Bio-Isobutanol Production from Corn | Economic Analysis
Isobutanol Production — Technology Description & Economic Analysis
Bio-Isobutanol Production from Corn
Among a myriad of possible chemical routes for Isobutanol synthesis, the routes of industrial relevance are: propylene hydroformylation, hydrogenation of isobutyraldehyde and hydroformylation of allyl alcohol. Most recently, in light of growing environmental concerns, some biological routes based on biomass fermentation have emerged as well.
This article aims to present a brief process description and a condensed cost analysis of Bio-Isobutanol Production from Corn.
Process Description
The process under analysis comprises three major sections: (1) Liquefaction & Saccharification; (2) Fermentation; and (3) Products Separation.
Liquefaction & Saccharification. Initially, the corn is ground in order to increase its surface area, exposing the starch and allowing more efficient hydrolysis to occur. Then, in liquefaction and saccharification steps, the startch content of the corn is broken down into smaller glucose units. Such liquefaction and saccharification involves enzymatic hydrolyses of the startch under controlled temperature and pH, where alpha-amylase and gluco-amylase hydrolyze starch into fermentable sugars.
Fermentation. Next, the glucose solution from saccharification is fed to the fermentation vessel, where Isobutanol is produced from glucose by fermentation. The fermentation is carried out in batch mode and under anaerobic process conditions.
Products Separation. During the fermentation, a stream is continuously removed from the fermenter and passed through a Isobutanol recovery system to reduce the the Isobutanol content in the broth. After removal of the alcohol, the broth is recycled back to the fermenter. Subsequently, the stream separated in the Isobutanol recovery system goes through concentration and distillation steps to produce Isobutanol with 99.5 wt% purity. The recovered unfermented material goes through the centrifugation, evaporation and drying stages to produce Distiller’s Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) as a by-product.
Cost Analysis
The economic evaluation of industrial processes is a valuable support tool for a myriad of activities and studies, such as screening and assessment of investment options, preliminary evaluation of the economic potential of emerging industrial processes, rough assessment of the economic feasibility of industrial ventures, cost estimates double-checking, preliminary budget approval, research planning, and so on.
A detailed cost analysis for the manufacturing of Isobutanol was developed by Intratec based on a plant constructed in 2021 Q1 in the United States with the capacity to produce 180,000 metric ton per year of Isobutanol. The table below presents a few economic figures related to the process “Bio-Isobutanol Production from Corn”.
Where,
“Operating cash cost” is the sum of the operating fixed costs and the operating variable costs. Note that the operating fixed costs is directly tied to the plant capacity of an industrial site, and the operating variable costs are the costs directly proportional to the actual operating rate of the industrial site.
“Corporate overhead costs” are the costs incurred by a company’s head office not directly related to the process operation, such as general administrative costs, information technology, marketing and advertising, and research and development activities.
Main Reference
[1] Intratec. 2021. Bio-Isobutanol Production from Corn, Advanced Edition. Available at: www.intratec.us/analysis/isobutanol-e11a
Isobutanol Production Processes
To learn more about processes related to Isobutanol production, visit: www.intratec.us/analysis/isobutanol-production-cost
About Intratec Commodity Production Costs Reports
The report Bio-Isobutanol Production from Corn is part of a series of reports prepared by Intratec approaching the production costs of commodities spanning a diverse range of industries: Oil & Energy; Fertilizers & Gases; Olefns & Derivatives; Aromatics & Derivatives; Alcohols & Organic Acids; Polymers; Inorganic Chemicals; Food & Nutrition; Metals & Mining; and Pharmaceuticals.
For information on all Intratec reports visit: www.intratec.us
