Evaluation of different cogeneration systems in first and second generation ethanol production from sugarcane

Abstract In addition to being used as fuels in bioethanol production generating steam and electricity, sugarcane bagasse and trash may be used as feedstock for second generation ethanol production. The amount of surplus lignocellulosic material used as feedstock depends on the energy consumption of the production process. In this work simulations of the integrated first and second generation ethanol production processes from sugarcane were carried out using Aspen Plus, comparing different configurations of the cogeneration systems. Economic and environmental analyses were carried out, for comparison of different configurations. It is shown that surplus electricity sell can benefit second generation ethanol.