Corn Stover to Ethanol Conversion

This example analyzes the production of ethanol from corn stover, which is an abundant source of lignocellulosic
(LC) biomass in the US and other parts of the world. The model can be readily modified to represent conversion of
other types of LC biomass, such as sugar cane bagasse, wheat straw, rice straw, softwood, switch grass, etc. The
plant scale for the base case has a feedstock flowrate of 2,000 MT/day of dry mass of corn stover. It is the same as
the scale of a similar process analyzed by engineers at NREL (Aden et al, 2002). The plant generates 18 MT/h of
fuel-grade ethanol, which is equivalent to 6,044 gal/h and 47.8 million gallons per year (MGY).

1. FEEDSTOCK REPRESENTATION
A mixture, called Stover, was created in SuperPro to represent the dry mass of corn stover. The table below displays
its composition.

Stover Composition (Dry Basis)

Component % w/w

Cellulose 37.4
Hemicellulose 21.1
Lignin 18.0
Other Solids 18.3
Ash 5.2

A 50% moisture level was assumed for wet corn stover. Consequently, the Feedstock stream of the flowsheet contains
equal amounts of Stover (dry mass of corn stover) and Water (the moisture level). The impact of different moisture
levels can be investigated by simply changing the water content of the Feedstock stream.

2. PROCESS DESCRIPTION
The overall flowsheet is divided into the following four sections: Pretreatment, Fermentation, Distillation, and
Utilities. A flowsheet section is a set of associated unit procedures. The unit procedure icons of each section are
displayed in a unique color (black for Pretreatment, blue for Fermentation, green for Distillation, and dark red for
Utilities). For information on how to specify flowsheet sections and edit their properties, please consult the manual.

Pretreatment Section

The flowrate of the Feedstock stream is 166.66 MT/h of wet corn stover, which translates to 2,000 MT/day of dry
mass. Procedure P-1 represents the transportation of corn stover from the fields to the plant. The unit transportation
cost was set to zero because it was assumed that the price of corn stover (see the Cost Analysis section) includes the
collection and transportation expenses. Procedure P-2 represents the washing of corn stover. Procedure P-3
represents the grinding (size reduction) of corn stover. The splitter P-4 accounts for the loss of fine particles (5% of
the incoming flow). The ground material is transported to the thermal hydrolysis reactors using a screw conveyor (P-
5 / SC-101). A gear pump (P-6 / GP-101) is used to increase the pressure of the inlet stream to 10 bar so that the
material can enter the hydrolysis reactors which operate at that pressure. The inlet stream is preheated to around 90
o
C using a heat exchanger (P-7 / HX-101). The heat is provided by the water vapor generated during the expansion of
the hydrolyzed material.

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Thermal hydrolysis of corn stover is accomplished in a well mixed reactor (P-8 / V-101) using high pressure steam
(10 bar at 180 oC). The objective of this step is to convert cellulose and hemicellulose into glucose and xylose,
respectively. The conversions were represented using stoichiometric reactions whose mass stoichiometric coefficients
and extents follow.

Thermal Hydrolysis Reaction Extent

Cellulose + Water ===> Glucose 10%

162 g 18 g 180 g

Hemicellulose + Water ===> Xylose 70%

132 g 18 g 150 g

The hydrolyzed material, which is under high pressure and temperature, it adiabatically flashed to atmospheric
pressure (in P-9 / FT-101). A fraction of the water (around 25%) evaporates and it is used to preheat the incoming
stream (in P-7 / HX-101). The temperature of the flashed stream is lowered to 50 oC using a cooler (P-10 / HX-102).
A belt filter (P-11 / BF-101) is used to remove the suspended material, which includes the lignin and the un-
hydrolyzed fractions of cellulose and hemicellulose. The filtrate stream, which includes the generated fermentable
sugars (glucose and xylose) as well as other dissolved solids is sent to the fermentation section.

A custom mixer (P-12 / MX-101) is used to account for the addition of the hydrolytic enzymes (called Hydrolase in
the context of this example). The algorithm of the custom mixer can calculate the amount of required enzyme in order
to achieve a certain Hydrolase concentration in the mixture. In the context of this model, Hydrolase simply accounts
for the cost associated with such enzymes.

Procedure P-13 represents the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose and hemicellulose. Again the conversions were
represented using stoichiometric reactions whose mass stoichiometric coefficients and extents follow.

Enzymatic Hydrolysis Reaction Extent

Cellulose + Water ===> Glucose 90%

162 g 18 g 180 g

Hemicellulose + Water ===> Xylose 50%

132 g 18 g 150 g

A second belt filter (P-14 / BF-102) is used to remove the suspended material. Around 60% of the suspended material
is recycled back to the thermal hydrolysis step for increased conversion (stream S-120). The remainder is sent to the
Utilities Section (steam S-115).

Fermentation Section

Procedures P-17a,b represent inoculum preparation. It was assumed that approximately 10% of the fermentable
sugars are used for inoculum preparation (splitter P-16a directs 10% of the material to the inoculum train).
Procedure P-18 represents the production fermentors. The label underneath the production fermentors explains that
four vessels are required each having a volume of 2,200 m3 and operating with a cycle time of 48 h. However, in the
context of this example the production fermentors were modeled using continuous stoichiometric fermentors with an
average liquid residence time of 48 h. Batch fermentors operating (back-to-back) with a cycle time of 48 h have the
same vessel size requirement as continuous operating with an average liquid residence time of 48 h.

Glucose conversion in the production fermentors was represented by the following stoichiometric reactions.

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 Glucose Conversion Reaction Extent

Glucose ===> Yeast + CO2 + Water 3%

100 g 60 g 20 g 20 g

Glucose ===> EtOH + CO2 96%

180 g 88 g 92 g

It was assumed that 3% of the available glucose goes to Yeast formation and 96% to ethanol production. The two
reactions were classified as “Parallel” by checking the corresponding check box in the “Reactions” tab of the
fermentation operation. Please note that it is also possible to combine the above two reactions into one (using the
appropriate stoichiometric coefficients).

Xylose conversion in the production fermentors was represented by the following stoichiometric reactions.

Xylose Conversion Reaction Extent

Xylose ===> Yeast + CO2 + Water 3%

100 g 60 g 20 g 20 g

Xylose ===> EtOH + CO2 96%

150 g 76 g 74 g

The assumed extent of xylose conversion to ethanol is rather optimistic with the current technology. However, it is
expected that science and technology will reach that level within the next few years.

Distillation Section

The broth of the production fermentors is sent to the storage tanks of the distillation section (P-19 / V-104). Two
distillation columns are used for recovering and purifying the ethanol. The first column (C-101) generates a 43%
ethanol solution in the distillate. The second column (C-102) generates a 92% solution of ethanol (the azeotropic
composition). The bottom of the first column is sent to the Utilities section. The bottom of the second column is
recycled to the beginning of the distillation section. Molecular sieve columns (GAC-101) are used for ethanol
dehydration in order to generate fuel grade ethanol containing less than 0.1% of water.

Utilities Section

The bottom of the first distillation column, which is rich is combustible solids, is concentrated in a multi-effect
evaporator (P-25 / EV-101). The Concentrate stream of the evaporator is combined with the solids of the
pretreatment section (stream S-115) and is sent to the burner-boiler (P-27 / SG-101) for generation of steam. A multi-
stage turbine (P-29 / T-101) is used to generate electricity and two types of steam (high and low pressure). Dry Corn
Stover is used as supplemental fuel to meet the requirements of the multi-stage turbine. Depending on the location of
the facility, Dry Corn Stover can be substituted with wood, natural gas, and other sources of fuel. The multi-stage
turbine generates around 33 MT/h of high pressure steam to meet the demand for such steam of the Thermal
Hydrolysis step (P-8 / V-101) of the Pretreatment section. It also generates around 97 MT/h of 5.1 bar pressure
steam (152.6 oC) to satisfy the heating requirements of the two distillation columns (C-101 and C-102) and the multi-
effect evaporator (EV-101). The turbine also generates 5.8 MW of electricity which is used to meet the majority of
the power demands of the plant.

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3. COST ANALYSIS
The table below displays the key results of cost analysis for a plant of this capacity (48 MGY of fuel grade ethanol).
It was assumed that a new facility will be built with a project lifetime of 20 years. The total capital investment for
such a plant is around $140 million. The net annual operating cost is around $103.8 million per year leading to a unit
production cost of around $2.2/gal of product ethanol.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (2010 prices)

Total Capital Investment 140,093,000 $
Capital Investment Charged to This Project 140,093,000 $
Operating Cost 106,302,000 $/yr
Main Revenue 116,383,000 $/yr
Other Revenues 2,654,213 $/yr
Total Revenues 119,037,000 $/yr
Cost Basis Annual Rate 47,873,151 gal(STP) MP/yr
Unit Production Cost 2.22 $/gal(STP) MP
Unit Production Revenue 2.49 $/gal(STP) MP
Gross Margin 10.70 %
Return On Investment 14.65 %
Payback Time 6.83 years
IRR (After Taxes) 10.08 %
NPV (at 7.0% Interest) 32,850,000 $
MP = Total Flow of Stream 'Product'

The above table was copied from the Economic Evaluation Report (ERR) generated by SuperPro Designer (in RTF
format). This table provides a summary of the overall economics of the process. The information above (as well as
additional information) is also displayed in the Executive Summary dialog of the application (View \ Executive
Summary).

The rest of the EER provides detailed information on capital and operating costs. The EER can be generated by
selecting Reports \ Economic Evaluation from the application main menu bar. The format of the report is specified
in the Report Options dialog (select Reports \ Options).

The table below, which was also copied from the EER, provides a summary of the annual operating cost. The cost of
Raw Materials is the most important cost item (65.6% of total) followed by the facility-dependent cost (23.6% of
total) which mainly accounts for the maintenance of the facility and the depreciation of the fixed capital investment.
The cost of utilities is rather low because the amount of Dry Corn Stover burned for production of steam and
electricity is treated as raw material cost.

ANNUAL OPERATING COST (2010 prices)

Cost Item $ %
Raw Materials 69,737,000 65.60
Labor-Dependent 3,602,000 3.39
Facility-Dependent 25,061,000 23.58
Consumables 23,000 0.02
Waste Treatment/Disposal 634,000 0.60
Utilities 7,244,000 6.81
Transportation 0 0.00
Miscellaneous 0 0.00
Advertising/Selling 0 0.00
Running Royalties 0 0.00
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 Failed Product Disposal 0 0.00
TOTAL 106,302,000 100.00

Figure 1 below displays a graphical representation of the operating cost breakdown. This chart was also copied from
the EER. To include such charts in the report the user must check the Include Charts box in the Report Options
dialog.

Figure 1: Annual operating cost breakdown in %

The table below displays the breakdown of the materials cost, which is the main cost item of this process. The cost of
enzymes was estimated by specifying a purchasing price that corresponds to $0.5/gal of ethanol produced. The
industry’s objective is to drive that cost down to $0.1/gal of ethanol through R&D in the future.

In terms of corn stover, approximately 12% of the total amount (dry basis) is burned in the Utilities section for
generation of steam and electricity. If that cost is classified as utilities cost, the total cost of utilities will be around
11% and the cost of materials will drop to around 60%.

The unit cost of HP Steam (utilized as live steam in Thermal Hydrolysis) was set to zero because it is generated on-
site in the Utilities section (see top stream of the multi-stage turbine). The cost of RO Water accounts for the
purification of water utilized for steam generation.

MATERIALS COST
Bulk Material Unit Cost Annual Annual Cost %
($) Amount ($)
HP Steam 0.000 237,600 MT 0 0.00
Hydrolase 11.400 2,101 MT 23,950,645 34.34
Water 0.500 1,333,043 MT 666,521 0.96
Stover 50.000 749,074 MT 37,453,680 53.71
Air 0.000 2,399,878 MT 0 0.00
Amm. Sulfate 0.100 629 MT 62,879 0.09
RO Water 5.000 1,520,674 MT 7,603,368 10.90
TOTAL 69,737,093 100.00

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The table below, which was copied from the EER, provides detailed information on utilities costs. The unit cost of
steam (representing low pressure steam) was set to zero because it is produced on-site in the Utilities section. The
electricity produced on-site (by the multi-stage turbine) does not reduce the Power demand, but it is accounted as
revenue (equal to $2,654,000/year in this case) in the Profitability Analysis section (see further below).

UTILITIES COST (2010 prices)

Reference Annual Cost

Utility Annual Amount %
Units ($)
Power 49,398,586 kWh 2,469,929 34.09
Steam 745,717 MT 0 0.00
Cooling Water 92,691,887 MT 4,634,594 63.98
Well Water 1,398,503 MT 139,850 1.93
TOTAL 7,244,374 100.00

SuperPro Designer generates two other cost-related reports, the Cash Flow Analysis (CFR) and the Item Cost (ICR)
report. The table below, which was copied from the ICR provides a breakdown of operating cost per cost item and
section. Almost 68% of the overall cost is associated with the Pretreatment section because the costs of feedstock and
enzymes are charged to that section. The Utilities section is the second most important accounting for 16.8% of total.

BREAKDOWN PER COST ITEM AND SECTION ($1000/year)

Consum- Waste
Section Materials Facility Labor Utilities TOTAL %
ables Trt/Dsp
Pretreatmen 57,595 9,950 1,460 0 2,755 256 72,015 67.75
t
Fermentatio 69 2,511 690 0 2,242 0 5,512 5.19
n
Distillation 0 7,662 977 23 2,212 0 10,875 10.23
Utilities 12,073 4,938 475 0 35 379 17,900 16.84
TOTAL 69,737 25,061 3,602 23 7,244 634 106,302 100.00

Figure 2 below displays a graphical representation of the operating cost breakdown per cost item and section. This
chart was also copied from the ICR. The two tall red columns (left side) represent the cost of materials associated
with the pretreatment and utilities section. The ICR also provides detailed breakdowns of all types of operating costs.
You may generate and display that report by selecting Reports \ Itemized Cost (ICR) from the main menu bar of the
application.

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Figure 2: Operating cost breakdown per cost item and section.

The Profitability Analysis table shown below, which was copied from the EER, displays the project evaluation
results. The plant generates 47.8 million gallons of fuel-grade ethanol and 53 million kWh of electricity per year. The
product (ethanol) selling price is $2.5/gal (it includes all governmental subsidies).

PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS (2010 prices)

A. Direct Fixed Capital 128,883,000 $
B. Working Capital 4,765,000 $
C. Startup Cost 6,444,000 $
D. Up-Front R&D 0$
E. Up-Front Royalties 0$
F. Total Investment (A+B+C+D+E) 140,093,000 $
G. Investment Charged to This Project 140,093,000 $

H. Revenue Rates
Product (Main Revenue) 46,553,157 gal(STP)/yr
P-29(Revenue) 53,084,265 kW-h/yr

I. Revenue Price
Product (Main Revenue) 2.50 $/gal(STP)
P-29(Revenue) 0.05 $/kW-h

J. Revenues
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 Product (Main Revenue) 116,383,000 $/yr
P-29(Revenue) 2,654,000 $/yr
Total Revenues 119,037,000 $/yr

K. Annual Operating Cost (AOC)

AOC 106,302,000 $/yr

L. Unit Production Cost /Revenue

Unit Production Cost 2.22 $/gal(STP) MP
Unit Production Revenue 2.49 $/gal(STP) MP

M. Gross Profit (J-K) 12,735,000 $/yr

N. Taxes (35%) 4,457,000 $/yr
O. Net Profit (M-N + Depreciation) 20,522,000 $/yr

Gross Margin 10.70 %

Return On Investment 14.65 %
Payback Time 6.83 years
MP = Total Flow of Stream 'Product'

REFERENCES

[1] A. Aden, M. Ruth, K. Ibsen, J. Jechura, K. Neeves, J. Sheehan, and B. Wallace, “Lignocellulosic Biomass to
Ethanol Process Design and Economics Utilizing Co-Current Dilute Acid Prehydrolysis and Enzymatic Hydrolysis
for Corn Stover,” National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado, NREL/TP-510-32438, June 2002.

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