Sustainable Production Of Biofuels Using Intensified Processes

This book describes for first time the synthesis and intensified process design in the production of top biofuels. The production of biofuels is not new. In 2019, global biofuel production levels reached 1,841 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, in stark comparison to the 187 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day that was produced in 2000. Growth has largely been driven by policies that encourage the use and production of biofuels due to the perception that it could provide energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in relevant sectors. From a technical point of view, almost all fuels from fossil resources could be substituted by their bio-based counterparts. However, the cost of bio-based production in many cases exceeds the cost of petrochemical production. Also, biofuels must be proven to perform at least as good as the petrochemical equivalent they are substituting and to have a lower environmental impact. The low price of crude oil acted as a barrier to biofuels production and producers focussed on the specific attributes of biofuels such as their complex structure to justify production costs. Also, the consumer demand for environmentally friendly products, population growth and limited supplies of non-renewable resources has now opened new windows of opportunity for biofuels. The industry is increasingly viewing chemical production from renewable resources as an attractive area for investment. This book uniquely introduces the application of new process intensification techniques that will allow the generation of clean, efficient and economical processes for biofuels in a competitive way in the market.

Biofuels and Biorefining: Volume Two: Intensified Processes and Biorefineries considers intensification and optimization processes for biofuels and biomass-derived products in single and biorefinery schemes. Chapters cover production processes for liquid biofuels, introducing all feasible intensification alternatives for each process, process intensification methods for the production of value-added products, the importance of detailed CFD-based studies, controllability studies, strategies for risk analysis in intensified processes, the concept of biorefinery for the co-production of biofuels/biomass derived value-added products, and the importance of process intensification in the biorefinery scheme. Final chapters discuss how to ensure the sustainability of the intensified process and minimize the societal impact of biorefineries through various strategies, including supply chain optimization and lifecycle analysis. Each chapter is supported by industry case studies that address key aspects and impacts of intensification and optimization processes. Integrates basic concepts of process intensification and its application to the production of biofuels in a single resource Includes case studies related to modeling, safety, control, supply chain, lifecycle analysis, and the CFD of biofuel production processes Provides a sustainability assessment of biorefinery systems from a lifecycle perspective

Improvements in Bio-Based Building Blocks Production Through Process Intensification and Sustainability Concepts discusses new information on the production and cost of bio-based building blocks. From a technical point-of-view, almost all industrial materials made from fossil resources can be substituted using bio-based counterparts. However, the cost of bio-based production in many cases exceeds the cost of petrochemical production. In addition, new products must be proven to perform at least as good as their petrochemical equivalents, have a lower environmental impact, meet consumer demand for environmentally-friendly products, factor in population growth, and account for limited supplies of non-renewables. This book outlines the application of process intensification techniques which allow for the generation of clean, efficient and economical processes for bio-based chemical blocks production. Includes synthesis and process design strategies for intensified processes Describes multi-objective optimization applied to the production of bio-based building blocks Presents the controllability of processes where the production of bio-based building blocks is involved Provides examples using aspen and MATLAB Introduces several sustainable indexes to evaluate production processes Presents process intensification techniques to improve performance in productive processes

Intensified processes have found widespread application in the chemical and petrochemical industries. The use of intensified systems allows for a reduction of operating costs and supports the “greening” of chemical processes. However, the design of intensified equipment requires special methodologies. This book describes the fundamentals and applications of these design methods, making it a valuable resource for use in both industry and academia.

Biofuels and Biorefining: Volume One: Current Technologies for Biomass Conversion considers the conventional processes for biofuels and biomass-derived products in single and biorefinery schemes. Sections address the fundamentals of the transformation of biomass into fuels and products, including a discussion of current and future scenarios, potential raw materials that can be used, the main processing technologies and their commercial potential, and a description of the concept of biorefinery and the opportunities offered by this approach. Each chapter is supported by industry case studies covering the development of each product, fuel type, and biorefinery. This book provides an integrated approach to biofuels production and process intensification that will be useful to researchers involved in all aspects of bioenergy, particularly those interested in cost reduction, environmental impact and enhanced production. Includes all fundamental concepts related to the production of biofuels and value-added products from biomass Provides a comprehensive biorefinery scheme that addresses all biofuel types (liquid, solid and gaseous) and related bio-based products Presents state-of-the-art information on production processes Covers all required information for the modeling and economical assessment of biofuels production in single process or under a biorefinery scheme

This book is among the first to address the novel process intensification technologies for biodiesel production, in particular the integrated reactive separations. It provides a comprehensive overview illustrated with many industrially relevant examples of novel reactive separation processes used in the production of biodiesel (e.g. fatty acid alkyl esters): reactive distillation, reactive absorption, reactive extraction, membrane reactors, and centrifugal contact separators. Readers will also learn about the working principles, design and control of integrated processes, while also getting a relevant and modern overview of the process intensification opportunities for biodiesel synthesis. Biodiesel is a biodegradable and renewable fuel that currently enjoys much attention. In spite of the recent advances, the existing biodiesel processes still suffer from problems associated with the use of homogeneous catalysts (e.g. salt waste streams) and the key limitations imposed by the chemical reaction equilibrium, thus leading to severe economic and environmental penalties. The integration of reaction and separation into one operating unit overcomes equilibrium limitations and provides key benefits such as low capital investment and operating costs. Many of these processes can be further enhanced by heat-integration and powered by heterogeneous catalysts, to eliminate all conventional catalyst related operations, using the raw materials efficiently and the reaction volume, while offering high conversion and selectivity, and significant energy savings. The targeted audience of this book includes both academia (students and researchers) and industry (project leaders, technology managers, researchers, biodiesel producers, and equipment suppliers).

This book describes, analyses and discusses the main principles, phenomena and design strategies of reactive separation processes with an emphasis on the intensification as a basis of the sustainability. Different reactive separation processes are explained in detail to show the phenomena and with the purpose of understanding when their use allows advantages based on the output results. Case examples are analysed and the perspective of these processes in the future is discussed. The overall sustainability of reactive separation processes in the industry is also explained separately.