Energy Efficiency of Biorefinery Schemes Using Sugarcane Bagasse as Raw Material

Abstract

The use of biomass to obtain value-added products has been a good alternative for reducing their environmental impacts. For this purpose, different studies have been carried out focused on the use of agro-industrial waste. One of the most commonly used raw materials has been bagasse obtained from the processing of sugarcane in high quantities in countries like Brazil, India, China, Thailand, Pakistan, Mexico, Colombia, Indonesia, Philippines, and the United States. From 1 ton of sugarcane, 280 kg of bagasse can be obtained. Sugarcane bagasse (SCB) is a waste that is rich in polysaccharides, which makes it a promising raw material for obtaining products under biorefinery concept. The objective of this work was to analyze from the energetic point of view, different biorefinery schemes in which SCB is employed as a raw material. The design and simulation of the different biorefinery schemes is performed in Aspen Plus software. From this software, it was possible to obtain the different mass and energy balances, which are used in the technical and energetic analysis. Exergy is used as a comparison tool for the energy analysis. These analyses allowed for the selection of the best biorefinery configuration from SCB.