Techno-economic analysis of autotrophic microalgae for fuel production

Integrated biorefineries: CO2 utilization for maximum biomass conversion

“…The lowest benchmark is the result of Jones, et al's study [74] that reported the MFSP for gasoline and diesel blendstock to be 2.04 $/gallon for standalone pyrolysis scenario. The highest MFSP for diesel is found in Davis, et al's study [75] where diesel is produced by algae from CO2 purchased from a nearby refinery using a This article should be cited as: Sharifzadeh M * , Wang L, Shah N, (2015). Integrated bio-refineries: CO2 utilization for maximum biomass conversion.…”

“…Once the TIC was determined, the indirect costs including engineering (32% of TPEC), construction (34%), project contingency (37%), legal and contractors' fees (23%) were added to yield the TCI. Land cost is $3000 per acre [75] for the algae cultivation section and 6% of the TPEC for the other sections. The variable operating costs including raw materials, utilities, and waste landfill charges are summarized in Table 1.…”

“…In order to compare the results of the present study with those in liteature [74,75], the MFSP is recalculated backward to 2007 USD and represented in Fig. 4.…”

“…The pyrolysis model was based on a study by US Department of Energy (DOE), conducted by Jones, et al [74]. The microalgae model was based on studies by Davis, et al [75] at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Frank, et al [76] at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). In addition, Process Systems Enterprise has published an example [77] of a rate-based model of the CO2 capture process by MEA, which is validated based on experimental data [78].…”

“…In the present study, the costs of conventional unit operations (e.g., distillation columns, pumps, and vessels) were calculated using the Aspen Process Economic Analyzer™. However, the costs of the nonconventional unit operations (e.g., catalytic reactors, pressure swing absorber) were calculated based on the following relation and with reference to the economic data from literature [74][75][76][77]:…”