Process design and economics for ethanol from corn stover via dilute-acid hydrolysis: development of a base-case flowsheet for parametric analysis of acid hydrolysis processes
This report presents a flow sheet for a cellulose-to-ethanol plant utilizing high-temperature dilute acid hydrolysis. The process can be divided into six sections: pretreatment, hydrolysis, fermentation, purification, carbon dioxide recovery, and heat generation and waste treatment. In the pretreatment section, the raw corn stover undergoes steam explosion, the lignin is extracted by ethanol extraction, and the amorphous five- and six-carbon sugars removed in prehydrolysis. The crystalline cellulose is hydrolyzed in the hydrolysis reactor. The sugar solution from the prehydrolysis and hydrolysis sections is neutralized and fermented to carbon dioxide and ethanol in a train of continuous fermenters. The ethanol is recovered by a distillation process, and the carbon dioxide is cleaned and liquified. The unreacted solids and various waste streams are either burned or sent to the waste pond. Capital and operating costs estimates are developed for the plant, and the total plant cost is estimated to be $236 million. The prime costs are heat generation, pretreatment, and hydrolysis. The ethanol produced costs $3.60/gal. Elimination of the lignin solvent extraction step and the prefermentation sugar concentration steps are recommended to reduce both the capital investment and energy usage of the plant. The system described in the report was not optimized. Instead it was configured to include a large number of processing steps, not all of which would be included in the same plant, in order to provide a basis for the coding of a simulation program. The ethanol costs reported are therefore much greater than would be achieved in an optimized system.
- Research Organization:
- Chem Systems, Inc., New York (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC02-77CH00178
- OSTI ID:
- 6010145
- Report Number(s):
- SERI/STR-231-1745; ON: DE83009108
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Acid softening and hydrolysis of cellulose. Final report
Novel DDR Processing of Corn Stover Achieves High Monomeric Sugar Concentrations from Enzymatic Hydrolysis (230 g/L) and High Ethanol Concentration (10% v/v) During Fermentation
Related Subjects
090222* -- Alcohol Fuels-- Preparation from Wastes or Biomass-- (1976-1989)
140504 -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
ACID HYDROLYSIS
ALCOHOLS
BIOCONVERSION
BY-PRODUCTS
CAPITALIZED COST
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CEREALS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COST
DECOMPOSITION
DESIGN
DIAGRAMS
DISTILLATION
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
ECONOMICS
ENERGY
ETHANOL
ETHANOL PLANTS
FERMENTATION
FLOWSHEETS
GRAMINEAE
GRASS
HEAT
HEAT TREATMENTS
HYDROLYSIS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
LYSIS
MAIZE
MANAGEMENT
OPERATING COST
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
PROCESS HEAT
PROCESSING
PRODUCTION
RECOVERY
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SOLVOLYSIS
WASTE MANAGEMENT
WASTE PROCESSING