The development of technologies for utilizing biomass has attracted attention because biomass can be produced sustainably worldwide. Biomass‐derived 2‐methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF), which is a ...promising alternative to gasoline, has great market potential and a growing demand. However, in conventional biomass conversion processes, the minimum selling price (MSP) of biochemicals is not economically acceptable. Co‐production of biochemicals can increase the economics of biomass utilization. Herein, we developed a process for co‐producing MTHF and 1,4‐pentanediol (1,4‐PDO) from lignocellulosic biomass. After biomass fractionation, cellulose and hemicellulose were converted to levulinic acid (LA), and lignin was used for heat and electricity generation. LA was then converted to γ‐valerolactone (GVL). As a platform material for co‐production, GVL was converted into MTHF and 1,4‐PDO in each subsystem. The split ratio of GVL was controlled to efficiently produce MTHF and 1,4‐PDO according to market conditions. Additionally, we performed a techno‐economic and life‐cycle assessment (TEA and LCA, respectively) for the developed process. The MSP of MTHF was calculated based on the TEA results, and the environmental impacts were quantitatively calculated based on the LCA results. We performed heat integration using pinch analysis and then reduced the energy requirement of the proposed process. The key cost drivers and environmental factors of the proposed process were identified via sensitivity analyses. Consequently, during the processing of 2000 ton/day of corn stover (raw material of lignocellulose), the MSP of MTHF was calculated as $2.64/GGE (gasoline equivalent), and representative environmental impacts such as climate change and fossil depletion were calculated as −0.296 kg CO2 eq and − 0.056 kg oil eq, respectively. As a result, we can increase the economics of commercial production of MTHF and 1,4‐PDO with environmental sustainability. The proposed process can serve as a potential solution to the growing demand for the need for more sustainable biomass utilization.
2‐Methyltetrahydrofuran (MTHF) and 1,4‐pentanediol (1,4‐PDO) were produced from biomass, and the techno‐economic assessment (TEA) and life‐cycle assessment (LCA) were performed for the developed process.
Steam methane reforming (SMR) process is regarded as a viable option to satisfy the growing demand for hydrogen, mainly because of its capability for the mass production of hydrogen and the maturity ...of the technology. In this study, an economically optimal process configuration of SMR is proposed by investigating six scenarios with different design and operating conditions, including CO2 emission permits and CO2 capture and sale. Of the six scenarios, the process configuration involving CO2 capture and sale is the most economical, with an H2 production cost of $1.80/kg-H2. A wide range of economic analyses is performed to identify the tradeoffs and cost drivers of the SMR process in the economically optimal scenario. Depending on the CO2 selling price and the CO2 capture cost, the economic feasibility of the SMR-based H2 production process can be further improved.
We propose an integrated strategy for the production of vital platform chemicals, levoglucosenone (LGO) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), used to produce a high-value chemical, 1,6-hexandiol, from ...lignocellulosic biomass. In such processes of producing essential chemicals from biomass, cellulose loading in the solvent has a significant impact on production yield and, consequently, the economics of the process. In this study, we compare four different loadings of 1, 3, 5, and 10 wt% to suggest the optimal cellulose loading in tetrahydrofuran. The integrated process is economically optimal at a cellulose loading of 5 wt%. The minimum selling price (MSP) of the LGO and HMF mixture is estimated to be $2387/ton, which is competitive compared with the previously reported MSP of $2920/ton (He et al. Green Chemistry,19, 3642–3653, 2017), at the optimal loading of 5 wt%.
•An integrated strategy for producing platform chemicals from biomass is proposed.•Optimal cellulose loading is presented to improve the economics of the process.•The minimum selling price of the LGO and HMF mixture is calculated.•Major cost drivers of the integrated process are identified.
A new process for the coproduction of butene oligomers (BO) as biofuel and adipic acid (ADA) as a high-value chemical from lignocellulosic biomass is developed. In the proposed process, the split ...mass ratio of gamma-valerolactone (GVL) are controlled for efficient production of BO and ADA according to the market requirements of each product. Three distinct strategies are investigated, wherein the GVL split mass ratio is varied to produce BO and ADA in ratios of 2:1, 1:1, or 1:2, demonstrating how process economics are affected by modification of fuel and chemical production. The minimum selling prices of BO are calculated as 4.74, 3.14, and 2.90 dollars per gallon of gasoline equivalent in each case, indicating that the process in which BO and ADA are produced in a ratio of 1:2 is the most economical. Key cost drivers for the process are identified from sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. Additionally, life cycle assessment (LCA) is performed to investigate the environmental impacts of the proposed process. When the production ratio of BO and ADA is 2:1, the environmental impact is minimal, showing 0.151 kg CO2 eq and −0.075 kg oil eq, respectively, for climate change and fossil depletion.
•A new process for the coproduction of butene oligomers and adipic acid is developed.•Three strategies with different production rates of the two products are analyzed.•The minimum selling price of butene oligomers in the three strategies is calculated.•The environmental impact of the three coproduction strategies is investigated.
2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA) has attracted considerable attention as a building block for renewable polymers, as it can substitute conventional petroleum-derived terephthalic acid as a monomer ...for the synthesis of polyethylene terephthalate. In this study, we develop a new process for the co-production of FDCA, tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA), and activated carbon from lignocellulosic biomass to make the production of renewable plastics cost-competitive by generating high-value chemicals at the same time. Through an effective pretreatment technology employing a mixture of gamma-valerolactone and H2O as a solvent, biomass is separated into its components (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin), and then the cellulose and hemicellulose can be converted to FDCA and THFA, respectively. We designed separation subsystems to recover the solvents and purify the final products. Pinch analysis was conducted to form a heat exchanger network for reducing utility requirements. In techno-economic analysis, the proposed process was compared with a different strategy (Strategy B) producing FDCA and activated carbon but not THFA. The proposed process is economically superior to Strategy B, meaning that the production of THFA from hemicellulose has a positive effect on process economics rather than being used for heat and electricity. We conducted an uncertainty analysis using the Monte-Carlo simulation method for the minimum selling price of FDCA to quantify the risks of the proposed process and provide a more realistic estimation to decision makers. Furthermore, the sustainability of the proposed process was demonstrated via life-cycle assessment.
A new strategy for the production of 1,6-hexanediol (1,6-HDO) from biomass is developed in this study. 1,6-HDO is obtained via various continuous catalytic conversions, including dehydration, ...hydrogenation, and hydrogenolysis. Effective separation blocks are designed to enable the reusing of the solvent and hydrogen as well as for the recovery of 1,6-HDO. Heat integration is performed to reduce energy requirements and a significant amount of energy is recovered by introducing heat pumps into the heat integration network. In our technoeconomic analysis, the minimum selling price of 1,6-HDO is estimated to be $5282/ton. This indicates that the proposed process has the potential to replace conventional petroleum-based methods for producing 1,6-HDO. Moreover, a pioneer plant analysis is carried out to assess the risks and uncertainties of a production plant by estimating performance shortfalls and growth costs. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the economic feasibility of the proposed process.
•A new process is synthesized based on experimental data for conversion of cellulose to 1,6-HDO.•Heat integration with heat pump is performed to reduce energy requirements.•The minimum selling price of 1,6-HDO is estimated via techno-economic analysis.•Economics of the newly developed plant is investigated through pioneer plant analysis.
2,5-Furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), an eco-friendly biobased material, can replace petroleum-based terephthalic acid (TPA), in the polymer industry, for applications such as water bottle production ...and food packaging. In this study, an integrated process was developed for the coproduction of FDCA as a biobased plastic monomer and 1,5-pentanediol as a high-value product from lignocellulosic biomass using catalytic conversions and designing separation areas. The integrated process has several energy-intensive units that require a considerable amount of heating sources. Heat integration is performed to reduce and satisfy total heating requirements. Through a technoeconomic analysis, the minimum selling price of FDCA is determined to be US$1024/ton. Moreover, a wide range of sensitivity analyses are conducted to identify the major cost drivers among the economic and environmental parameters. Environmental impacts are compared between biomass-derived FDCA and petroleum-derived TPA productions by life-cycle assessment. In the former production, fossil depletion is lower (53%) than that of the latter production, although climate change of the former is higher (29%) than that of the latter. FDCA production can be more environmentally friendly by changing the sources for electricity generation.
•An integrated strategy is proposed to coproduce multiple value-added chemicals.•Heat integration is performed with two heat pumps to reduce energy requirements.•The minimum selling price of ...1,6-hexanediol is calculated.•Major cost drivers are identified to further improve process economics.
An integrated strategy of multiple catalytic conversions was developed to completely utilize three major fractions of biomass, thereby increasing the revenue from lignocellulosic biomass (white birch). Cellulose was converted into 1,6-hexanediol (1,6-HDO) with a yield of 21.8% via a series of catalytic conversions, hemicellulose was converted into furfural with a yield of 87.2% via dehydration, and lignin was purified into high-purity lignin with a yield of 71.7% via two-step purification. Heat integration was performed to mitigate the challenges associated with the large energy requirements of the process. Additionally, a techno-economic analysis was conducted to investigate the feasibility of the proposed process. The minimum selling price (MSP) of 1,6-HDO is estimated to be $3,922/ton, meaning that the economics of the proposed process are favorable compared to petroleum-derived 1,6-HDO production ($4,400/ton). The effect of economic parameters on the MSP of 1,6-HDO was also investigated via a wide array of sensitivity analyses.
The performance of the batch trajectory tracking algorithm is affected by batch-to-batch variation, which includes irregular phase transitions and batch durations. The latent variable model ...predictive control is modified to obtain the desired specification by applying an online alignment to assign the prediction model and update the future reference. One of the multiple models is selected at every time step to improve the prediction performance using the relationship between the accumulated measurements of the ongoing batch. The future reference is synchronized based on the current measurement of the ongoing batch; therefore, a partially reduced or extended reference trajectory is adaptively applied to the batches. Compared with the conventional latent variable model predictive control algorithm, the proposed method for assigning a prediction model can improve the trajectory tracking performance not only for the entire batch but also for the phase transition region. Compared with the fixed reference case, the proposed method for aligning the reference can reduce the tracking error at the end of the batch. The batch duration is adaptively decided using the updated reference, reducing the batch duration as long as the ongoing batch adheres to the reduced reference. The proposed methods are verified using a case study of the trajectory tracking problem in industrial penicillin production.
•A biorefining process is developed to produce butene oligomers from biomass.•1,5-pentanediol and high-purity lignin are coproduced to improve process economics.•Heat integration is performed to ...reduce energy requirements by 86.7%.•The minimum selling price of butene oligomers is calculated as $4.21/GGE.•Major cost drivers of the process are derived via sensitivity analysis.
In conventional biomass-to-biofuel production processes, cellulose and hemicellulose are converted only to biofuels. However, to improve the economics of the process, it is desirable that some fractions of biomass be produced as fuels and other fractions as chemicals. This coproduction of fuels and chemicals also enables a flexible response to the market conditions of bioproducts, rather than producing only biofuels or biochemicals. Moreover, the use of all fractions, not only cellulose and hemicellulose but also lignin, improves the economics of the process. We propose a biorefinery strategy for the coproduction of liquid hydrocarbon fuels and chemicals from lignocellulosic biomass. In this study, all three primary components of biomass were converted into high-value products that can be commercialized: (1) cellulose, which is converted into butene oligomers (BO) for transportation fuels, (2) hemicellulose, which is converted into 1,5-pentanediol (1,5-PDO) that can be used as polyester and polyurethane components, and (3) lignin, which is converted into carbon products, such as carbon fibers or battery anodes. By maximizing the biomass utilization up to 47.8% from biomass to valuable products, the economic viability of the proposed process can be increased. Technoeconomic analysis shows that the minimum selling price of BO is $4.21 per gallon of gasoline equivalent in the integrated strategy, indicating that it is a promising alternative to current biofuel production approaches.
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