Acid pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass: Steady state and dynamic analysis

In this work, a systematic study of the reactor design and of the selection of the operating conditions for the dilute acid pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass is presented, using modeling and simulation tools to improve the process efficiency. As case study, the acid pretreatment of corn stover in a continuous process is considered. Static and dynamic simulations were performed using Aspen Plus. The results are presented in terms of yields of fermentable sugars, reaction times and bioethanol prodution. The results show the potential of the methodology for improving the process efficiency (i.e. high conversions and short reaction times).