Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Sugarcane Biomass and Heat Integration as Enhancers of Ethanol Production

The aim of this study is to assess the possibility of increasing ethanol production by introducing the bagasse hydrolysis process into conventional distilleries. Simulations were performed for mass and energy balances using Aspen Plus^® software. It was assumed that sugarcane trash and lignin cake—hydrolysis process residues—are available as supplementary fuel. Several cases were evaluated, including: (a) conventional ethanol distillery, (b) conventional plant combined with a hydrolysis process without heat integration, with different solid contents in the hydrolysis reactor, and (c) conventional plant combined with the hydrolysis process applying heat integration by pinch analysis. The highest ethanol yield was achieved in the case of heat integration and concentration of cellulose hydrolysate by the membrane system with a solid content of 5% in the hydrolysis reactor. This represents an increase of 22% over conventional distilleries currently found in the industry.