Gu, Jiaming; Wang, Danfeng; Shen, Qun; Shang, Li; Shen, Guofei; Sun, Nannan; Tong, Shuhuan; Chao, Wei; Guo, Yangyang; Wei, Wei

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL

2025, ,

Gu, Jiaming; Wang, Danfeng; Shen, Qun; Shang, Li; Shen, Guofei; Sun, Nannan; Tong, Shuhuan; Chao, Wei; Guo, Yangyang; Wei, Wei

Ethanol production from fermentation of CO-containing industrial off-gases as a promising technology instead of traditional ways has received much attention in the last few years. In this study, starting from the inherent process mechanism of the bio-fermentation, six technology paths with different intrinsic low-carbon attributes are designed and the superior, interior and feasibility of different technology paths are revealed through technoeconomic assessment (TEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methods. The assessment results demonstrate that the recommended optimal pathway shifts from scenario route 6 (SR6) to scenario route 2 (SR2) or scenario route 3 (SR3) when transitioning from laboratory to industrialization perspective. Under the industrialization evaluation scope, the carbon footprints are -14.3 tCO2eq/t and -13.4 tCO2eq/t for SR2 and SR3 routes, respectively, with corresponding production costs minimized to 0.32 x 104-0.33 x 104 CNY/t. Furthermore, prospective carbon tax incentives could reduce economic costs for SR2 and SR3 pathways by 45 %-77 % and 47 %-77 % respectively, suggesting their application potential in the future. These findings emphasize the critical importance of systematic evaluation boundaries, pretreatment integration, and policy support in advancing sustainable industrialization of bioethanol.