title: Process and technoeconomic analysis of leading pretreatment technologies for lignocellulosic ethanol production using switchgrass.
abstract: Six biomass pretreatment processes to convert switchgrass to fermentable sugars and ultimately to cellulosic ethanol are compared on a consistent basis in this technoeconomic analysis. The six pretreatment processes are ammonia fiber expansion (AFEX), dilute acid (DA), lime, liquid hot water (LHW), soaking in aqueous ammonia (SAA), and sulfur dioxide-impregnated steam explosion (SO(2)). Each pretreatment process is modeled in the framework of an existing biochemical design model so that systematic variations of process-related changes are consistently captured. The pretreatment area process design and simulation are based on the research data generated within the Biomass Refining Consortium for Applied Fundamentals and Innovation (CAFI) 3 project. Overall ethanol production, total capital investment, and minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) are reported along with selected sensitivity analysis. The results show limited differentiation between the projected economic performances of the pretreatment options, except for processes that exhibit significantly lower monomer sugar and resulting ethanol yields.
authors.affiliation: National Bioenergy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401, USA. ling.tao@nrel.gov
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aden
authors.forename: Richard T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Elander
authors.forename: Venkata Ramesh
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Pallapolu
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Garlock
authors.forename: Venkatesh
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Balan
authors.forename: Bruce E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Dale
authors.forename: Youngmi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Nathan S
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Mosier
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Ladisch
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Falls
authors.forename: Mark T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Holtzapple
authors.forename: Rocio
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sierra
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Mirvat A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ebrik
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Redmond
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Charles E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Wyman
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hames
authors.forename: Steve
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Ryan E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Warner
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000494:pharmacology; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*; D017610:Calcium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis; D000431:Ethanol / Q000191:economics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008031:Lignin / Q000378:metabolism*; D010087:Oxides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008897:Panicum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D013464:Sulfuric Acids / Q000494:pharmacology; D014867:Water / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D017610:Calcium Compounds; D002241:Carbohydrates; D010087:Oxides; D013464:Sulfuric Acids; D014867:Water; D013458:Sulfur Dioxide; C036909:lignocellulose; D000431:Ethanol; D000641:Ammonia; D008031:Lignin; C016538:lime; C033158:sulfuric acid