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Transport emissions account for around a quarter of all CO2 emissions and so, automotive fuels are a key area of research for combating climate change. Widespread adoption of bio-ethanol fuel blends has been the first step in this direction. However, the economic and environmental viability of bio-ethanol usage is hampered by inefficiencies in its production, resulting in a need for significant improvements. The gasoline pre-blending method is a recent advancement that shows great promise in minimizing the separation energy required for bio-ethanol recovery by circumventing full purification and using gasoline’s phase equilibrium properties to eliminate water from a partially purified fermentation product. This paper models all possible gasoline pre-blending processes incorporating ethanol, butanol or both. It is found that butanol is highly suitable for gasoline pre-blending and that high recovery can be achieved even when starting with dilute concentrations. In addition, the presence of even small amounts of butanol is effective at drawing ethanol into the fuel phase, improving the overall alcohol recovery. Energy savings of up to 19% have been shown using a case study while a graphical methodology for preliminary design and synthesis of any gasoline pre-blending process has been developed, allowing for rapid flowsheet development and performance prediction. The authors would like to thank the Institute for the Development of Energy for African Sustainability (IDEAS) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa for providing financial support for carrying out this work. Dr M.J. Fernandez-Torres thanks the visiting researcher programme, at the University of South Africa, for financial support.

Transport emissions account for around a quarter of all CO2 emissions and so, automotive fuels are a key area of research for combating climate change. Widespread adoption of bio-ethanol fuel blends has been the first step in this direction. However, the economic and environmental viability of bio-ethanol usage is hampered by inefficiencies in its production, resulting in a need for significant improvements. The gasoline pre-blending method is a recent advancement that shows great promise in minimizing the separation energy required for bio-ethanol recovery by circumventing full purification and using gasoline’s phase equilibrium properties to eliminate water from a partially purified fermentation product. This paper models all possible gasoline pre-blending processes incorporating ethanol, butanol or both. It is found that butanol is highly suitable for gasoline pre-blending and that high recovery can be achieved even when starting with dilute concentrations. In addition, the presence of even small amounts of butanol is effective at drawing ethanol into the fuel phase, improving the overall alcohol recovery. Energy savings of up to 19% have been shown using a case study while a graphical methodology for preliminary design and synthesis of any gasoline pre-blending process has been developed, allowing for rapid flowsheet development and performance prediction. The authors would like to thank the Institute for the Development of Energy for African Sustainability (IDEAS) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa for providing financial support for carrying out this work. Dr M.J. Fernandez-Torres thanks the visiting researcher programme, at the University of South Africa, for financial support.

Given the damage that the natural environment suffers from human activities, it is relevant to provide ecological literacy to all Chemical Engineering students. Sometimes, this information is offered through elective courses and/or seminars and consequently it might not reach the whole class. Some courses have more obvious connections to environmental issues, while others do not appear to. In this paper, we aim to show through some solved examples how to introduce an environmental topic in the subject Mathematical Optimization. The problems goal is to decide on the best logistics for the transport and management of human waste that will be used in the production of sustainable energy. The context is that of improving the sanitation and hygiene in areas of the developing world, while simultaneously creating job opportunities within the communities. The research that we have conducted for finding the proper way to address the environmental analysis in class, led us first to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but later on, other theories such as the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) have proven to be more comprehensive and therefore, better. We believe that this multidisciplinary paper shows how to integrate environmental concerns and understanding in the Chemical Engineering curricula.

Given the damage that the natural environment suffers from human activities, it is relevant to provide ecological literacy to all Chemical Engineering students. Sometimes, this information is offered through elective courses and/or seminars and consequently it might not reach the whole class. Some courses have more obvious connections to environmental issues, while others do not appear to. In this paper, we aim to show through some solved examples how to introduce an environmental topic in the subject Mathematical Optimization. The problems goal is to decide on the best logistics for the transport and management of human waste that will be used in the production of sustainable energy. The context is that of improving the sanitation and hygiene in areas of the developing world, while simultaneously creating job opportunities within the communities. The research that we have conducted for finding the proper way to address the environmental analysis in class, led us first to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but later on, other theories such as the Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C) have proven to be more comprehensive and therefore, better. We believe that this multidisciplinary paper shows how to integrate environmental concerns and understanding in the Chemical Engineering curricula.