Integrated design of agricultural and industrial processes: A case study of combined sugar and ethanol production

Abstract

Bioethanol production from molasses has advantages in greenhouse gas emissions because of its energy acquisition from bagasse. However, the improvement of bioethanol productivity is challenging; while each elemental technology option can be greatly improved, the trade‐offs between the production of raw sugar and bioethanol are complex. This issue should be addressed through the optimization of the whole system, including both agricultural and industrial processes. In this study, we constructed a model of combined raw sugar and bioethanol production from sugarcane considering agricultural and industrial technology options. Data were acquired through a detailed investigation of actual sugar mills. Case studies on the redesign of combined raw sugar and bioethanol production demonstrated that the simultaneous implementation of both technology options increases production of food, materials, and energy from plant‐derived renewable resources, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of the interdisciplinary approach. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 63: 560–581, 2017

Application of technology assessments to co-learning for regional transformation: a case study of biomass energy systems in Tanegashima

“…The applicability of generated candidate systems in the sugar mill, i.e., high-yielding sugarcane cultivars, was analyzed (Ohara et al 2009) with selective fermentation (Ohara et al 2012) based on past demonstration tests in another area . The results show that increasing the production of sugarcane can increase the raw sugar exported from Tanegashima and that starting molasses-derived ethanol production can decrease the fossil resources imported to Tanegashima (Ouchida et al 2017). Those results, related to the revitalization of sugarcane industries, a core of culture on Tanegashima, have become the transition narratives in Tanegashima and have motivated the additional analyses on locally available biomass resources, such as residues from forestry used for fuel during the nonsugar season (Kikuchi et al 2016a).…”

“…The target-applicable technology options in this study are summarized in Table 1. The previous technoeconomic (Chen et al 2017(Chen et al , 2018Ouchida et al 2017) and socioeconomic Oshita et al 2019) analyses on the technology options in Table 1 show the material, energy, and cash flows attributable to the technology implementations. The sociotechnical analysis ) has clarified the consumer preferences toward energy to be used on Tanegashima.…”

“…The material and energy flows were analyzed by LCA as adopted in the previous papers for the cane sugar mill (Kikuchi et al 2016a), agricultural and industrial processes (Ouchida et al 2017), and forestry on Tanegashima. The primary role of analyzing material and energy flows is to clarify the changes in life cycle inventories associated with technology implementation.…”

“…The increased bagasse can be used as biomass-derived fuel. The material and energy input and output of agricultural and industrial processes were determined based on the existing model (Ouchida et al 2017).…”

“…Several energy system projects have been launched on Tanegashima. The cane sugar mill can produce power and heat for the regional energy systems using surplus bagasse (Ouchida et al 2017) and available woody biomass (Kikuchi et al 2016a). A cultivar bred for combined sugar-ethanol production can increase their productivity.…”