Integrated sugarcane farming and sugar milling with selective fermentation: A simulation-based approach. (1st November 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ouchida, Kotaro; Fukushima, Yasuhiro; Ohara, Satoshi; Sugimoto, Akira; Hattori, Taiichiro; Terajima, Yoshifumi; Okubo, Tatsuya; Kikuchi, Yasunori
• Is Part Of: Journal of cleaner production. Volume 236(2019)
• Publication Date: 2019-11-01
• Subjects: Selective fermentation -- Sugarcane -- Crystallization -- Bioethanol -- Modeling; Factory and trade waste -- Management -- Periodicals; Manufactures -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Déchets industriels -- Gestion -- Périodiques; Usines -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; 628.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.06.352
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0959-6526

Abstract

Abstract: Selective fermentation of reducing sugars in cane juice harnesses the advantageous productivity of high-yielding sugarcane cultivars for increasing products from limited arable land. Without this technology, the altered compositions of cane juice often lead to additional environmental impacts due to increased consumption of externally supplied energy and compensated yield of sugar. In this paper, the effects of coordinated transition of sugarcane farming and sugar milling on the yield of final products, energy consumption, operability in the crystallization process, and economic feasibility were analyzed in simulation across various sugarcane cultivars. An integrated sugarcane farming and sugar milling process model (SugaNol) was extended from a previous work to consistently balance mass and energy considering the characteristics of the selective fermentation technology. A case study demonstrated that the coordinated introduction of selective fermentation with the high-yielding cultivar enhanced sugar production by 8.5% and ethanol production by 17.9%, improved operability in the crystallization process, and lead to a cleaner production by achieving above without consuming additional fossil fuels, although the market price of ethanol should be under 95 JPY L −1 for profitability. Furthermore, the specific characteristics of cultivars to make selective fermentation economically feasible are presented as a guideline for future cultivar development. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: A process model of combined sugar and ethanol production was developed. The model can consider agricultural options and selective fermentation technology. A set of options expects increases in sugar by 8.5% and ethanol by 17.9%. Busy operation could be avoided even if bad-quality sugarcane is fed. The request to cultivar development could be visualized through modeling.