Process Simulation of Ethanol Production from Jerusalem Artichoke Stalk

Lignocellulosic biomass can serve as raw material for ethanol production. However, lignocellulosic biomass is a complex mixture of carbohydrates that need additional processes for efficient ethanol production, such as pretreatment and hydrolysis before fermentation into ethanol. Therefore, this work mainly focused on the creation and simulation of a model of ethanol production from Jerusalem Artichoke Stalk (JAS) following experimental data and using the commercial software ASPEN Plus with and without a Heat Exchanger Network (HEN). Alkaline Hydrogen Peroxide(AHP)  pretreatment was the first step for this process. The optimal conditions of AHP were a mixture of ۲% w/w sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and ۴% v/v hydrogen peroxide (H۲O۲) at ۱۰% (w/v) solid-liquid ratio and ۱۲۱°C for ۹۰ min. After treatment, ۱۰% AHP-JAS loading was fed to enzymatic hydrolysis at ۵۰°C and the fermentation process at ۳۰°C. The simulation suggested that a feedstock of ۶۰,۰۰۰ kg of JAS could yield ۳,۴۸۲.۱۶ kg ethanol. The purification section by the extractive distillation system had ۱۲ stages, a distillate to feed mole ratio (D/F) of ۰.۱۳, and a reflux mole ratio (R/R) of ۱.۵. The purity of the ethanol product was higher than ۹۷ wt%. After the model simulation, HEN was designed by using Aspen Energy Analyzer. After the installation of HEN in this process, the ethanol plant with HEN showed a better result, which at ۱۶.۲۴ percentages reduced total cost compared to the process without HEN.

کلیدواژه ها:

Lignocellulosic biomass ، Jerusalem artichoke stalk ، Ethanol production simulation ، Alkaline hydrogen peroxide pretreatment ، Aspen Plus