Experimental production of ethanol, electricity, and furfural under the biorefinery concept

Lab and pilot-scale experiments during biorefineries design are mainly needed for modeling and valida-tion purposes. This work presents experiments in a biorefinery based on Coffee Cut-Stems (CCS) to produce ethanol, electricity, and furfural. The biorefinery is proposed based on a flowsheet obtained in previous simulation work. Experimental and simulation results are compared in terms of productivities and conversions. As an overall result, the operating conditions for process stages involved in the CCS biorefinery are adjusted. The yields for the main products were obtained. In ethanol production, a yield of 0.476 +/- 0.027 g ethanol per g of glucose is obtained. The dehydration reaction to furfural has a yield of 33.79 +/- 0.42%, and the gasifier generates around 4.66kWh of electricity. In conclusion, the yields change significantly in comparison with the simulation results. The experimental work for the CCS biorefinery provided more accurate data for the proposed design. (c) 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd.