TECHNOECONOMIC ASSESSMENT OF AN INNOVATIVE THERMOCHEMICAL ROUTE TO PRODUCE ETHANOL FROM LIGNOCELLULOSIC BIOMASS

摘要

Bioethanol is increasingly used as a transportation fuel in the USA, Brazil and Europe. Nowadays it is produced by first-generation biochemical processes, but several second-generation biochemical and thermochemical processes are under development. Biomass gasification followed by catalytic synthesis of ethanol from syngas is a direct and potentially attractive route. However, existing catalysts e.g. based on Rhodium or on MoS2 do not show enough ethanol productivity to make the overall process economically feasible. This paper presents the conceptual design and the technoeconomic assessment of an indirect chemical route based on catalytic hydrocarbonylation of DME, which could overcome the current limitations of the direct route.