Hot propane process for bioethanol extraction and dehydration

CECILIA I. PAULO; MARIA SOLEDAD DIAZ; ESTEBAN A. BRIGNOLE

Natal

Congreso; II Conference on Supercritical Fluids - PROSCIBA 2010; 2010

Plapiqui. Universidad Federal Rio de Janeiro

In this work, we formulate a first principles model for cost minimization in the bioethanol extraction-dehydration process with near critical propane. We include reliable thermodynamic predictions with an upgraded Group Contribution with Association Equation of State, GCA-EOS. A heat pump process for vapor recompression in the distillation column, as well as its integration with the beer column, could be highly energy efficient. We further consider alternative integration schemes between process streams, associated to different nonlinear programming problems. Numerical results show that  bioethanol extraction and dehydration with near critical fluids can be a sustainable alternative that is energetically competitive with current technologies in the production of this biofuel.