Optimization and Simulation of Bioethanol Production from Different Grades of Molasses

The country has been grappling with a significant rise in pollution in recent years, primarily caused by vehicle emissions and the improper disposal of agricultural and industrial waste. To address this issue, the Indian government has launched a campaign to foster innovative ideas for managing agricultural waste, particularly biomass. One such idea involves the production of biofuel from biomass sources such as sugarcane bagasse, sugarcane molasses, corn, rice husk, and wheat straw. This paper focuses on a study that investigates the production of biofuel, specifically bioethanol, using sugarcane molasses as the raw material. The study explores different categories of sugarcane molasses, classifying them based on their sucrose content. The research methodology involves pre-treating the sugarcane through crushing and hydrolysis, followed by fermentation using Saccharomyces Cerevisiae. The process then proceeds to distillation and analysis of the resulting bioethanol. Additionally, the study includes a simulation of the production process using Aspen Plus, based on the obtained analysis results. Overall, this paper delves into the production of biofuel, mainly focusing on bioethanol derived from sugarcane molasses. It examines various aspects of the process, from molasses classification to pretreatment, fermentation, distillation, analysis, and simulation using Aspen Plus.