From biomass to styrene: Modelling and simulating a sustainable production pathway

IF 5.8 2区生物学 Q1 AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

Biomass & Bioenergy Pub Date : 2025-09-20 DOI:10.1016/j.biombioe.2025.108407

Letitia Petrescu, Dorina-Daniela Talos, Stefan Cristian Galusnyak

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Abstract

As one of the largest consumers of fossil-based energy, the chemical sector highlights the urgent need to explore renewable energy alternatives given the ongoing depletion of fossil fuel reserves and the unprecedented release of greenhouse gas emissions. A cleaner and more sustainable pathway for the production of styrene, a key intermediate in the plastics industry, was investigated through process modelling and simulation. The proposed sustainable route consists of four steps: i) conversion of biomass to bio-ethanol, ii) conversion of bio-ethanol to bio-ethylene, iii) transformation of bio-ethylene into bio-ethylbenzene, and iv) conversion of bio-ethylbenzene to bio-styrene. The technical investigation demonstrates that 2.4 tons of lignocellulosic biomass are required to produce one ton of bio-based styrene with a purity of 99.96 %, thus meeting the polymer-grade purity requirement. The biomass-to-bio-ethanol conversion step is the largest thermal energy consumer, accounting for 9.40 MWh/t _bio-styrene of the total of 11.03 MWh/t _bio-styrene. To improve the overall efficiency and performance of the whole system, an azeotropic distillation using n-pentane as an entrainer was examined. The use of azeotropic distillation yielded superior results since 5.8 times less thermal power is required (i.e., from 9.40 MWh/t _bio-styrene to 1.61 MWh/t _bio-styrene). The ethylbenzene dehydrogenation process ranks second in terms of thermal power consumption, yet by recovering and utilizing the steam generated during this step, energy savings of 0.5 MWh/t _bio-styrene were achieved. The proposed method for bio-styrene production enhances thermal energy efficiency while reducing external energy demand, leveraging lignocellulosic biomass as a feedstock.

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从生物质到苯乙烯：建模和模拟可持续生产途径

作为化石能源的最大消费者之一，鉴于化石燃料储量的持续枯竭和温室气体排放的空前释放，化工行业迫切需要探索可再生能源替代品。通过过程建模和仿真，研究了一种更清洁、更可持续的生产苯乙烯的途径，苯乙烯是塑料工业的关键中间体。提出的可持续路线包括四个步骤：1)将生物质转化为生物乙醇，2)将生物乙醇转化为生物乙烯，3)将生物乙烯转化为生物乙苯，4)将生物乙苯转化为生物苯乙烯。技术考察表明，生产1吨纯度为99.96%的生物基苯乙烯需要2.4吨木质纤维素生物质，满足聚合物级纯度要求。生物质转化为生物乙醇是最大的热能消耗环节，占11.03 MWh/t生物苯乙烯总量的9.40 MWh/t。为了提高整个系统的整体效率和性能，研究了以正戊烷为夹带剂的共沸精馏。使用共沸蒸馏产生了更好的结果，因为所需的热功率减少了5.8倍（即从9.40 MWh/t生物苯乙烯降至1.61 MWh/t生物苯乙烯）。乙苯脱氢工艺在热电消耗上排名第二，但通过回收利用该工艺产生的蒸汽，实现了0.5 MWh/t生物苯乙烯的节能。提出的生物苯乙烯生产方法提高了热能效率，同时减少了外部能源需求，利用木质纤维素生物质作为原料。

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来源期刊

Biomass & Bioenergy 工程技术-能源与燃料

CiteScore

11.50

自引率

3.30%

发文量

258

审稿时长

60 days

期刊介绍： Biomass & Bioenergy is an international journal publishing original research papers and short communications, review articles and case studies on biological resources, chemical and biological processes, and biomass products for new renewable sources of energy and materials. The scope of the journal extends to the environmental, management and economic aspects of biomass and bioenergy. Key areas covered by the journal: • Biomass: sources, energy crop production processes, genetic improvements, composition. Please note that research on these biomass subjects must be linked directly to bioenergy generation. • Biological Residues: residues/rests from agricultural production, forestry and plantations (palm, sugar etc), processing industries, and municipal sources (MSW). Papers on the use of biomass residues through innovative processes/technological novelty and/or consideration of feedstock/system sustainability (or unsustainability) are welcomed. However waste treatment processes and pollution control or mitigation which are only tangentially related to bioenergy are not in the scope of the journal, as they are more suited to publications in the environmental arena. Papers that describe conventional waste streams (ie well described in existing literature) that do not empirically address ''new'' added value from the process are not suitable for submission to the journal. • Bioenergy Processes: fermentations, thermochemical conversions, liquid and gaseous fuels, and petrochemical substitutes • Bioenergy Utilization: direct combustion, gasification, electricity production, chemical processes, and by-product remediation • Biomass and the Environment: carbon cycle, the net energy efficiency of bioenergy systems, assessment of sustainability, and biodiversity issues.