Comprehensive Techno-Economic Analysis of a Multi-Feedstock Biorefinery Plant in Oil-Rich Country: A Case Study of Iran

Abstract

The high energy consumption in Iran, particularly in the transportation sector, has contaminated large cities and jeopardized the society health. Therefore, in this study technical and economic features of the production of biodiesel plant in Iran from various wastes are investigated. Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method’s findings, the southern area of Iran is selected for establishing the biodiesel plant in Iran. The biorefinery, which includes three units of sewage sludge, edible waste oil and microalgae. The results of the economic evaluation show that the lowest costs of investment and production of biodiesel are related to microalgae units ($0.375/kg) and edible waste oil ($0.53/kg), respectively. Also, among all units, the lowest break even prices are related to biodiesel production ($1.17/kg) and the highest ATROR rate (29.16%) belongs to the microalgae unit. This indicates that this unit is more profitable than other units and the invested cost is returned to the investor in a shorter period of time (3.43 years). On the other hand, the results of sensitivity analysis show that the highest sensitivity of changes in the selling price of biodiesel and the cost of raw materials to ATROR to the microalgae and sludge unit. Therefore, the construction of a biorefinery in Iran has an economic justification.

Techno-economic analysis of the process for obtaining Bioethanol from rice husks and whey

“…For this differential analysis, only those units that differed in the alternatives studied were considered. Capital costs were estimated using the module costing technique [37][38][39][40]. According to Ulrich and Vasudevan [41], utility costs were estimated by considering the Hot Water and Cooling Water equations.…”

Exploring the Environmental and Performance Implications of Utilizing Waste Swine Oil Biodiesel in CI Engines

“…Both acidcatalyzed and base-catalyzed transesterification have been studied [21]. The conversion efficiency of waste swine oil into biodiesel has been found to be high, around 98% [22].…”

Economic evaluation of biodiesel plant design in Bontang, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

“…In addition, several studies have evaluated the economics of biodiesel production using solid catalysts such as biochar [12] and hydroxyapatite [13]. The economics of biodiesel production with case studies in various countries has also been carried out such as Iran [14], Hong Kong [15], Egypt [16] and Indonesia [17]. Therefore, this research will examine the economic evaluation of biodiesel plant design in Bontang, East Kalimantan, Indonesia at 2023.…”