(374x) Inorganics Consumption and Economic Feasibility Analysis for a Cellulosic Ethanol Process Utilizing Alkaline Hydrogen Peroxide Pretreatment

This work will investigate the feasibility of biomass pretreatment with alkaline hydrogen peroxide (AHP) in a cellulosic ethanol process with the ultimate goal of optimizing the utilization of input chemicals for an industrially relevant process for the pretreatment of herbaceous plants. For economic feasibility, pretreatment must be done at higher solids loadings; therefore, input chemical utilization must be optimized by determining the consumption of alkali and hydrogen peroxide at high solids concentrations. An understanding of the relationship between NaOH: H2O2: Biomass and enzymatic digestibility will be developed to determine if economically feasible conditions for AHP can be identified. Using these conditions, an economic analysis of a cellulosic ethanol plant utilizing 1000 ton/day of switchgrass pretreated by AHP will be performed based on the experimentally-determined biomass digestibilities and inorganic chemical consumptions.