Using product driven process synthesis in the biorefinery

In this work, we propose the use of the product-driven process synthesis (PDPS) methodology for the product and process design stage in biorefinery. The aim of the biorefinery is to optimize the total use of the whole feedstock - with focus being on various products simultaneously - rather than to maximize the extraction yield of one single product. The challenge is therefore two-fold; first to identify the main compounds of interest, i.e. the products of the biorefinery, and second to design a process scheme that will allow for an optimal quantity and quality of the identified compounds. To illustrate how PDPS can be used in biorefinery a case study based on sugar beet leaves is described. The identification of the main compounds of interest is based on the functionalities that they can deliver in the final applications, rather than on their quantities in the feedstock. To design the process scheme for the extraction of the selected compounds, task networks, currently used for the extraction of the individual compounds of interest, are used after adaptations. These adaptations are done on the basis of the qualitative and/or quantitative changes that certain tasks - used for the extraction of one compound - may cause on another compound of interest. By using the sugar beet leaves biorefinery case, we show that the PDPS methodology can be a useful tool for structured decision making during the product and process design stage in biorefinery.