Exergoeconomic insights into sugarcane biomass conversion: Integrating thermochemical and biochemical technologies for enhanced efficiency and profitability

This work, conducted exergy and thermoeconomic analyses of sugarcane biorefineries for different biomass allocations and conversion technologies. Using the Kriging method to determine biomass allocation, this article evaluated the performance of a sugarcane biorefinery based on the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. By this combination of techniques, it is possible to provide better guidance to decision-making. Therefore, through exergy analysis, it is possible to improve the allocation of biomass and energy resources to be more appropriate. Therefore, biorefineries can be more efficient and synthesize products at lower costs. Moreover, the highest exergy efficiency, 43.7 %, occurred when all sugarcane bagasse was destined for the thermochemical route, 60 % for Fischer-Tropsch synthesis, and 40 % for a BIG-GTCC. On the other hand, the lowest exergy efficiency, 39.63 %, was observed in the conventional case, indicating that prioritizing biomass conversion to any kind of fuel is more productive than allocating it to produce electricity in a Rankine Cycle, regardless of technology and biofuel. Moreover, from the exergoeconomic insight, a promising trade-off was determined: the thermochemical routes proved to be better in efficiency, both energetically and exergetically, while the biochemical routes, indicated potential profitability. Furthermore, the exergoeconomic analysis demonstrated that increasing the exploration of second-generation biomass in the biorefinery lowers the exergy costs of every product. Overall, this research highlights the potential associated with sugarcane biorefineries going into expansion and modernization since its resources can be valorized in terms of efficiency and monetary value.