Abstract
Growing interest in renewable feedstocks has driven the development of new strategies to identify the most efficient processes for converting biomass into valuable chemicals. In this context, this work presents a superstructure optimization for producing gamma-valerolactone (GVL) from sugarcane bagasse, integrating pretreatment, levulinic acid synthesis, hydrogenation, separation, and electricity cogeneration from lignin. Multiple pretreatment and downstream alternatives were evaluated, including furfural valorization and two hydrogenation routes (molecular hydrogen and isopropanol as a hydrogen donor). A MILP formulation was applied to identify the economically optimal configuration under mass, energy, and cost constraints. The optimal design selects steam-explosion pretreatment, reactive distillation for furfural, solvent extraction for levulinic acid recovery, and H2-based hydrogenation to GVL. Economic assessment yields a positive NPV (50 million USD) at a GVL price of 2.5 USD/kg and a furfural price of 2 USD/kg. Sensitivity and scenario analyses highlight the importance of catalyst performance and full valorization of hemicellulose to improve overall process feasibility.
