Modelagem, simulação e otimização do processo de absorção gasosa, visando a recuperação do etanol evaporado, durante a fermentação alcoólica

Abstract

For being a renewable and less polluting energy source, ethanol production has been gaining worldwide prominence as a fuel source. It is a product widely used as a biofuel, in the manufacture of beverages and as a raw material in several industries. In Brazil, it is obtained through the alcoholic fermentation of the juice extracted from the cane. However, during the fermentation process, part of the ethanol is dragged by the CO2 produced. To avoid losses in the process, a system of closed tanks coupled by an absorption column is used for the recovery of alcohol. This project aims to study and optimize the process of gas absorption from alcohol production plants, using ASPEN HYSYS V.10 software. The simulation was carried out taking into account the dimensioning of the column and its process variables such as pressure, temperature and water flow. Data was obtained from Usina Caeté S/A for this work. The absorption column was designed taking into account the data provided regarding the fermentation process, with the objective of recovering the maximum amount of alcohol, generating a flow with an alcoholic percentage close to that of the wine generated by the plant. A system was designed, using optimization through neural networks to fulfill the proposed objective, recovering 99.24% of the alcohol in the process.