Cenários prospectivos para a biorrefinaria de milho

Abstract

Global warming and an imminent scarcity of fossil fossils, in contrast to the increase in energy demand, have fostered the development of more sustainable production systems, such as biorefineries. These complex industrial units integrate technologies and processes capable of converting biomass, in the same plant, into energy, biofuels and chemical products with high added value. In this scenario, a prominent raw material is corn, due to its wide range of use and its representation in the national market, especially in the state of Mato Grosso, which leads the production of corn and has great potential for the production of bioethanol a from this grain. During the processing of corn into ethanol, corn oil, commonly refined for food purposes, is also obtained. This chain generates various wastes to which it is possible to add value in integrated systems. However, the implementation of these systems requires a technological management capable of predicting integration paths with the greatest potential. Thus, it was proposed in this work an investigation on bioproducts and emerging technologies associated with the corn processing chain in ethanol and refined oil, from a bibliometric analysis, in order to build and evaluate prospective corn biorefinery scenarios. For this, use a methodology based on Social Network Analysis (ARS). For each of the inputs generated in the base process, complex citation networks were built, which, in turn, were partitioned into clusters characterized by a topographic analysis. Emerging search terms were identified based on each group's growth estimate and the most promising technologies were used in the construction of two maize biorefinery layouts, taking into account integration possibilities, product diversification and future prospects. The study identified as potential contributors to corn biorefining, products that fit into biofuels, adsorbents, acids and biopolymers. Furthermore, it was observed that China, USA, India and Brazil lead as scientific researches in this field of knowledge. The inputs generated in corn refining attract less interest from the scientific community, while straw is the most investigated input given the environmental problems associated with burning this agricultural residue, mainly on Chinese soil. In relation to the proposed layouts, created from three main platforms (C5, C6 and Oil), it was possible to verify a production flexibility, promoted by the processing of a single raw material in several products, allowing which ones will be purchased. Finally, the use of C5 sugar for the production of succinic acid stands out as a good prospect for biorefineries that process lignocellulosic biomass.