Performance and techno-economic assessment of several solid-liquid separation technologies for processing dilute-acid pretreated corn stover

Solid-liquid separation of pretreated lignocellulosic biomass slurries is a critical unit operation employed in several different processes for production of fuels and chemicals. An effective separation process achieves good recovery of solute (sugars) and efficient dewatering of the biomass slurry. Dilute acid pretreated corn stover slurries were subjected to pressure and vacuum filtration and basket centrifugation to evaluate the technical and economic merits of these technologies. Experimental performance results were used to perform detailed process simulations and economic analysis using a 2000 tonne/day biorefinery model to determine differences between the various filtration methods and their process settings. The filtration processes were able to successfully separate pretreated slurries into liquor and solid fractions with estimated sugar recoveries of at least 95% using a cake washing process. A continuous vacuum belt filter produced the most favorable process economics.