Energy and Economic Analysis of Date Palm Biomass Feedstock for Biofuel Production in UAE: Pyrolysis, Gasification and Fermentation

Abstract

This work evaluates date palm waste as a cheap and available biomass feedstock in UAE for the production of biofuels. The thermochemical and biochemical routes including pyrolysis, gasification, and fermentation were investigated. Simulations were done to produce biofuels from biomass via Aspen Plus v.10. The simulation results showed that for a tonne of biomass feed, gasification produced 56 kg of hydrogen and fermentation yielded 233 kg of ethanol. Process energy requirements, however, proved to offset the bioethanol product value. For 1 tonne of biomass feed, the net duty for pyrolysis was 37 kJ, for gasification was 725 kJ, and for fermentation was 7481.5 kJ. Furthermore, for 1 tonne of date palm waste feed, pyrolysis generated a returned USD $768, gasification generated USD 166, but fermentation required an expenditure of USD 763, rendering it unfeasible. The fermentation economic analysis showed that reducing the system’s net duty to 6500 kJ/tonne biomass and converting 30% hemicellulose along with the cellulose content will result in a breakeven bioethanol fuel price of 1.85 USD/L. This fuel price falls within the acceptable 0.8–2.4 USD/L commercial feasibility range and is competitive with bioethanol produced in other processes. The economic analysis indicated that pyrolysis and gasification are economically more feasible than fermentation. To maximize profits, the wasted hemicellulose and lignin from fermentation are proposed to be used in thermochemical processes for further fuel production.

Biochemical Conversion of Lignocellulosic Biomass from Date Palm of Phoenix dactylifera L. into Ethanol Production

“…This study proves that biofuel yield from date palm waste via fermentation is high, as recent research also shows [50].…”

Date Palm Tree Waste Recycling: Treatment and Processing for Potential Engineering Applications

“…Results showed that their blend produced lower levels of CO 2 , CO, and HC but higher levels of NO x emissions. Martis et al [68] studied the economic feasibility of date palm waste as biofuel source in UAE by simulating three production methods: pyrolysis, gasification, and fermentation. Their study showed that pyrolysis and gasification are economically more feasible than fermentation.…”

Salt Stress Modulates the Landscape of Transcriptome and Alternative Splicing in Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.)

“…Date palm ( Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important fruit crop in several arid and semiarid countries in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central America. Dates play a pivotal role in the economy, society, and environment of those countries, and regard as the main income source and staple food for local populations ( Martis et al, 2020 ). The date palm trees have the ability to grow under the severer climatic conditions, such as very hot and dry climates, and even in close proximity to the seashore that contained large amounts of salty and alkaline soils ( Yaish and Kumar, 2015 ).…”