Techno-economic indicators for the thermochemical and biochemical routes for biofuels production using sugarcane bagasse as feedstock

The main goal of this paper is to compare the biochemical and thermochemical routes for second generation biofuels production performance, using efficiency and economic indicators. In both cases, the feedstock used is bagasse. Calculations are carried out for a biofuel plant having a bagasse consumption of 1772 t/d of dry substance, equivalent to 400 MW of thermal energy. By-products utilisation, such as lignin in the biochemical route, and bagasse for steam and electricity self-sufficiency through cogeneration were also considered. The high production cost of bioethanol obtained through the biochemical route (USD21.32 to USD22.7 per GJ(ETOH)) is strongly influenced by the enzyme costs. The biomethanol production cost by the thermochemical route (USD15.82 per GJ(MeOH)) is mainly influenced by the high investment cost.