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Modeling and simulation of bioethanol production in Aspen Plus

Technical Report · November 2016

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.32091.26409

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

Course BME10 ATHENS

(Bioethanol production – process design aspects)

Simulation report (Starch_1)

Background
Biofuels can be defined as solid, liquid, or gas fuel derived from plant or animal materials (biomass). The biofuels are often grouped into so-called
1st, and 2nd generation biofuels. 1st generation biofuels contain biodiesel, bioalcohols, biogas, and syngas. They are usually made from sugar,
starch, vegetable oil, or animal fat. Ethanol is produced from a variety of feedstock; grain ethanol is made from wheat, barley, sorghum or corn,
whereas sugar ethanol is made from sugar cane. The alcohol fuel ethanol, a 1st generation biofuel, is the most common in the world. According to
the Renewable Fuel Association, the American trade association for the ethanol industry, the United States and Brazil together produce
approximately 90 percent of the world's fuel ethanol (Nedbal, 2008).

Methods used for bioethanol production are enzyme digestion (to release sugars from stored starches), fermentation of the sugars, distillation
(to remove the water), and drying. During ethanol fermentation, glucose and other sugars in the corn (or sugarcane or other crops) are converted
into ethanol and carbon dioxide:

C6H12O6 → 2 C2H5OH + 2 CO2 + heat

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

Ethanol fermentation is not 100% selective with other side products such as acetic acid, glycols and many other products produced. They are mostly
removed during ethanol purification. Fermentation takes place in an aqueous solution. The resulting solution has an ethanol content of around 15%.
Ethanol is subsequently isolated and purified by a combination of adsorption and distillation (Nedbal, 2008).

2nd generation biofuels are biofuels extracted from non-food crops like waste biomass, the stalks of wheat, corn, or wood. Those biofuels
are not yet commercial on a large scale due to the fact that conversion technologies are in the development stage. Starch and cellulose molecules
are strings of glucose molecules. It is also possible to generate ethanol out of cellulosic materials. That, however, requires a pretreatment that splits
the cellulose into glycose molecules and other sugars that subsequently can be fermented. The resulting product is called cellulosic ethanol,
indicating its source. Cellulosic ethanol, which is one of the 2nd generation biofuels, can be produced from corn, stover, switchgrass, and woodchip.
Calling it cellulosic ethanol is initially misleading however, because cellulosic ethanol does not differ from corn- or wheat-made ethanol of the
1st generation. In essence, the term is used to describe the production process rather than specifying a type of ethanol (Nedbal, 2008).

The use of bioethanol can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, while at the same time decreasing net emissions of carbon dioxide, the main
greenhouse gas. However, large-scale production of bioethanol is being increasingly criticized for its use of food sources as raw material. Brazil's
bioethanol production consumes large quantities of sugar cane, while in the USA, corn is used. Other starch-rich grains, such as wheat and barley,
are mostly used in Europe. The use of such sugar-rich feedstock causes the escalation of food prices, owing to competition on the market. Therefore,
future expansion of biofuel production must be increasingly based on bioethanol from lignocellulosic materials, such as agricultural byproducts,
forest residues, industrial waste streams or energy crops. These feedstocks, which are being used in second-generation (2G) bioethanol production,
are abundant, and their cost is lower than that of food crops. In Europe, wheat straw has the greatest potential of all agricultural residues because
of its wide availability and low cost (Erdei et al., 2010).

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

Description of project
Aspen Plus software was used to design the chosen proces Starch_1 (15 000 tonnes wheat meal/year processing into ethanol; the plant operates
8000 h annually), and the flowsheet for this biorefinery technology was prepared (Fig. 1). I bulit up the process, defined the chemical components
and I also specified input/output streams and blocks in the unit operations (heating, cooling, dilution etc.). Mass and energy balances were solved
with the software by running the simulation. Heat integration was also carried out (using the heat of condensation of the overhead product to preheat
the broth prior to distillation).

Fig. 1: Flowsheet for the technology of bioethanol production from wheat meal

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

Description of the process

The task of my project is processing 15 000 tonnes of wheat meal/year
into ethanol; the plant operates 8000 h annually. The inlet temperatures
and pressures of the process streams are 10 °C and 1 bar, respectively.
There is no pressure drop in the process units.
The raw material (wheat meal) contents 60% starch,
15% water, the rest is non-volatile, and considered as a single
component referred to as other (SOLID). Hence the meal has a dry
matter (d.m.) content of 85%. Dilution (B1) wheat meal with water is
the first step (Fig. 2) of the process (the d.m. content is adjusted to
29%).
For the next step (liquefaction at 85 °C) is added to the mix
0,4 g amylase enzyme preparation/kg d.m. of wheat meal.
The composition of enzyme preparation is 10% amylase protein and
90% water. Then the mix of wheat meal, water and amylase is heated
to 85 °C in a heat-exchanger (B2).
During liquefaction (enzymatic reaction) at 85°C, starch is Fig. 2: Dilution wheat meal, addition of amylase (B1) and preheating (B2)
converted into dextrin with 100% conversion (Fig. 3). For the step
presaccharification at 60 °C is added to the mix 0,9 g amyloglucosidase (AMG) enzyme preparation/kg d.m. of wheat meal. The composition of
enzyme preparation is 10% amyloglucosidase protein and 90% water. Then the mix is cooling to 60 °C in a heat-exchanger (B3). During
presaccharification (Fig. 3) at 60°C, dextrin is converted into glucose with 60% conversion: dextrin + water → glucose.

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

Fig. 3: Flowsheet of liquefaction, preheating (B3) and presaccharification

The presaccharified stream (PS) is diluted with water so that the gas-free fermentation broth contains 9% ethanol (Fig. 4). Yeast
concentration in the inlet stream (YEAST) of fermentation is 10 g/L (the density of the inlet stream is assumed to be 1 g/cm3). The yeast feeding
is carried out in dry form (in real life it is not valid, but now I can use this for an appropriate mass balance). The mix (PS1) is cooling to 30°C in a
heat-exchanger (B4). During simultaneous saccharification and fermentation at 30°C (Fig. 4), dextrin reacts:

dextrin + water → glucose (100% conversion)

glucose → 2 ethanol + 2 CO2 (90% conversion)
glucose → 2 water → 2 glycerol + O2 (5% conversion)

Glucose, which is formed in the first reaction, must react in the 2nd and the 3rd reactions. It is necessary to act with the heat of reactions.

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

Fig. 4: Flowsheet of dilution (B4) presaccharified stream, addition of yeast, cooling (B4), fermentation and gases separation

The released CO2 and O2 gases are removed with a separator after the reactor. A real fermenter has a gas vent, however, in the model I need
a separator to obtain the gas stream and the fermentation broth. O2 is not released during the fermentation, but I model the formation of glycerol
with the above equation.
In the next step, the broth is preheating to 80 °C (Fig. 5). At last ethanol is subsequently isolated and purified by distillation in stillage
column (operates at 1 bar; 20 trays; without condenser). The feed arrives above the first tray, and the overhead product is withdrawn in vapor phase.
It condens in an external heat exchanger. Ethanol mass recovery is 99%, that is 99% of the ethanol amount fed into the column will be recovered
in the overhead product stream. The heat of condensation of the overhead product is used to preheat the broth prior to distillation (in case of the
project with the heat integration). Cooling water (in fermentation and heat exchangers) has the inlet temperature 10°C and the outlet temperature

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

20°C. Steam (in heat exchangers and reboiler): 8 bar saturated steam, which will condense entirely, that is the outlet conditions are 8 bar and boiling
point.

Fig. 5: Flowsheet of broth preheating and distillation. Project with heat integration.

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

Results: Mass balance

Tab. 1: Mass flows of components in each process step of the bioethanol production from wheat meal

The mass flow of wheat meal (Tab. 1) in the input stream is 1875 kg/hr (15000 tonnes/8000 hr) and it contains 60% starch (1125 kg/hr), 25% rest
SOLID (469 kg/hr) and 15% water (281 kg/hr). Hence the meal has the d.m. content of 85% (1594 kg/hr). Dilution wheat meal with water
(3614,54 kg/hr) is the first step of the process (the d.m. content is adjusted to 29%). For the next step (liquefaction at 85 °C) is added to the mix

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

7,014 kg amylase enzyme preparation. The composition of enzyme preparation is 10% amylase protein (0,64 kg/hr) and 90% water (6,38 kg/hr).
Then the mix of wheat meal, water and amylase is heated to 85 °C in a heat-exchanger. During liquefaction, starch is converted into dextrin with
100% conversion (1125 kg/hr starch is converted into 1125 kg/hr dextrin).
For the next step (presaccharification at 60 °C) is added to the mix 15,78 kg/hr AMG enzyme preparation. The composition of enzyme
preparation is 10% amyloglucosidase protein (1,43 kg/hr) and 90% water (14,35 kg/hr). Then the mix is cooling to 60 °C in a heat-exchanger.
During presaccharification at 60°C, dextrin (1125 kg/hr) is converted into glucose with 60% conversion: dextrin + water → glucose
(i.e. 749,998 kg/hr glucose; rest: 450 kg/hr dextrin). The presaccharified stream is diluted with water (1357,51 kg/hr) so that the gas-free
fermentation broth contains 9% ethanol. Yeast concentration in the inlet stream (YEAST) of fermentation is 10 g/L (the density of the inlet stream
is assumed to be 1 g/cm3). Mass flow of yeast is 69,39 kg/hr.
The mix of the presaccharified stream, water and yeast is cooling to 30°C in a heat-exchanger. During simultaneous saccharification and
fermentation at 30°C, the ethanol production is 575,36 kg/hr (51,1% from 1125 kg/hr starch; 8,1% in the total flow 6939,2 kg/hr). The released
CO2 and O2 gases are removed with a separator after the reactor (549,634 kg/hr CO2 + 1,11 kg/hr O2 = 550,75 kg/hr gases). In the next step, the
broth is preheating to 80 °C. At last ethanol is subsequently isolated and purified by distillation in stillage column. Ethanol mass recovery is 99%,
that is 99% of the ethanol amount fed into the column will be recovered in the overhead product stream (570,06 kg/hr ethanol, i.e. 4560 tonnes per
year; calculation with 8000 hr):
ETHIN/ETHOUT*100 = (570,0636 kg/hr)/(575,3573 kg/hr)*100 = 99,1 %
The bioethanol production is 4560 tonnes per year from the processing 15 000 tonnes of wheat meal per year (the plant operates 8000 h
annually). The yield is:
ETOH/WHEAT MEAL*100 = (4560 tonnes/year)/(15000 tonnes/year)*100 = 30,4 %
ETOH/STARCH*100 = (4560 tonnes/year)/(1,125 tonnes/hr*8000)*100 = 50,7 %

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

Results: Total heat duty and total cooling duty without and with heat integration

Project without heat integration Project with heat integration

The total heat duty and the total cooling duty are lower in the project with heat integration (1251 kW and -826 kW) than in the project without heat
integration (927 kW and -502 kW). In the project with heat integration it is possible to reduce heating and cooling costs. Heat integration (or pinch
analysis) is a methodology for minimising energy consumption of chemical processes by calculating thermodynamically feasible energy targets
(or minimum energy consumption) and achieving them by optimising heat recovery systems, energy supply methods and process operating
conditions. The process data is represented as a set of energy flows, or streams, as a function of heat load (kW) against temperature (°C). These
data are combined for all the streams in the plant to give composite curves, one for all hot streams (releasing heat) and one for all cold streams
(requiring heat). The point of closest approach between the hot and cold composite curves is the pinch point (or just pinch) with a hot stream pinch

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Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

temperature and a cold stream pinch temperature. This is where the design is most constrained. Hence, by finding this point and starting the design
there, the energy targets can be achieved using heat exchangers to recover heat between hot and cold streams in two separate systems, one for
temperatures above pinch temperatures and one for temperatures below pinch temperatures. In practice, during the pinch analysis of an existing
design, often cross-pinch exchanges of heat are found between a hot stream with its temperature above the pinch and a cold stream below the pinch.
Removal of those exchangers by alternative matching makes the process reach its energy target.

Executive summary
Aspen Plus software was used to design the chosen process Starch_1 (processing 15 000 tonnes wheat meal/year into ethanol; the plant operates
8000 h annually), and the flowsheet for this biorefinery technology was prepared (Fig. 1). I built-up the process, defined the chemical components
and I also specified input/output streams and blocks in the unit operations (heating, cooling, dilution etc.).
Mass and energy balances was solved with the software by running the simulation. The mass flow of wheat meal in the input stream is
1875 kg/hr (15000 tonnes/8000 hr) and it contains 60% starch (1125 kg/hr), 25% rest SOLID (469 kg/hr) and 15% water (281 kg/hr).
The presaccharified stream is diluted with water (1357,513 kg/hr) so that the gas-free fermentation broth contains 9% ethanol. Ethanol mass
recovery is 99%, that is 99% of the ethanol amount fed into the column will be recovered in the overhead product stream (570,06 kg/hr ethanol,
i.e. 4560 tonnes per year; calculation with 8000 hr). The bioethanol production is 4560 tonnes/year from the processing 15 000 tonnes of wheat
meal/year (the yield is 30,4% from wheat meal, or 50,7% with the calculation only for starch).
Heat integration was also carried out (using the heat of condensation of the overhead product to preheat the broth prior to distillation). The
total heat duty and the total cooling duty were lower in the project with heat integration (927 kW and -502 kW) than in the project without heat
integration (1251 kW and -826 kW). In the project with heat integration it is possible to reduce heating and cooling costs.

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 Matous Cihak Project work: Starch_1

References

 Erdei B., Barta Z., Sipos B., Réczey K., Galbe M., Zacchi G.: Ethanol production from mixtures of wheat straw and wheat
meal. Biotechnology for Biofuels 2010, 3:16: 618-628. 10.1186/1754-6834-3-16
 Nedbal S.: Background information on biofuels: Ethanol production in the United States. Bridges 2008, 17.

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