title: Hierarchical economic potential approach for techno-economic evaluation of bioethanol production from palm empty fruit bunches.
abstract: A hierarchical four-level approach to determine economic potential (4-level EP) is proposed for preliminary techno-economic analysis of new processes. The 4-level EP includes input/output structure, process flow structure, heat integration (HI), and economic feasibility. Two case studies on a 30.2 t/d (or 12.7 million l/yr) bioethanol plant with and without jet fuel production from palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) were investigated by applying the 4-level EP. The plant flowsheet was established based on experiments in a 0.1t/d pilot plant, including sequential dilute acid and alkali pretreatment, and separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF). EP approached a more reliable value through the hierarchical 4-level EP. The heating energy was reduced considerably by HI. The product value was estimated at $0.8-$1.3/kg of equivalent bioethanol. It was suggested through sensitivity analysis that a large plant size, enhanced production yields, and capital cost reduction were necessary for the lignocellulosic bioethanol production to be profitable.
authors.affiliation: CoSPE, Department of Chemical Engineering, Hankyong National University, Jungangno 327, Anseong-si, Gyonggi-do 456-749, Republic of Korea; School of Chemical Engineering, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, 1st Dai Co Viet, Hanoi, Viet Nam. Electronic address: xuantruongnil@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Truong Xuan
authors.initials: TX
authors.lastname: Do
authors.affiliation: CoSPE, Department of Chemical Engineering, Hankyong National University, Jungangno 327, Anseong-si, Gyonggi-do 456-749, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: limyi@hknu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Young-Il
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: NFEC, Korea Basic Science Institute, Gwahak-ro 169-148, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-806, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: ssjang173@kbsi.re.kr.
authors.forename: Sungsoo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.affiliation: CoSPE, Department of Chemical Engineering, Hankyong National University, Jungangno 327, Anseong-si, Gyonggi-do 456-749, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hwajee@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Hwa-Jee
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D028023:Arecaceae / Q000737:chemistry*; D056804:Biofuels / Q000191:economics*; D001709:Biotechnology / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D000431:Ethanol / Q000191:economics*; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Bioethanol; Economic potential (EP); Empty fruit bunches (EFB); Jet fuels; Techno-economic analysis