Economic analysis of ethanol and fructose production by selective fermentation coupled to pervaporation: effect of membrane costs on process economics Original Research Article

This work presents a preliminary economic analysis of the production of ethanol using different fermentation processes. The installation of a new plant and the adaptation of an existing ethanol plant to the selective fermentation of glucose from sugar cane hydrolysate were considered. In the latter process, glucose is converted to ethanol and fructose accumulates in the fermentation broth. The use of pervaporation for continuous removal of ethanol from the fermentation broth is also considered, in order to minimize inhibition of the microorganism and to facilitate product recovery. The results show that the selective fermentation coupled to membrane processes to removal of ethanol is an attractive process to increase ethanol production economics, although membrane performance and costs should still be improved.