(249c) A Systems Approach for the Integration of Biorefineries with Conventional Refineries

Eleanna Andritsou, Marinella Tsakalova, Antonis Kokossis

National Technical University of Athens, Greece

Biobased chemical production (biofuels, polyesters coating, glycerol, resins, etc.) would account for 10 percent of the 1.5 trillion worldwide annual chemical market (McKenzie and Co), shaping up a new biobased industry. Within the frames of redefining the chemical industries a great challenge is to examine the integration, redesign and retrofit of conventional refineries with bio-refineries. Biorefineries bare similarities and analogies with the conventional refineries making the synergies of mass and energy flows an interesting and unexploited area. 

The paper outlines a methodology for the integration of biorefineries with conventional refineries. The process invites a conceptual design of processes considering the processes as black boxes with input and output streams. The implementation takes the form of a synthesis model that is generalized with process and intermediates as appropriate to the case. The implementation features four (4) biobased (woodchips, corn stover, municipal waste, plant oi) and three (3) conventional (crude oil, natural gas and coal) feedstocks,  fifty (50) different bio and conventional processes (fermentation, gasification, anaerobic digestion, transesterification, reforming, refining, hydrocracking, catalytic cracking, dehydrogenation, synthesis, etc.) , sixteen (16) intermediate chemicals (ethanol, methanol, naptha, glycerol, syngas etc.) and eight (8) final products (ethylene, propylene, propylene glycol, acetone, butanol etc.) The model identifies the optimal integrated flows and synergies in terms of energy production and consumptions. The synthesis model performs screening over multiple production routes subjected to economic and energy restrictions including the impact of LCA aspects.

Keywords: integration, biorefineries, conventional refineries, optimization, synthesis