DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Techno‐economic and greenhouse gas analyses of lignin valorization to eugenol and phenolic products in integrated ethanol biorefineries

Abstract

Abstract This work presents techno‐economic and greenhouse gas (GHG) analyses of an ethanol biorefinery integrating lignin conversion into eugenol and other phenolics. Catalytic hydrogenolysis assisted by isopropanol (IPA) is used to convert the lignin recovered after ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment, saccharification, and fermentation. This process was compared to a biorefinery using lignin for energy generation and simulated in SuperPro Designer. Spatial analysis was performed to determine biorefinery locations and capacities in a Mexican state with potential for lignocellulosic biomass, including corn stover, sorghum stubble, and Jatropha fruit shells. Relative to the base case, diverting 50% of lignin to phenolics decreased the ethanol cost of production significantly due to the high market value of the co‐products. The minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) for this case was $2.02 gal −1 . The resulting cradle‐to‐gate GHG footprint of bioethanol was 21 g CO 2 ‐eq MJ −1 , a 78% reduction with respect to gasoline when system expansion is used for allocation. Using market value‐based allocation resulted in 82% GHG reduction. Analysis of scenarios showed that a biorefinery processing 3000 t day −1 biomass and diverting 80% of lignin to phenolics can potentially yield an MESP lower than $1.5 gal −1 . Tomore » achieve this, research should target a reduction in IL input by 30% and IPA input by 40%, together with more energy‐efficient separation processes. The reduction in IL and IPA can be achieved by decreasing their loading rates and increasing recycling. Sensitivity analysis showed that, for biomass prices higher than $45 t −1 , biorefinery capacities must exceed 5000 t d −1 biomass input. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd« less

Authors:
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4]
  1. Biomass Conversion Division Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo Mexico City Mexico, Life‐cycle, Economics, and Agronomy Division Joint BioEnergy Institute Emeryville CA USA, Sustainable Energy Systems Group Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA USA
  2. Life‐cycle, Economics, and Agronomy Division Joint BioEnergy Institute Emeryville CA USA, Sustainable Energy Systems Group Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA USA
  3. Biomass Conversion Division Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo Mexico City Mexico
  4. Deconstruction Division Joint BioEnergy Institute Emeryville CA USA, Biological Systems &, Engineering Division Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Berkeley CA USA
Publication Date:
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1503726
Grant/Contract Number:  
DE‐AC02‐05CH11231
Resource Type:
Publisher's Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Name: Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining Journal Volume: 13 Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 1932-104X
Publisher:
Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English

Citation Formats

Martinez‐Hernandez, Elias, Cui, Xinguang, Scown, Corinne D., Amezcua‐Allieri, Myriam A., Aburto, Jorge, and Simmons, Blake A. Techno‐economic and greenhouse gas analyses of lignin valorization to eugenol and phenolic products in integrated ethanol biorefineries. United Kingdom: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1002/bbb.1989.
Martinez‐Hernandez, Elias, Cui, Xinguang, Scown, Corinne D., Amezcua‐Allieri, Myriam A., Aburto, Jorge, & Simmons, Blake A. Techno‐economic and greenhouse gas analyses of lignin valorization to eugenol and phenolic products in integrated ethanol biorefineries. United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1989
Martinez‐Hernandez, Elias, Cui, Xinguang, Scown, Corinne D., Amezcua‐Allieri, Myriam A., Aburto, Jorge, and Simmons, Blake A. Thu . "Techno‐economic and greenhouse gas analyses of lignin valorization to eugenol and phenolic products in integrated ethanol biorefineries". United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1989.
@article{osti_1503726,
title = {Techno‐economic and greenhouse gas analyses of lignin valorization to eugenol and phenolic products in integrated ethanol biorefineries},
author = {Martinez‐Hernandez, Elias and Cui, Xinguang and Scown, Corinne D. and Amezcua‐Allieri, Myriam A. and Aburto, Jorge and Simmons, Blake A.},
abstractNote = {Abstract This work presents techno‐economic and greenhouse gas (GHG) analyses of an ethanol biorefinery integrating lignin conversion into eugenol and other phenolics. Catalytic hydrogenolysis assisted by isopropanol (IPA) is used to convert the lignin recovered after ionic liquid (IL) pretreatment, saccharification, and fermentation. This process was compared to a biorefinery using lignin for energy generation and simulated in SuperPro Designer. Spatial analysis was performed to determine biorefinery locations and capacities in a Mexican state with potential for lignocellulosic biomass, including corn stover, sorghum stubble, and Jatropha fruit shells. Relative to the base case, diverting 50% of lignin to phenolics decreased the ethanol cost of production significantly due to the high market value of the co‐products. The minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) for this case was $2.02 gal −1 . The resulting cradle‐to‐gate GHG footprint of bioethanol was 21 g CO 2 ‐eq MJ −1 , a 78% reduction with respect to gasoline when system expansion is used for allocation. Using market value‐based allocation resulted in 82% GHG reduction. Analysis of scenarios showed that a biorefinery processing 3000 t day −1 biomass and diverting 80% of lignin to phenolics can potentially yield an MESP lower than $1.5 gal −1 . To achieve this, research should target a reduction in IL input by 30% and IPA input by 40%, together with more energy‐efficient separation processes. The reduction in IL and IPA can be achieved by decreasing their loading rates and increasing recycling. Sensitivity analysis showed that, for biomass prices higher than $45 t −1 , biorefinery capacities must exceed 5000 t d −1 biomass input. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd},
doi = {10.1002/bbb.1989},
journal = {Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining},
number = 4,
volume = 13,
place = {United Kingdom},
year = {Thu Mar 28 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Thu Mar 28 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}

Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1989

Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 34 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

Save / Share:

Works referenced in this record:

Catalytic transfer hydrogenolysis of ionic liquid processed biorefinery lignin to phenolic compounds
journal, January 2017

  • Kim, Kwang Ho; Simmons, Blake A.; Singh, Seema
  • Green Chemistry, Vol. 19, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1039/C6GC02473D

Lignin transformations for high value applications: towards targeted modifications using green chemistry
journal, January 2017

  • Gillet, S.; Aguedo, M.; Petitjean, L.
  • Green Chemistry, Vol. 19, Issue 18
  • DOI: 10.1039/C7GC01479A

Survey of renewable chemicals produced from lignocellulosic biomass during ionic liquid pretreatment
journal, January 2013

  • Varanasi, Patanjali; Singh, Priyanka; Auer, Manfred
  • Biotechnology for Biofuels, Vol. 6, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1186/1754-6834-6-14

Transforming biomass conversion with ionic liquids: process intensification and the development of a high-gravity, one-pot process for the production of cellulosic ethanol
journal, January 2016

  • Xu, Feng; Sun, Jian; Konda, N. V. S. N. Murthy
  • Energy & Environmental Science, Vol. 9, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1039/C5EE02940F

Extraction and Purification of Phenolic Compounds from Lignocellulosic Biomass Assisted by Ionic Liquid, Polymeric Resins, and Supercritical CO 2
journal, April 2016

  • da Costa Lopes, André M.; Brenner, Miriam; Falé, Pedro
  • ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 4, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.6b00429

Techno-economic analysis of a lignocellulosic ethanol biorefinery with ionic liquid pre-treatment
journal, June 2011

  • Klein-Marcuschamer, Daniel; Simmons, Blake A.; Blanch, Harvey W.
  • Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, Vol. 5, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1002/bbb.303

Bright Side of Lignin Depolymerization: Toward New Platform Chemicals
journal, January 2018


Life cycle assessment of corn stover production for cellulosic ethanol in Quebec
journal, November 2011

  • Whitman, Thea; Yanni, Sandra; Whalen, Joann
  • Canadian Journal of Soil Science, Vol. 91, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.4141/cjss2011-011

Technoeconomic analysis of biofuels: A wiki-based platform for lignocellulosic biorefineries
journal, December 2010

  • Klein-Marcuschamer, Daniel; Oleskowicz-Popiel, Piotr; Simmons, Blake A.
  • Biomass and Bioenergy, Vol. 34, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2010.07.033

Cradle-to-gate environmental assessment of enzyme products produced industrially in denmark by novozymes A/S
journal, August 2006

  • Nielsen, Per H.; Oxenbøll, Karen M.; Wenzel, Henrik
  • The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Vol. 12, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1007/s11367-006-2651-4

Base-Catalyzed Depolymerization of Lignin: Separation of Monomers
journal, December 2007

  • Vigneault, Alexandre; Johnson, David K.; Chornet, Esteban
  • The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol. 85, Issue 6
  • DOI: 10.1002/cjce.5450850612

Lignin Depolymerization and Conversion A Review of Thermochemical Methods
journal, November 2010

  • Pandey, M. P.; Kim, C. S.
  • Chemical Engineering & Technology, Vol. 34, Issue 1, p. 29-41
  • DOI: 10.1002/ceat.201000270

Technical and economical evaluation of bioethanol production from lignocellulosic residues in Mexico: Case of sugarcane and blue agave bagasses
journal, March 2016

  • Barrera, Iliana; Amezcua-Allieri, Myriam A.; Estupiñan, Lorena
  • Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Vol. 107
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2015.10.015

Strategies for near-term scale-up of cellulosic biofuel production using sorghum and crop residues in the US
journal, November 2018

  • Cui, Xinguang; Kavvada, Olga; Huntington, Tyler
  • Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 13, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1088/1748-9326/aae6e3

Challenge clusters facing LCA in environmental decision-making—what we can learn from biofuels
journal, August 2015

  • McManus, Marcelle C.; Taylor, Caroline M.; Mohr, Alison
  • The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, Vol. 20, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1007/s11367-015-0930-7

Role of Lignin in Reducing Life-Cycle Carbon Emissions, Water Use, and Cost for United States Cellulosic Biofuels
journal, July 2014

  • Scown, Corinne D.; Gokhale, Amit A.; Willems, Paul A.
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 48, Issue 15
  • DOI: 10.1021/es5012753

Current Challenges in Commercially Producing Biofuels from Lignocellulosic Biomass
journal, January 2014


Producing jet fuel from biomass lignin: Potential pathways to alkyl-benzenes and cycloalkanes
journal, May 2017


Understanding cost drivers and economic potential of two variants of ionic liquid pretreatment for cellulosic biofuel production
journal, January 2014

  • Konda, Nvsn; Shi, Jian; Singh, Seema
  • Biotechnology for Biofuels, Vol. 7, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1186/1754-6834-7-86

Challenges in Scaling Up Biofuels Infrastructure
journal, August 2010


Characterization of Lignin Streams during Bionic Liquid-Based Pretreatment from Grass, Hardwood, and Softwood
journal, January 2018


Key challenges and requirements for sustainable and industrialized biorefinery supply chain design and management: A bibliographic analysis
journal, March 2017

  • Espinoza Pérez, Andrea Teresa; Camargo, Mauricio; Narváez Rincón, Paulo César
  • Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 69
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.084

Lignin depolymerisation strategies: towards valuable chemicals and fuels
journal, January 2014

  • Xu, Chunping; Arancon, Rick Arneil D.; Labidi, Jalel
  • Chemical Society Reviews, Vol. 43, Issue 22, p. 7485-7500
  • DOI: 10.1039/C4CS00235K

Life-Cycle Greenhouse Gas and Water Intensity of Cellulosic Biofuel Production Using Cholinium Lysinate Ionic Liquid Pretreatment
journal, September 2017

  • Neupane, Binod; Konda, N. V. S. N. Murthy; Singh, Seema
  • ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 5, Issue 11
  • DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.7b02116

Life cycle assessment of electricity generation in Mexico
journal, March 2011


Life Cycle Assessment of Catechols from Lignin Depolymerization
journal, December 2015


Vanillin Production from Lignin and Its Use as a Renewable Chemical
journal, December 2015

  • Fache, Maxence; Boutevin, Bernard; Caillol, Sylvain
  • ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Vol. 4, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.5b01344

Establishing the optimal sizes of different kinds of biorefineries
journal, January 2007

  • Wright, Mark; Brown, Robert C.
  • Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, Vol. 1, Issue 3
  • DOI: 10.1002/bbb.25

An integrated process to produce vanillin and lignin-based polyurethanes from Kraft lignin
journal, September 2009

  • Silva, E. A. Borges da; Zabkova, M.; Araújo, J. D.
  • Chemical Engineering Research and Design, Vol. 87, Issue 9
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2009.05.008