KINETIC MODELING OF THE HYDROLYSIS AND FERMENTATION OF ARUNDO DONAX BIOMASS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BIOETHANOL

Abstract

The importance of renewable energy applications is rising increasingly every day in a world dominated by pollution and climate change. Finding alternatives to the use of fossil fuels is vital for the decrease in greenhouse gases emissions. Hence, new research studies are continuously devising solutions that are less polluting, more eco-friendly and less expensive. The conversion of biomass to biofuel represents an emerging alternative to fossil fuel. For instance, organic waste, crops and plants can be converted to produce bioethanol. Second generation bioethanol in particular is an alternative that has been studied for decades. Many feedstocks were tested, and the ethanol yields of each feed type were compared, in order to determine the most efficient, in terms of costs and ethanol production. In this research, the use of Giant Reed is evaluated as a feedstock for the conversion to bioethanol, with a focus on the biomass ethanol yield, process configuration, operating conditions as well as reaction kinetic rates. Kinetic models for the hydrolysis and fermentation of lignocellulosic biomass, more specifically Arundo donax, were assessed in this thesis. Data from literature was used to generate materials concentration data for Arundo donax feedstock for the production of bioethanol. The kinetic model was developed in MATLAB, where parameter estimation was employed. A simulation modeling the SHF of Arundo donax biomass was created, using the previously developed kinetic models. This simulation will model a semibatch hydrolysis followed by a batch fermentation. An ethanol concentration of 28 g/L was reached. The results obtained led to an estimation of the land area needed to plant Arundo donax to provide Lebanon with the necessary amount of ethanol, if 10% of the ethanol will be mixed with gasoline. A total area of 17,203,187 m2 is required to cover 10,256,500 L of ethanol per year. Arundo donax can be planted on landfills and quarries, across Lebanon. Further developments could include developing a model using Aspen PLUS for the production of ethanol from Arundo donax, balancing ethanol yield, economic and environmental costs.