Extractive Ethanol Fermentation with Ethanol Recovery by Absorption in Open and Closed Systems
Conventional ethanol production has limitations, including substrate and product inhibitions, which increase both energy requirements for ethanol recovery and vinasse generation. Extractive fermentation, which removes ethanol as it is produced within the fermentation vat, offers an effective alterna...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Fermentation |
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| author | Kaio César da Silva Rodrigues Ivan Ilich Kerbauy Veloso Diego Andrade Lemos Antonio José Gonçalves Cruz Alberto Colli Badino |
| author_facet | Kaio César da Silva Rodrigues Ivan Ilich Kerbauy Veloso Diego Andrade Lemos Antonio José Gonçalves Cruz Alberto Colli Badino |
| author_sort | Kaio César da Silva Rodrigues |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Conventional ethanol production has limitations, including substrate and product inhibitions, which increase both energy requirements for ethanol recovery and vinasse generation. Extractive fermentation, which removes ethanol as it is produced within the fermentation vat, offers an effective alternative to reducing the inhibitory effects in conventional processes. However, an efficient method for recovering the extracted ethanol is also crucial. Thus, this study investigated an alternative ethanol production process using extractive ethanol fermentation integrated with ethanol recovery by absorption in both open and closed systems, specifically, comparing scenarios with and without CO<sub>2</sub> recirculation produced during fermentation. The recovery system used two absorbers connected in series using monoethylene glycol (MEG) as an absorbent. Under extractive fermentation conditions without CO<sub>2</sub> recirculation, the conversion of 300.0 g L<sup>−1</sup> of substrate resulted in a total ethanol concentration of 135.2 g L<sup>−1</sup>, which is 68% higher than that achieved in conventional fermentation (80.4 g L<sup>−1</sup>). The absorption recovery efficiency reached 91.6%. In the closed system, with CO<sub>2</sub> recirculation produced by fermentation, 280.0 g L<sup>−1</sup> of substrate was consumed, achieving ethanol production of 126.0 g L<sup>−1</sup>, with an absorption recovery percentage of 98.3%, similar to that of industrial facilities that use a gas scrubber tower. Additionally, the overall process efficiency was close to that of conventional fermentation (0.448 g<sub>ethanol</sub> g<sub>substrate</sub><sup>−1</sup>). These results highlight the potential of this alternative process to reduce vinasse volume and energy consumption for ethanol recovery, lowering total costs and making it a viable option for integrated distilleries that combines ethanol production with other related processing operations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9bd4fc3fdee14fc3a2f53621f1c0dd2c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2311-5637 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fermentation |
| spelling | doaj-art-9bd4fc3fdee14fc3a2f53621f1c0dd2c2025-01-24T13:32:02ZengMDPI AGFermentation2311-56372025-01-011111210.3390/fermentation11010012Extractive Ethanol Fermentation with Ethanol Recovery by Absorption in Open and Closed SystemsKaio César da Silva Rodrigues0Ivan Ilich Kerbauy Veloso1Diego Andrade Lemos2Antonio José Gonçalves Cruz3Alberto Colli Badino4Multidisciplinary Center of Luís Eduardo Magalhães, Federal University of West Bahia, Luís Eduardo Magalhães 47855-218, BA, BrazilGraduate Program of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos 13565-905, SP, BrazilDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos 13565-905, SP, BrazilGraduate Program of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos 13565-905, SP, BrazilGraduate Program of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of São Carlos, São Carlos 13565-905, SP, BrazilConventional ethanol production has limitations, including substrate and product inhibitions, which increase both energy requirements for ethanol recovery and vinasse generation. Extractive fermentation, which removes ethanol as it is produced within the fermentation vat, offers an effective alternative to reducing the inhibitory effects in conventional processes. However, an efficient method for recovering the extracted ethanol is also crucial. Thus, this study investigated an alternative ethanol production process using extractive ethanol fermentation integrated with ethanol recovery by absorption in both open and closed systems, specifically, comparing scenarios with and without CO<sub>2</sub> recirculation produced during fermentation. The recovery system used two absorbers connected in series using monoethylene glycol (MEG) as an absorbent. Under extractive fermentation conditions without CO<sub>2</sub> recirculation, the conversion of 300.0 g L<sup>−1</sup> of substrate resulted in a total ethanol concentration of 135.2 g L<sup>−1</sup>, which is 68% higher than that achieved in conventional fermentation (80.4 g L<sup>−1</sup>). The absorption recovery efficiency reached 91.6%. In the closed system, with CO<sub>2</sub> recirculation produced by fermentation, 280.0 g L<sup>−1</sup> of substrate was consumed, achieving ethanol production of 126.0 g L<sup>−1</sup>, with an absorption recovery percentage of 98.3%, similar to that of industrial facilities that use a gas scrubber tower. Additionally, the overall process efficiency was close to that of conventional fermentation (0.448 g<sub>ethanol</sub> g<sub>substrate</sub><sup>−1</sup>). These results highlight the potential of this alternative process to reduce vinasse volume and energy consumption for ethanol recovery, lowering total costs and making it a viable option for integrated distilleries that combines ethanol production with other related processing operations.https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/11/1/12strippingethanol recoveryabsorptionmonoethylene glycol (MEG)integrated process |
| spellingShingle | Kaio César da Silva Rodrigues Ivan Ilich Kerbauy Veloso Diego Andrade Lemos Antonio José Gonçalves Cruz Alberto Colli Badino Extractive Ethanol Fermentation with Ethanol Recovery by Absorption in Open and Closed Systems Fermentation stripping ethanol recovery absorption monoethylene glycol (MEG) integrated process |
| title | Extractive Ethanol Fermentation with Ethanol Recovery by Absorption in Open and Closed Systems |
| title_full | Extractive Ethanol Fermentation with Ethanol Recovery by Absorption in Open and Closed Systems |
| title_fullStr | Extractive Ethanol Fermentation with Ethanol Recovery by Absorption in Open and Closed Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | Extractive Ethanol Fermentation with Ethanol Recovery by Absorption in Open and Closed Systems |
| title_short | Extractive Ethanol Fermentation with Ethanol Recovery by Absorption in Open and Closed Systems |
| title_sort | extractive ethanol fermentation with ethanol recovery by absorption in open and closed systems |
| topic | stripping ethanol recovery absorption monoethylene glycol (MEG) integrated process |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5637/11/1/12 |
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