Title:
Process Simulation and Sustainability Assessment during Conceptual Design of New Bioeconomy Value Chains
Author(s):
Nitzsche, R., Budzinski, M., Gröngröft, A., Majer, S., Müller-Langer, F., Thrän, D.
Document(s):
Paper
Slide presentation
Abstract:
To support process and product developers, a set of tools for the assessment of technical, social and environmental sustainability have been developed. The tools can be applied on process and value chain level. These methods and tools cover i) a concept approach for new biorefinery products and processes based on process simulation, integrating economic and environmental optimization ii) a social Life Cycle Assessment method and iii) the assessment of the eco-efficiency and iv) an indicator-based tool for monitoring the sustainability degree of selected bio-based product portfolios. The results presented here focus on a biorefinery concept to convert 400,000 t DM/a (. 250 MW) of beech wood into chemicals and fuels. A model was simulated with Aspen Plus® v8.0 including the process steps pre-treatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, alcoholic fermentation, olefin dehydration and biogas generation and upgrading. Mass and energy balances showed that 41,600 t/a polymer-grade ethylene, 58,520 t DM/a organosolv lignin, 38,400 t/a biomethane and 90,800 t DM/a hydrolysis lignin can be produced with a total energy efficiency of 87.1%. A discounted cash flow analysis indicated that, despite heat integration and optimized energy recovery, the biorefinery concept is not yet profitable. However, the economic results are greatly sensitive regarding various assumptions, in particular in terms of the prices for beech wood, ethylene and organosolv lignin. The collaborative study was conducted by DBFZ and UFZ taking into account various activities of the BioEconomy Cluster in Central Germany.
Keywords:
biomaterials, biorefinery, economics, life cycle assessment (LCA), lignin
Topic:
Industry Sessions
Subtopic:
Biochemical Conversion
Event:
24th European Biomass Conference and Exhibition
Session:
ICO.16.5
Pages:
1723 - 1726
ISBN:
978-88-89407-165
Paper DOI:
10.5071/24thEUBCE2016-ICO.16.5
Price:
FREE
