1st Edition

Chemicals from Biomass Integrating Bioprocesses into Chemical Production Complexes for Sustainable Development

By Debalina Sengupta, Ralph W. Pike Copyright 2013
    506 Pages 11 Color & 157 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    506 Pages 11 Color & 157 B/W Illustrations
    by CRC Press

    Chemicals from Biomass: Integrating Bioprocesses into Chemical Production Complexes for Sustainable Development helps engineers optimize the development of new chemical and polymer plants that use renewable resources to replace the output of goods and services from existing plants. It also discusses the conversion of those existing plants into facilities that are based on renewable resources that may require nonrenewable resource supplements.

    Relying on extensive reviews of biomass as feedstock and the production of chemicals from biomass, this book identifies and illustrates the design of new chemical processes (bioprocesses) that use renewable feedstock (biomass) as raw materials. The authors show how these new bioprocesses can be integrated into the existing plant in a chemical production complex to obtain the best combination of energy-efficient and environmentally acceptable facilities. This presented methodology is an essential component of sustainable development, and these steps are essential to achieving a sustainable chemical industry.

    The authors evaluate potential bioprocesses based on a conceptual design of biomass-based chemical production, and they use Aspen HYSYS® and Aspen ICARUS® to perform simulations and economic evaluations of these processes. The book outlines detailed process designs created for seven bioprocesses that use biomass and carbon dioxide as feedstock to produce a range of chemicals and monomers. These include fermentation, transesterification, anaerobic digestion, gasification, and algae oil production. These process designs, and associated simulation codes, can be downloaded for modification, as needed. The methodology presented in this book can be used to evaluate energy efficiency, cost, sustainability, and environmental acceptability of plants and new products. Based on the results of that analysis, the methodology can be applied to other chemical complexes for new bioprocesses, reduced emissions, and energy savings.

    Introduction

    Introduction

    Research Vision

    New Frontiers

    Chemical Industry in the Lower Mississippi River Corridor

    Criteria for the Optimal Configuration of Plants

    Optimization of Chemical Complex

    Contributions of This Methodology

    Organization of Chapters

    Summary


    Biomass as Feedstock

    Introduction

    Biomass Formation

    Biomass Classification and Composition

    Biomass Conversion Technologies

    Biomass Feedstock Availability

    Summary


    Chemicals from Biomass

    Introduction

    Chemicals from Nonrenewable Resources

    Chemicals from Biomass as Feedstock

    Biomass Conversion Products (Chemicals)

    Biopolymers and Biomaterials

    Natural-Oil-Based Polymers and Chemicals

    Summary


    Simulation for Bioprocesses

    Introduction

    Ethanol Production from Corn Stover Fermentation

    Ethylene Production from Dehydration of Ethanol

    Fatty Acid Methyl Ester and Glycerol from Transesterification of Soybean Oil

    Propylene Glycol Production from Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol

    Acetic Acid Production from Corn Stover Anaerobic Digestion

    Ethanol Production from Corn Dry-Grind Fermentation

    Summary


    Bioprocesses Plant Model Formulation

    Introduction

    Ethanol Production from Corn Stover Fermentation

    Ethanol Production from Corn Dry-Grind Fermentation

    Ethylene Production from Dehydration of Ethanol

    Acetic Acid Production from Corn Stover Anaerobic Digestion

    Fatty Acid Methyl Ester and Glycerol from Transesterification of Natural Oil

    Propylene Glycol Production from Hydrogenolysis of Glycerol

    Algae Oil Production

    Gasification of Corn Stover

    Summary of Bioprocess Model Formulation

    Interconnections for Bioprocesses

    Summary


    Formulation and Optimization of the Superstructure

    Introduction

    Integrated Biochemical and Chemical Production Complex Optimization

    Binary Variables and Logical Constraints for MINLP

    Constraints for Capacity and Demand

    Optimization Economic Model—Triple Bottom Line

    Optimal Structure

    Multiobjective Optimization of the Integrated Biochemical Production Complex

    Sensitivity of the Integrated Biochemical Production Complex

    Comparison with Other Results

    Summary


    Case Studies Using Superstructure

    Introduction

    Case Study I—Superstructure without Carbon Dioxide Use

    Case Study II—Parametric Study of Sustainable Costs and Credits

    Case Study III—Parametric Study of Algae Oil Production Costs

    Case Study IV—Multicriteria Optimization Using 30%-Oil-Content Algae and Sustainable Costs/Credits

    Case Study V—Parametric Study for Biomass Feedstock Costs and Number of Corn Ethanol Plants

     

    Appendix A: TCA Methodology and Sustainability Analysis

    Appendix B: Optimization Theory

    Appendix C: Prices of Raw Materials and Products in the Complex

    Appendix D: Supply, Demand, and Price Elasticity

    Appendix E: Chemical Complex Analysis System

    Appendix F: Detailed Mass and Energy Streams from Simulation Results

    Appendix G: Equipment Mapping and Costs from ICARUS

    Appendix H: Molecular Weights

    Appendix I: Postscript

    Biography

    Debalina Sengupta received her bachelor of engineering degree in chemical engineering from Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India, in 2003. She worked as a software engineer in Patni Computer Systems from 2003 to 2004. In 2005, she joined the Department of Chemical Engineering at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She received her doctor of philosophy degree in chemical engineering under the guidance of Professor Ralph W. Pike for her research titled "Integrating bioprocesses into industrial complexes for sustainable development" in 2010. Her expertise is in optimization of industrial complexes and sustainability analysis using total cost assessment methodology. She is now working as an ORISE postdoctoral fellow at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Her current research is focused on sustainable supply chain design of biofuels and includes life cycle assessment (LCA) for ethanol as biofuel. Her research interests include chemicals from biomass, modeling, simulation, and optimization, as well as life cycle assessment and sustainability analysis.

    Ralph W. Pike is the director of the Minerals Processing Research Division and is the Paul M. Horton Professor of Chemical Engineering at Louisiana State University. He received his doctorate and bachelor’s degrees in chemical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. He is the author of a textbook entitled Optimization for Engineering Systems and coauthor of four other books on design and modeling of chemical processes. Pike has directed 15 doctoral dissertations and 16 master’s theses in chemical engineering. He is a registered professional engineer in Louisiana and Texas. His research has been sponsored by federal and state agencies and private organizations, with 107 awards totaling $5.6 million, and has resulted in over 200 publications and presentations. His research specialties are optimization theory and applications for the optimal design of engineering systems, online optimization of continuous processes, optimization of chemical production complexes, and related areas of resources management, sustainable development, continuous processes for carbon nanotubes, and chemicals from biomass.

    "… this book’s detailed approach on a recent topic—biomass utilization—makes me interested and impressed as well. Especially, a plant simulation with optimization is a daunting task for any biochemical system. … the book deals with such a difficult task efficiently and in an easy way to make it acceptable."
    —Dr. Chiranjib Bhattacharjee, Department of Chemical Engineering, Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India

    "Overall, the book is well written and treats a timely subject with good breadth and depth, sufficient to make the material of practical use. Using biomass in existing chemical production complexes is important. The reason is that there is a great deal of chemical manufacturing infrastructure representing substantial capital that needs to be used gainfully. This makes the case studies very interesting."
    —Heriberto Cabezas, U.S. EPA, Office of Research and Development, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA