A comprehensive analysis of bioethanol and ethyl lactate joint production in second-generation biorefinery: Simulation, techno-economic, and profitability assessments

•Joint production is a re-oriented concept for 2G biorefineries.•The joint production parameter is crucial in joint production analysis.•Joint production of bioethanol and ethyl lactate was techno-economically evaluated. Second-generation biorefineries (2GBR) represent an innovative application of bioresources technologies to produce bioenergy and valuable products. This paper aims to introduce and analyze the joint production of bioethanol and ethyl lactate in a 2GBR. Techno-economic and profitability perspectives are considered in the analysis which is conducted via simulation considering corn stover as raw material. A key aspect in the analysis is a joint production parameter named α, whose values can dictate either the sole production of bioethanol (α = 0), joint production (0