Predictive Modelling of Ethanol Production from Biomass Pretreated with Ionic Liquids Using SuperPro Designer

Abstract The research focuses on optimizing ethanol production from oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) by utilizing various ionic liquids (ILs) for pretreatment. These ILs include 1-butyl imidazole, 1-butyl 3-methylimidazolium chloride, and choline acetate (ChOAc) as biocompatible IL. The study employs the SuperPro Designer (SPD) software to simulate the ethanol biorefinery process, incorporating pretreatment, enzyme-mediated saccharification, and fermentation stages. The SPD model underwent validation against published data regarding the cholinium ionic liquid-facilitated processing of OPEFB biomass, setting an IL/biomass ratio of 1.5 (g/g). Investigations into the ionic liquid-facilitated pretreatment of OPEFB plant material suggest that an IL/biomass ratio of 0.5 is optimal for achieving the highest ethanol yield. After 72 hours of high-loading enzymatic saccharification, the amounts of glucose that were found were 98 g/L for 1-butyl imidazole, 130 g/L for 1-butyl 3-methylimidazolium chloride, and 138 g/L for OPEFB that had been treated with ChOAc. Similarly, xylose concentrations were consistent across treatments, with 33 g/L for the first two ILs and 32 g/L for ChOAc. After co-fermentation, ethanol concentrations of 70 g/L for 1-butyl imidazole IL, 85 g/L for 1-butyl 3-methylimidazolium chloride IL, and 92 g/L for ChOAc IL were found after 24 hours. These amounts equal 96%, 97%, and 96% of the theoretical sugar-based ethanol yield. The utilization of SPD simulation in ethanol production from biomass like OPEFB demonstrates the potential to reduce production costs and satisfies the criteria for future research demands.