Analysis of overall utilization of sugarcane biomass and waste from the production of sugar and ethanol for cogeneration in a Brazilian sugarcane mill

Abstract

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.

This work presents thermodynamic, thermoeconomic and economic analyses of biomass gasification systems integration in a sugar-ethanol factory. Four configurations, combining the actual cogeneration plant with straw and stillage gasification systems, are considered. Case 1 represents a steam plant of a modern conventional power plant (base case), with a steam boiler of high-pressure and high-temperature, as well as an extraction-condensation steam turbine, being all mechanical driving electrified. In the other cases, gasification systems are associated to the actual plant using the energy from a gas turbine and a heat recovery steam generator to complete a combined cycle. In Case 2, the incorporation of a system for biodigestion of stillage is experimented. In Case 3, the incorporation of the sugar-cane straw gasification in the current plant is considered and Case 4 considers the gasification of straw and stillage.