Energetic approach of biomass hydrolysis in supercritical water

•Synergy between supercritical water hydrolysis and combined heat and power systems.•Production of sugars selectively with low energy demand.•Yield improvement of the combined heat and power systems by vapor injection.

Cellulose hydrolysis can be performed in supercritical water with a high selectivity of soluble sugars. The process produces high-pressure steam that can be integrated, from an energy point of view, with the whole biomass treating process. This work investigates the integration of biomass hydrolysis reactors with commercial combined heat and power (CHP) schemes, with special attention to reactor outlet streams. The innovation developed in this work allows adequate energy integration possibilities for heating and compression by using high temperature of the flue gases and direct shaft work from the turbine. The integration of biomass hydrolysis with a CHP process allows the selective conversion of biomass into sugars with low heat requirements. Integrating these two processes, the CHP scheme yield is enhanced around 10% by injecting water in the gas turbine. Furthermore, the hydrolysis reactor can be held at 400 °C and 23 MPa using only the gas turbine outlet streams.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide