Molasses to energy: Techno-economic and environmental assessment of co-production of bioethanol and synthetic natural gas
Thapa P, Chaudhary Y, Baidar D, Ghimire A, Uprety B (2025)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2025
Journal
Book Volume: 201
Article Number: 108057
DOI: 10.1016/j.biombioe.2025.108057
Abstract
The study presents a comprehensive techno-economic-environmental analysis of a novel co-generation process for producing molasses-based bioethanol and synthetic natural gas (SNG) within a single integrated plant. The proposed system comprises ethanol, hydrogen and methane production primarily powered by hydropower with rice husk as a supplementary energy source. The process modelling was performed using Aspen Plus, followed by extensive economic, environmental and energy assessment. The analysis shows that the levelized cost of bioethanol and SNG is 1754.15 USD/MT, higher than the conventional fossil-fuel based ethanol and natural gas. The hydrogen production unit accounted for the largest share of energy consumption (57 %) and environmental impacts (72 %). Substituting rice husk for conventional fuels as an energy source in the ethanol purification unit demonstrated significant environmental benefits. The process achieved a carbon efficiency of 72%. For rice husk, the ARP is 477.22 MT SO2-eq, which is 21.07 % lower than coal and 246.66 % higher than natural gas. Similarly, the EP for rice husk is 3.87 MT PO4-eq, which is 88.44 % lower than coal and 76.81 % lower than natural gas. The overall energy efficiency of the proposed process was found to be 12.14 %. While the process incurs higher cost, it demonstrates potential for achieving carbon-negative operations and reducing environmental impacts, paving the way for sustainable industrial energy sources.
Involved external institutions
Canada (CA)
Nepal (NP)How to cite
APA:
Thapa, P., Chaudhary, Y., Baidar, D., Ghimire, A., & Uprety, B. (2025). Molasses to energy: Techno-economic and environmental assessment of co-production of bioethanol and synthetic natural gas. Biomass & Bioenergy, 201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2025.108057
MLA:
Thapa, Prabhav, et al. "Molasses to energy: Techno-economic and environmental assessment of co-production of bioethanol and synthetic natural gas." Biomass & Bioenergy 201 (2025).
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