Simulation and techno-economic optimization of the supercritical CO2 extraction of Eucalyptus globulus bark at industrial scale

摘要

This work addresses economic and process aspects of the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of Eucalyptus globulus bark at industrial scale. Broken plus intact cells (BIC) model was applied to existing data and new SFE curves were simulated. Then, statistical optimization was performed with Response Surface Methodology (RSM) involving of 5 factors (pressure, temperature, cosolvent content, solvent flow rate and extraction time), and four responses: Total Yield (eta(Total)), Productivity, Cost of Manufacturing (COM) and Process Energy. The design and simulation of the industrial process (Aspen Plus (R) software) was performed including the employment of co-solvent in the system. The best COM scored 28.1 sic kg(extract)(-1), where eta(Total) was 0.84-0.96 wt.%, Productivity reached 311-362 ton(extract)year(-1), and Process Energy scored 1.46-2.10 GJ kg(extract)(-1). These results underline that SFE provides an extended margin for trade-offs, and arguments towards the integration of SFE technology to biorefine the bark of E. globulus in pulp mills.