Simulation and investigation of bioethanol production considering energetic and economic considerations

Today, the use of alternative fuels that have plant origin has attracted the attention of most countries because these fuels emit less pollution. In this research, bioethanol production has been evaluated considering solar energy sources. In the present study, the possibility of developing net-zero energy concepts in a bioethanol production plant as one of the most consumed energy industries in the field of bio-systems of the country from a technical and economic perspective was investigated. The purpose of this research is to model the bioethanol production plant with the aim of achieving zero net energy using a photovoltaic system. In addition, technical and economic analyzes have been used in different approaches for a more detailed investigation. According to the modeling done, in the Zero net energy approach, the results showed that the maximum production of electrical energy by the photovoltaic cell is 76.6 GWh/yr. For this approach, the return on investment is 10.7 years. The area required to install photovoltaic modules in this approach is very large and equal to 88,334 m2.