or Ethanol for Biodiesel Synthesis 224
9.2 Getting Started with Aspen Plus V10 224
9.2.1 Pure Compounds 225
9.2.2 Mixture Parameters 229
9.3 Kinetic Study 232
9.3.1 Esterification Reaction 232
9.3.2 Experimental Reaction Data Regression 234
9.3.3 Transesterification Reaction 236
9.3.4 Supercritical Route 238
9.4 Process Design 239
9.4.1 Esterification Reaction 239
9.4.2 Methanol Recycling 243
9.4.3 Transesterification Reaction 244
9.4.4 Biodiesel Purification 245
9.4.5 Additional Resources 248
9.5 Energy and Economic Analysis 252
9.6 Concluding Remarks 254
Acknowledgment 255
Exercises 255
References 256
10 Process Development, Design and Analysis of Microalgal Biodiesel Production Aided by Microwave and Ultrasonication 259
Dipesh S. Patle, Savyasachi Shrikhande, and Gade Pandu Rangaiah
10.1 Introduction 259
10.2 Process Development and Modeling 262
10.3 Sizing and Cost Analysis 272
10.4 Comparison with the WCO-Based Process of the Same Capacity 277
10.4.1 Biodiesel Process Using WCO as Raw Material 277
10.4.2 Comparative Analysis 277
10.5 Comparison with the Microalgae-Based Processes 280
10.6 Conclusions 280
Acknowledgment 281
Appendix 10.A 281
Exercises 282
References 282
11 Thermochemical Processes for the Transformation of Biomass into Biofuels 285
Carlos J. Durán-Valle
11.1 Introduction 285
11.2 Biomass and Biofuels 288
11.3 Combustion 289
11.4 Gasification 290
11.4.1 Fixed Bed Gasification 291
11.4.2 Fluidized Bed Gasification 292
11.4.3 Dual Fluidized Bed Gasification 292
11.4.4 Hydrothermal Gasification 293
11.4.5 Supercritical Water Gasification 294
11.4.6 Plasma Gasification 294
11.4.7 Catalyzed Gasification 295
11.4.8 Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis 295
11.5 Liquefaction 296
11.6 Pyrolysis 296
11.6.1 Slow Pyrolysis 297
11.6.2 Fast Pyrolysis 297
11.6.3 Flash Pyrolysis 297
11.6.4 Catalytic Biomass Pyrolysis 303
11.6.5 Microwave Heating 304
11.6.6 Product Separation 304
11.7 Carbonization 305
11.8 Conclusions 308
Acknowledgments 309
References 309
12 Intensified Purification Alternative for Methyl Ethyl Ketone Production: Economic, Environmental, Safety and Control Issues 311
Eduardo Sánchez-Ramírez, Juan José Quiroz-Ramírez, and Juan Gabriel Segovia-Hernández
12.1 Introduction 311
12.2 Problem Statement and Case Study 316
12.3 Evaluation Indexes and Optimization Problem 317
12.3.1 Total Annual Cost Calculation 319
12.3.2 Environmental Index Calculation 319
12.3.3 Individual Risk Index 320
12.3.4 Controllability Index Calculation 322
12.3.5 Multi-Objective Optimization Problem 323
12.4 Global Optimization Methodology 324
12.5 Results 325
12.6 Conclusions 335
Acknowledgments 335
Notation 335
References 336
13 Present and Future of Biofuels 341
Juan Gabriel Segovia-Hernández, César Ramírez-Márquez, and Eduardo Sánchez-Ramírez
13.1 Introduction 341
13.2 Some Representative Biofuels 344
13.2.1 Bioethanol 344
13.2.2 Biodiesel 347
13.2.3 Biobutanol 348
13.2.4 Biojet Fuel 349
13.2.5 Biogas 351
13.3 Perspectives and Future of Biofuels 352
References 354
Index 357
1
Introduction
Adrián Bonilla-Petriciolet1 and Gade Pandu Rangaiah2, 3
1 Instituto Tecnológico de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes 20256, Mexico
2 Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 117585, Singapore
3 School of Chemical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore 632014, India
1.1 Importance of Biofuels and Overview of their Production
The relevance and importance of biofuels are recognized worldwide, mainly due to the problems caused by fossil fuel depletion and environmental pollution (e.g. climate change) arising from the generation and consumption of traditional energy sources (Li et al. 2019; Raud et al. 2019; Quiroz-Perez et al. 2019). Biofuels belong to the category of sustainable energy that can be obtained from biological (e.g. anaerobic digestion and fermentation), physicochemical (e.g. transesterification), and thermochemical (e.g. liquefaction, gasification, and pyrolysis) processing routes, which can involve the application of conventional and intensified technologies (Gutierrez-Antonio et al. 2017; Li et al. 2019; Quiroz-Perez et al. 2019). Several researchers have concluded that biomasses can be regarded as a primary source for obtaining green and renewable energy because they are distributed and generated worldwide (Li et al. 2019; Quiroz-Perez et al. 2019; Wei et al. 2019). In fact, it has been estimated that the biomass-based fuel sources can account for 70% of all renewable energy production (Raud et al. 2019).
Diverse processes have been studied and implemented to perform the transformation of biomass-based feedstocks to solid, liquid and/or gaseous products that contain energy-enriched chemicals (Quiroz-Perez et al. 2019). Lignocellulosic materials, food crops, urban wastes, animal fats, vegetable oils, starch-rich compounds and non-edible biomasses like algae and microorganisms (with and without genetic modifications) can be utilized as feedstocks to produce renewable fuels (Sawangkeaw and Ngamprasertsith 2013; Loman and Ju 2016; Stephen and Periyasamy 2018). Biofuels include end products known as biodiesel (a mixture of long-chain alkyl esters), biojet fuel (a mixture of C8-C16 alkanes, iso-alkanes, naphthenic derivatives, and aromatic compounds), biogasoline (C6-C12 hydrocarbons), and bioalcohols (e.g. bioethanol and biobutanol) (Hassan et al. 2015; Gutierrez-Antonio et al. 2017; Wei et al. 2019). Table 1.1 shows a common and simple classification of biofuels based on the biomass used as the starting material and its processing route (Raud et al. 2019).
Table 1.1 Classification of biofuels based on the biomass feedstock and its transformation route.
Source: Raud et al. 2019. Reproduced with permission of Elsevier.
Type of biofuels according to their processing routes Primary Secondary 1st generation 2nd generation 3rd generation 4th generation Firewood, wood, pellets, chips, forest and agricultural residues, gas. Bioethanol or butanol from fermentation of starch or sugars contained in food crops. Bioethanol, biobutanol or synthesized biofuels made from non-food lignocellulosic biomass. Biodiesel or bioethanol from microalgae, seaweed or microorganisms. Biofuels produced using genetically modified microalgae or microorganisms.The production of biofuels comprises several process units that should be analyzed, modeled, designed, optimized, intensified, and controlled. In general, conventional processes employed in biofuels production rely on unit operations that are performed independently without mass and/or energy integration, whose process conditions are not optimized and the tradeoff between process efficiency and cost may not be the best (Quiroz-Perez et al. 2019). On the other hand, intensified process operations outperform their conventional counterparts in terms of energy consumption, profitability, and effectiveness. Process intensification generally reduces the equipment number, sizes and/or energy consumption, to increase the productivity and to enhance other performance metrics via the synergy obtained from multifunctional phenomena at different spatial and time scales (Stankiewicz and Moulijn 2000; Tian et al. 2018). It allows the integration of two or more operations in multitasking units, the development of alternative configurations and design of process equipment, besides the application of optimization tools and reliable process synthesis methodologies to improve the pathways for obtaining biofuels (Nasir et al. 2013; Quiroz-Perez et al. 2019).
Sustainable development of biofuels supply chains from the variety of available feedstocks and process routes imply new challenges for Chemical Engineering. In particular, there are key process design aspects of biofuels production to be improved and intensified (Nasir et al. 2013; Oh et al. 2018; Raud et al. 2019). They include the collection (harvesting/production or recovery) of the biomass, feedstock pretreatment, biomass transformation routes, end-products separation and purification, and the corresponding logistic tasks that are linked to the elements of the supply chain. All these factors impact the economic feasibility of the specific pathway to produce the biofuel. For instance, some authors have highlighted that the production of 4th generation renewable fuels could imply expensive and energy intensive operations thus limiting its current commercialization (Darda et al. 2019). The application of sustainable technologies in each process stage is paramount to reach the goal of a green and feasible large-scale production of bioenergy. In terms of process modeling, there is also the necessity of improving the thermodynamic framework and conceptual design approaches employed in the biofuels process engineering.
It is clear that biofuels production creates new applications for process system engineering (PSE) in terms of biomass valorization, green chemistry, thermodynamics, catalysts, reaction engineering, separation units, process modeling, optimization, design, and control. Although several developments have been achieved in this direction, there are still technical limitations and barriers to be overcome with the objective of minimizing costs and energy requirements of commercial biofuels production facilities utilizing affordable feedstocks and consequent protection of the environment via energy efficiency and waste reduction. This book aims to contribute to the development of sustainable production of renewable biofuels. Specifically, it covers different topics associated with PSE of biofuels production. The remainder of this chapter is organized as follows: Section 1.2 provides an overview of relevant issues of PSE associated with biofuels production. Examples of gaps and current challenges in the production of biofuels are briefly discussed. Finally, Section 1.3 outlines the scope of all the chapters in this book.
1.2 Significance of Process Systems Engineering for Biofuels Production
PSE is devoted to analyzing the elements associated with the creation and operation of chemical supply chains (Grossmann and Westerberg 2000). This implies the development of systematic procedures that can be applied in the discovery, design, manufacture and distribution of chemical products starting from the microsystem level until reaching the industrial scale applications (Grossmann and Westerberg 2000); see Figure 1.1. Undoubtedly, these PSE elements can be extrapolated to the development of biofuels supply chains, and they include theoretical, computational and experimental studies.
Figure 1.1 Conceptual description of a chemical supply chain considering the time, length and chemical scales.
Source: Grossmann and Westerberg 2000. Reproduced with permission of John Wiley & Sons.
As stated by Grossmann and Westerberg (2000), research and development in PSE comprise the process and product design, process modeling, integration, control and operation, supporting design methods and numerical tools. The feasible and environmentally friendly production of biofuels also need advances in these PSE areas (Nasir et al. 2013). The existence of diverse processing routes for the biomass transformation and the incorporation of novel technologies with the corresponding discovery of alternative feedstocks are the main drivers of PSE research in biofuels production. This section provides an overview of opportunities of PSE areas for the production of renewable fuels. Many of these topics are analyzed in detail in the other chapters in this book.
1.2.1 Modeling of Physicochemical Properties of Thermodynamic Systems Related to Biofuels
Thermodynamic modeling of properties of pure components and their mixtures, including the prediction of the phase equilibrium behavior, is paramount for the engineering of biofuels production because it is the basis of process design. Reliable prediction of thermodynamic properties is...
