title: A hierarchical approach for the design improvements of an Organocat biorefinery.
abstract: Lignocellulosic biomass has emerged as a potentially attractive renewable energy source. Processing technologies of such biomass, particularly its primary separation, still lack economic justification due to intense energy requirements. Establishing an economically viable and energy efficient biorefinery scheme is a significant challenge. In this work, a systematic approach is proposed for improving basic/existing biorefinery designs. This approach is based on enhancing the efficiency of mass and energy utilization through the use of a hierarchical design approach that involves mass and energy integration. The proposed procedure is applied to a novel biorefinery called Organocat to minimize its energy and mass consumption and total annualized cost. An improved heat exchanger network with minimum energy consumption of 4.5 MJ/kgdry biomass is designed. An optimal recycle network with zero fresh water usage and minimum waste discharge is also constructed, making the process more competitive and economically attractive.
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.
authors: Omar Y
authors: OY
authors: Abdelaziz
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, The British University in Egypt, El-Shorouk City, Cairo 11837, Egypt. Electronic address: mamdouh.gadalla@bue.edu.eg.
authors: Mamdouh A
authors: MA
authors: Gadalla
authors: The Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3122, United States.
authors: Mahmoud M
authors: MM
authors: El-Halwagi
authors: Department of Chemical Engineering, Cairo University, Giza 12613, Egypt.
authors: Fatma H
authors: FH
authors: Ashour
mesh_terms: D019149:Bioreactors; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D004867:Equipment Design; D006358:Hot Temperature; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000737:chemistry*; D013227:Steam
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D013227:Steam
keywords: Biorefinery; Energy saving; Mass recycle; Organocat; Pinch Analysis