SIMULATION OF A PANEL SUGARCANE BIOREFINERY FOR THE PRODUCTIVE DIVERSIFICATION OF BAGASSE IN PASTAZA

Abstract

Introduction:

Sugarcane and panela production in Pastaza generates large volumes of bagasse with limited utilization.
Objective: The objective was to propose in silico diversification alternatives for panela production in the province of Pastaza, using sugarcane bagasse as raw material.
Materials and Methods:
An availability of 179.42 t/d of bagasse was estimated, and a panela biorefinery was modeled in SuperPro Designer v9.0, analyzing between 36 and 144 t/d with technical, economic and waste indicators.
Results and Discussion:
The simulation showed mass and energy balances consistent with second-generation technologies, with an ethanol yield of 260.1 g kg⁻¹ of dry bagasse. Profitability became positive from 63 t/d, and at 144 t/d a gross margin of 33.87 %, return on investment of 32.35 %, and payback period of 3.09 years were achieved.
Conclusions:

The 144 t/d scenario offers the best combination of profitability and waste utilization, and the proposed scheme approaches a biorefinery model with a circular economy focus for the panela sector in Pastaza.