Simulación y análisis exegético de una biorrefinería integrada para la hidrogenación selectiva del furfural

Abstract

CONDITION FOR PROJECT PUBLICATION. LOHC technologies represent a safe and efficient alternative for hydrogen (H2) storage and transportation. Furfural, derived from lignocellulosic biomass, is a promising compound for this application and for biofuel production, as it can be hydrogenated into tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol (THFA), a stable, versatile, and high-value product. However, the synthesis of THFA involves a two-step reaction pathway, which depends on the choice of catalyst, solvent, and operating conditions. This study proposes a dual-site kinetic model based on the Langmuir-Hinshelwood mechanism and evaluates the exergetic performance of an integrated furfural hydrogenation process under continuous flow conditions. The Aspen Plus simulation included alkaline water electrolysis for H2 production, catalytic hydrogenation using Ni-Cu/Al in 2-butanol, and product separation via distillation. The kinetic model showed good agreement with experimental data and accurately predicted product distribution. Exergy analysis revealed that the electrolyzer was the main contributor to exergy destruction (23.83 GJ/h), followed by the hydrogenation reactor (9.05 GJ/h) and the distillation column (7.95 GJ/h), with an overall system exergy efficiency of 69.95%. Operating pressure had no significant effect on selectivity or efficiency, while increasing temperature improved both. It is recommended to implement heat recovery technologies to improve overall exergy efficiency, and to evaluate the dehydrogenation pathway to assess the potential of furfural as an LOHC within sustainable biorefinery systems. Keywords: furfural hydrogenation, exergy, simulation, kinetic model, LHHW, tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol