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STUDY OF AGRICULTURAL BIOMASS WASTE FOR THE INSTALLATION OF A SMALL-SCALE BIOREFINERY

Abstract:

In recent years, lignocellulose residues have been used for producing different bioproducts. Among the countries with this potential is Ecuador, which is characterized by having an agrarian economy, generating waste that constitutes mostly biomass of the lignocellulosic type. The province of Manabí, located on the Ecuadorian coast, is an agricultural area whose residues are usually burned, left in the field or used for animal feed. Based on this premise, a multicriteria analysis was developed through the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), in which 6 agricultural biomasses from the Ecuadorian coast were evaluated: coffee husks, cocoa husks and mucilage, corn cob, banana peels and sugar cane bagasse. They were evaluated by a panel of experts based on their energy potential, biomass composition, yield, processing cost and environmental impact. The composition of the waste (proximal and elemental analysis) was bibliographically consulted, as well as current processing technologies. From the AHP, it was known that the agricultural biomass with the greatest potential to be used in a small-scale biorefinery is sugarcane bagasse (33.20 %), followed by coffee husks (26.10 %), being the recognized sugarcane with the greatest richness in polysaccharides and a promising source for obtaining biofuels and other chemical products. It is expected that the results obtained in this study will be the basis for other research and will be interesting for the bioeconomic development of the country.