Exergetic analysis and optimization of process variables in xylitol production: Maximizing efficiency and sustainability in biotechnological processes.

This study presents an exergetic analysis of xylitol fermentative production from hemicellulose hydrolysate, aiming to optimize operational conditions in a fluidized bed bioreactor. The aerobic fermentation conditions evaluated in this study (gas flow rate - x, hydrolysate concentration factor - x, and recirculation flow rate - x) were optimized using various exergetic parameters and xylitol yield as objective functions. Four objective functions were defined for the mono-objective optimization process: rational exergetic efficiency, normalized destroyed exergy, thermodynamic sustainability index, and xylitol yield factor.