Critical impacts of energy targeting on the sustainability of advanced biobutanol separation

Biobutanol stands out as an advanced renewable biofuel, yet its production through fermentation yields a low butanol concentration, necessitating expensive and energy-intensive separation methods, particularly by distillation. Alternative approaches, including adsorptive separation, have emerged, wi...

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Main Authors: Keikhosro Karimi, Benyamin Khoshnevisan, Joeri Denayer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Alpha Creation Enterprise 2024-03-01
Series:Biofuel Research Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_191409_559a58785bd802a9e3ac902bf980d5b1.pdf
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author Keikhosro Karimi
Benyamin Khoshnevisan
Joeri Denayer
author_facet Keikhosro Karimi
Benyamin Khoshnevisan
Joeri Denayer
author_sort Keikhosro Karimi
collection DOAJ
description Biobutanol stands out as an advanced renewable biofuel, yet its production through fermentation yields a low butanol concentration, necessitating expensive and energy-intensive separation methods, particularly by distillation. Alternative approaches, including adsorptive separation, have emerged, with the 2-column zeolite-based process showing promise. This study employed Aspen Plus for simulating adsorptive separation, utilized Pinch technology for heat integration, and analyzed various alternatives using the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Compared to the base case, which relied on our previously acquired experimental data and further purification through atmospheric distillation, the adoption of indirect heating/cooling adsorption reduced heating energy demand by 59.5%. Additionally, cooling energy usage was increased notably by 68.9%, and chilling prerequisites were eliminated. The implementation of Pinch technology further reduced heating and cooling energy requirements by approximately 36%. Multi-pressure distillation was also explored, revealing its potential to reduce heating energy consumption by 46.6%, accompanied by a modest 6.2% increase in cooling energy demand. A gate-to-gate LCA framework was used to evaluate the environmental impacts. The results showed that the combination of indirect heating/cooling adsorption, multi-pressure distillation, and energy-efficient practices resulted in over a 98% reduction in damages related to human health, ecosystem well-being, and resource depletion compared to the base case. Prioritization of key performance indicators revealed that human health had the most significant influence, with prominent midpoint effects attributed to human toxicity and global warming. This study underscores the pivotal role of energy targeting in curtailing energy consumption and enhancing the sustainability of adsorptive biobutanol separation.
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spelling doaj.art-b9fdb8eddee8490e9b38414c57d761c12024-03-27T00:49:35ZengAlpha Creation EnterpriseBiofuel Research Journal2292-87822024-03-011111999201210.18331/BRJ2024.11.1.2191409Critical impacts of energy targeting on the sustainability of advanced biobutanol separationKeikhosro Karimi0Benyamin Khoshnevisan1Joeri Denayer2Department of Chemical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.Department of Chemical Engineering, Biotechnology, and Environmental Technology, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark.Department of Chemical Engineering, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.Biobutanol stands out as an advanced renewable biofuel, yet its production through fermentation yields a low butanol concentration, necessitating expensive and energy-intensive separation methods, particularly by distillation. Alternative approaches, including adsorptive separation, have emerged, with the 2-column zeolite-based process showing promise. This study employed Aspen Plus for simulating adsorptive separation, utilized Pinch technology for heat integration, and analyzed various alternatives using the life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Compared to the base case, which relied on our previously acquired experimental data and further purification through atmospheric distillation, the adoption of indirect heating/cooling adsorption reduced heating energy demand by 59.5%. Additionally, cooling energy usage was increased notably by 68.9%, and chilling prerequisites were eliminated. The implementation of Pinch technology further reduced heating and cooling energy requirements by approximately 36%. Multi-pressure distillation was also explored, revealing its potential to reduce heating energy consumption by 46.6%, accompanied by a modest 6.2% increase in cooling energy demand. A gate-to-gate LCA framework was used to evaluate the environmental impacts. The results showed that the combination of indirect heating/cooling adsorption, multi-pressure distillation, and energy-efficient practices resulted in over a 98% reduction in damages related to human health, ecosystem well-being, and resource depletion compared to the base case. Prioritization of key performance indicators revealed that human health had the most significant influence, with prominent midpoint effects attributed to human toxicity and global warming. This study underscores the pivotal role of energy targeting in curtailing energy consumption and enhancing the sustainability of adsorptive biobutanol separation.https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_191409_559a58785bd802a9e3ac902bf980d5b1.pdfabe separationpinch technologylife cycle assessmentadsorptive separationsustainability analysisenergy saving
spellingShingle Keikhosro Karimi
Benyamin Khoshnevisan
Joeri Denayer
Critical impacts of energy targeting on the sustainability of advanced biobutanol separation
Biofuel Research Journal
abe separation
pinch technology
life cycle assessment
adsorptive separation
sustainability analysis
energy saving
title Critical impacts of energy targeting on the sustainability of advanced biobutanol separation
title_full Critical impacts of energy targeting on the sustainability of advanced biobutanol separation
title_fullStr Critical impacts of energy targeting on the sustainability of advanced biobutanol separation
title_full_unstemmed Critical impacts of energy targeting on the sustainability of advanced biobutanol separation
title_short Critical impacts of energy targeting on the sustainability of advanced biobutanol separation
title_sort critical impacts of energy targeting on the sustainability of advanced biobutanol separation
topic abe separation
pinch technology
life cycle assessment
adsorptive separation
sustainability analysis
energy saving
url https://www.biofueljournal.com/article_191409_559a58785bd802a9e3ac902bf980d5b1.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT keikhosrokarimi criticalimpactsofenergytargetingonthesustainabilityofadvancedbiobutanolseparation
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AT joeridenayer criticalimpactsofenergytargetingonthesustainabilityofadvancedbiobutanolseparation