Ethanol from corn: analysis of using corn stover to supply heat and power to ethanol plant

Bioethanol is currently the most important biofuel for automotive transportation and the European Community has set common objectives about the utilization of biofuels for all member states. The current Italian production of bioethanol is not sufficient to achieve these goals. In this work the existing processes for ethanol production from corn and for energy generation from corn stover are analyzed with an exhaustive simulation approach. They are supplemented by local (internal) energy generation used to supply heat and/or electrical power to minimize the energy consumption from fossil sources. Different scenarios are analyzed to determine better, if not the best, way of production of bioethanol from corn while minimizing the energy consumption from fossil sources. An economic and profitability analysis for every scenario is also provided.