DHR - DEDINI Hidrolise Rapida (DEDINI Rapid Hydrolysis) - Revolutionary process for producing alcohol from sugar cane bagasse

摘要

The DHR - Dedini Hidrolise Rapida (Dedini Rapid Hydrolysis) - process consists of using the organosolv hydrolysis process to convert sugar cane bagasse into sugars which, fermented and distilled, result in alcohol. The revolutionary feature of DHR is due to the reduced hydrolysis reaction time - only a few minutes - in a continuous process, enabling higher yields, few unit operations, minimum investment and reduced operating costs. The process was developed from the end of 1980's, in laboratory scale, and then in pilot scale, its technical-economic feasibility having been confirmed. At present, a semi-industrial plant of 5,000 liters of alcohol/day is installed at Usina Sao Luis, Pirassununga, state of Sao Paulo, a sugar and alcohol mill from Dedini Group and an affiliate to Copersucar. The resources for that joint Project came from Dedini, COPERSUCAR and the Research Supporting Foundation of the State of Sao Paulo -FAPESP ("Fundo de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo"). On reaching its full potential, DHR will have a large impact on the sector, making it possible to: significantly increase alcohol production per hectare from the sugarcane harvested; and help improve the international competitiveness of alcohol with gasoline, at petroleum prices lower than US$20/barrel.