TY - JOUR
T1 - Separation Technology - Making a difference in biorefineries
AU - Kiss, Anton Alexandru
AU - Lange, Jean Paul
AU - Schuur, Boelo
AU - Brilman, Derk Willem Frederik
AU - van der Ham, Aloysius G.J.
AU - Kersten, Sascha R.A.
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - In the quest for a sustainable bio-based economy, biorefineries play a central role as they involve the sustainable processing of biomass into marketable products and energy. This paper aims to provide a perspective on applications of separations that can make a great difference in biorefineries, by significantly reducing the costs and thus making the processes competitive without subsidies. A parallel is drawn between bio-refinery and petro-refinery, to highlight the specific separation challenges encountered in biorefineries and point out the impact of separations on the total costs. Existing and foreseen separations in biorefineries are reviewed, and the upcoming challenges in the bio-domain (additional to current fossil) are identified. Relevant industrial examples are provided to illustrate the tremendous eco-efficiency benefits of well-designed separation processes based on process intensification principles (e.g. reactive separations, dividing-wall column, affinity and trigger-enhanced separations). These examples also illustrate the low sustainability of several bio-separations currently practiced, in terms of high relative energy requirements, large amounts of gypsum co-production and/or excess use of caustic.
AB - In the quest for a sustainable bio-based economy, biorefineries play a central role as they involve the sustainable processing of biomass into marketable products and energy. This paper aims to provide a perspective on applications of separations that can make a great difference in biorefineries, by significantly reducing the costs and thus making the processes competitive without subsidies. A parallel is drawn between bio-refinery and petro-refinery, to highlight the specific separation challenges encountered in biorefineries and point out the impact of separations on the total costs. Existing and foreseen separations in biorefineries are reviewed, and the upcoming challenges in the bio-domain (additional to current fossil) are identified. Relevant industrial examples are provided to illustrate the tremendous eco-efficiency benefits of well-designed separation processes based on process intensification principles (e.g. reactive separations, dividing-wall column, affinity and trigger-enhanced separations). These examples also illustrate the low sustainability of several bio-separations currently practiced, in terms of high relative energy requirements, large amounts of gypsum co-production and/or excess use of caustic.
KW - 2023 OA procedure
U2 - 10.1016/j.biombioe.2016.05.021
DO - 10.1016/j.biombioe.2016.05.021
M3 - Article
SN - 0961-9534
VL - 95
SP - 296
EP - 309
JO - Biomass & bioenergy
JF - Biomass & bioenergy
ER -
