Vapour permeation for ethanol recovery from fermentation off–gas

Vapour permeation for ethanol recovery from fermentation off–gas

Gaykawad, S.S. (TU Delft OLD BT/Cell Systems Engineering)
Rütze, Dennis N. (Student TU Delft)
van der Wielen, L.A.M. (TU Delft BT/Bioprocess Engineering)
Straathof, Adrie J.J. (TU Delft BT/Bioprocess Engineering)

2017

In ethanol fermentations, about 2% of the ethanol leaves the fermenter with the off–gas. Conventionally, this is recovered by absorption in water. As alternative, vapour permeation was investigated conceptually for ethanol recovery from fermentation off–gas. A preliminary techno–economic evaluation of this system using hydrophobic membrane was carried out. The results were compared with conventional absorption. For the assumed membrane, concentrated ethanol (∼66 mass%) might be achieved using vapour permeation whereas absorption achieves 2 mass%, and needs much more distillation to achieve ∼93 mass%. The ethanol recovery costs for base case absorption and for hydrophobic vapour permeation were calculated to be 0.211 and 1.389 US $/kg, respectively. The ethanol recovery cost decreases with increase in membrane permeability in hydrophobic vapour permeation but the base case cost was not achieved. In the vapour permeation process, membrane cost dominates at lower membrane permeabilities whereas at the permeabilities 3 times higher than original, the costs for vacuum on permeate side of membrane governs the ethanol recovery cost.

Absorption
Bioprocess integration
Economic evaluation
Ethanol recovery
Fermentation
Vapour permeation

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:3f8d43ca-2854-4fd1-a64e-77a9fa1121e0

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bej.2017.04.010

2019-05-10

1369-703X

Biochemical Engineering Journal, 124, 54-63

Accepted Author Manuscript

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2017 S.S. Gaykawad, Dennis N. Rütze, L.A.M. van der Wielen, Adrie J.J. Straathof