Energy-efficient systems including combined heat and power and mechanical vapor compression for biofuel or biochemical plants

A method of modifying a distillery or biorefinery, wherein said distillery or biorefinery converts biomass into a biofuel or biochemical, and wherein said biofuel or biochemical is purified by distillation, said method comprising:

• (i) introducing a mechanical vapor recompression (MVR) unit to recover heat of said distillation and provide a reduction in process thermal energy usage in said distillery or biorefinery, wherein said MVR unit comprises multiple compressors and/or multiple compressor stages, and wherein cascaded heat from said distillation is integrated with multiple distillery or biorefinery process stages, including at least one distillery or biorefinery process stage that is not distillation;
• and
• (ii) introducing a combined heat and power (CHP) system having a CHP engine, to provide mechanical and electrical energy for driving said MVR unit, wherein residual waste heat of said CHP engine offsets said process thermal energy usage in said distillery or biorefinery, in conjunction with said MVR unit;
• and wherein integration of said MVR unit with said CHP system balances process energy requirements, process carbon intensity, and/or process energy costs.