Techno‐economic analysis of inulooligosaccharides, protein, and biofuel co‐production from Jerusalem artichoke tubers: A biorefinery approach

Abstract

Jerusalem artichoke (JA) is a crop with excellent potential for application in biorefineries. It can resist drought, pests, and diseases and can thrive well in marginal lands with little fertilizer application. The JA tubers contain considerable quantities of inulin, which is suitable for the production of inulooligosaccharides (IOS), as a high‐value prebiotic, dietary fiber. In this study, five JA tuber biorefinery scenarios were simulated in Aspen Plus® and further evaluated by techno‐economic and sensitivity analyses. Production of IOS, proteins and animal feed was studied in scenarios A and C, applying various biorefinery configurations. Scenario B explored the option of producing only IOS and the sale of residues as animal feed. Scenarios D and E investigated the economic potential of biofuel generation from residues after IOS and protein production by generation of biogas and ethanol respectively, from residues. Based on the chosen economic indicators, scenario B resulted in the lowest minimum selling price (MSP) of 3.91 US$ kg−1 (market price 5.0 US$ kg−1) with correspondingly reduced total capital investment (TCI) and total operating cost (TOC) per mass unit produced of IOS of 18.91 and 2.59 US$ kg−1 respectively, compared with other studied scenarios. Considering the set production scale, it is more profitable when the residues are sold as animal feed instead of being converted into biofuel, due to the capital‐intensive nature of the biofuel production processes. The coproduction of protein had a negative impact on the economics of the process as the associated capital and operating expenditure outweighed the associated revenue. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Economic comparison of decentralized versus centralized processing of sugarcane to fructooligosaccharides and ethanol

“…The non-random two-liquid (NRTL), electrolyte nonrandom two-liquid (ELECTNRTL) and Peng-Robinson (PENG-ROB) property methods were chosen in the Aspen Plus simulations, based on previous examples of sugarcane biorefineries. 1,[14][15][16] The chemical composition of sugarcane was selected as reported by Dogbe et al, 1 and the component properties in Aspen Plus were taken from Humbird et al 17 The process flowsheets for each scenario can be found in the Supporting Information.…”

Optimization of Inulin Hydrolysis by Penicillium lanosocoeruleum Inulinases and Efficient Conversion Into Polyhydroxyalkanoates

“…The biorefinery concept focuses on the sustainable conversion of renewable biomasses into a broad range of industrial products, materials, and energy. Inulin-rich biomasses represent inexpensive, renewable, and abundant feedstock to build up a biorefinery strategy ( Li et al, 2013 ; Hughes et al, 2017 ; Bedzo et al, 2020 ). Inulin is a linear polysaccharide (ß-2,1-linked d-fructose residues terminated by a glucose residue) accumulated as a storage carbohydrate in plants such as chicory and dahlia and, more interestingly, in low-requirement crops, such as Jerusalem artichoke and Cynara cardunculus ( Hughes et al, 2017 ).…”

Jerusalem Artichoke as a Raw Material for Manufacturing Alternative Fuels for Gasoline Internal Combustion Engines

“…The main advantages of JA are, among others, its ability to grow in poor soil, resistance to pests and common plant diseases and growing much better (in comparison to other energy crops) under salt stress and low temperatures [32,33]. JA tubers are an excellent source of biomass for biofuels and biochemicals manufacturing and have been investigated for ethanol fermentation [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41], but the use of JA stems as a lignocellulosic feedstock for biofuels and biochemicals is still poorly understood [42].…”