Author
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Dube, Patrick |
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PULLAMMANAPPALLIL, PRATAP - University Of Florida |
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Submitted to: Biomass and Biofuels Advanced Biorefineries for Sustainable Production and Distribution
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 1/21/2015 Publication Date: 4/22/2015 Citation: Dube, P.J., Pullammanappallil, P. 2015. Economically viable biochemical processes for the advanced rural biorefinery and downstream recovery operations. In: Jose, S., Bhaskar, B. editors. Biomass and Biofuels Advanced Biorefineries for Sustainable Production and Distribution. 1st edition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. p. 155-166. Interpretive Summary: Rural biorefineries offer an alternative to traditional ethanol production by providing the opportunity to produce fuel on site to reduce costs associated with biomass transportation thus making the fuel economically viable. Widespread installation of rural biorefineries could lead to increased uptake of biofuels and help meet biofuel standards in the upcoming years. This work aims to identify biochemical options that can be employed in a rural locale and still produce an economically viable biofuel product. To begin, feedstocks will be investigated in order to identify options that can viably use a biochemical platform to produce ethanol. Both lignocellulosic and cellulosic feedstocks will be considered with ease of growth, convertibility, and simplicity of system design being major factors that will determine how viable they are. Once feedstocks are chosen, the best conversion to biofuels methods will be determined. Furthermore, discussion will include conversion technologies, and fermentation and economic analysis of processes that can efficiently convert feedstocks to ethanol fuel. In order to help drive down costs and make this process more profitable, the conversion of the spent residues (that is residues remaining after ethanol extraction) using anaerobic digestion will be examined. Biogas produced from this step can generate energy that can be used to run the facility. Finally, a combined integrated system will be proposed which includes all of the aforementioned topics in an effort to convert as much feedstock as possible to a valuable product in a rural biorefinery. Technical Abstract: Rural biorefineries offer an alternative to traditional ethanol production by providing the opportunity to produce fuel on site to reduce costs associated with biomass transportation thus making the fuel economically viable. Widespread installation of rural biorefineries could lead to increased uptake of biofuels and help meet biofuel standards in the upcoming years. This work aims to identify biochemical options that can be employed in a rural locale and still produce an economically viable biofuel product. To begin, feedstocks will be investigated in order to identify options that can viably use a biochemical platform to produce ethanol. Both lignocellulosic and cellulosic feedstocks will be considered with ease of growth, convertibility, and simplicity of system design being major factors that will determine how viable they are. Once feedstocks are chosen, the best conversion to biofuels methods will be determined. Furthermore, discussion will include conversion technologies, and fermentation and economic analysis of processes that can efficiently convert feedstocks to ethanol fuel. In order to help drive down costs and make this process more profitable, the conversion of the spent residues (that is residues remaining after ethanol extraction) using anaerobic digestion will be examined. Biogas produced from this step can generate energy that can be used to run the facility. Finally, a combined integrated system will be proposed which includes all of the aforementioned topics in an effort to convert as much feedstock as possible to a valuable product in a rural biorefinery. |
