Exploring Opportunities for the Production of Chemicals from Municipal Solid Wastes within the Framework of a Biorefinery

Technological advances in catalytic and biological engineering have created opportunities for the production of high value chemicals from biomolecules such as glucose. Yet, production of such chemicals from real, complex biomass requires the integration with biomass pre-treatment. This study exemplifies the use of a computer aided collaborative environment that integrates biomass pre- and post-treatment via a limited set of intermediate streams. The cost and composition of intermediate streams from two different pretreatment methods, dark fermentation and enzymatic hydrolysis, were simulated using AspenPlus, using the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) as feedstock. Using these streams in downstream processes was found to have a cost advantage over the use of pure substrates. On the other hand, these streams contain by-products with the potential to inhibit downstream bioprocesses and to complicate downstream product separation.