Room: Poster Area
Date: Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Time: 15:00 - 16:00 CEST
Session code 5AV.2
Innovation in advanced processes for biofuels production: materials, mechanisms, and performances (part 1)
Energy and Economic Comparison of Mechanical Vapor Recompression Heat Pump Strategies for Bioethanol Distillation
Short Introductive summary
Distillation is an energy-intensive process, particularly in the bioethanol industry, where water–ethanol separation becomes increasingly demanding at low ethanol titers. Heat integration between the condensing and boiling sections of the column can reduce this energy demand, and heat pumps enable such integration by compressing vapor to a suitable temperature for heat exchange. A common configuration couples the top condenser and reboiler, while an alternative uses vapor near the feed for a potentially more efficient but less energy-intensive integration. This study compares these two heat pump configurations in terms of energy and economic performance across different ethanol titers, also evaluating the impact of utility costs (steam and electricity) on overall economics. Heat pump integration can markedly reduce energy use and distillation costs, particularly for low-titer ethanol, with the side-condenser configuration showing clear advantages under low-energy-price conditions.
Presenter
Luiz DE MARTINO COSTA
TU Delft, THE NETHERLANDS
Presenter's biography
Luiz De Martino Costa is a PhD student at TU Delft and Unicamp, conducting research on the development of more sustainable ethanol biorefineries, with a focus on Consolidated Bioprocessing for second-generation ethanol from sugarcane.
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
J.C. Bonhivers, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, BRAZIL
A. Pinto Mariano, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, BRAZIL
J. Posada, Universidad ECCI, Bogotá, COLOMBIA
P. Osseweijer, TU Delft, THE NETHERLANDS
L. Rybeck Lynd, Universidade Estadual de Campinas / Terragia Biofuel Incorporated / Thayer School of Engineering, Hanover, USA
Session reference: 5AV.2.16