A generalized disjunctive programming framework for the optimal synthesis and analysis of processes for ethanol production from corn stover

•An optimization framework for process design of ethanol plants is presented.•150 different process configurations are compared and analyzed.•New process configurations outperform the NRELs base case.•Lower MESPs were found when solid-liquid separators are included.•Energy in products ranges from 44% to 62.4% of the energy in corn stover.

The aim of this study is to analyze the techno-economic performance of process configurations for ethanol production involving solid-liquid separators and reactors in the saccharification and fermentation stage, a family of process configurations where few alternatives have been proposed. Since including these process alternatives creates a large number of possible process configurations, a framework for process synthesis and optimization is proposed. This approach is supported on kinetic models fed with experimental data and a plant-wide techno-economic model. Among 150 process configurations, 40 show an improved MESP compared to a well-documented base case (BC), almost all include solid separators and some show energy retrieved in products 32% higher compared to the BC. Moreover, 16 of them also show a lower capital investment per unit of ethanol produced per year. Several of the process configurations found in this work have not been reported in the literature.

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