Techno-Economic Performance of Different Technological Based Bio-Refineries for Biofuel Production

Abstract

There are different technologies for biodiesel production, each having its benefits and drawbacks depending on the type of feedstock and catalyst used. In this study, the techno-economic performances of four catalyst technologies were investigated. The catalysts were bulk calcium oxide (CaO), enzyme, nano-calcium oxide, and ionic liquid. The study was mainly based on process simulations designed using Aspen Plus and SuperPro software. The quantity and quality of biodiesel and glycerol, as well as the amount of biodiesel per amount of feedstock, were the parameters to evaluate technical performances. The parameters for economic performances were total investment cost, unit production cost, net present value (NPV), internal return rate (IRR), and return over investment (ROI). Technically, all the studied options provided fuel quality biodiesel and high purity glycerol. However, under the assumed market scenario, the process using bulk CaO catalyst was more economically feasible and tolerable to the change in market values of major inputs and outputs. On the contrary, the enzyme catalyst option was very expensive and economically infeasible for all considered ranges of cost of feedstock and product. The result of this study could be used as a basis to do detail estimates for the practical implementation of the efficient process.

Heterogeneous Nanocatalyst for Biodiesel Synthesis

“…Low‐cost materials such as waste eggshells, animal bones, and mollusk trash can employ to minimise the cost of heterogeneous nanocatalysts [40–42] . As a result, nanocatalysts can be used as an option to improve biodiesel production from oils [43] . Figure 2 and 3 illustrates base and acid catalysed transesterification mechanism for biodiesel production using heterogeneous nanocatalyst respectively [4] .…”

Growth-Promoting Effects of Press Water from the Mechanical Drying of Douglas-Fir Wood Chips on Lignocellulolytic Fungi

“…The ascomycete lamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is a major producer of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes), which are used for the conversion of plant biomass to sustainable fuels and chemicals [26][27][28]. The high cost of enzyme production as an important factor for the economic feasibility of biore neries, especially for the production of biofuels, has driven the development of several hypercellulolytic mutant strains [29][30][31]. One of these strains, RUT-C30, has been extensively studied in academic research [32].…”

Press water from the mechanical drying of Douglas-fir wood chips has multiple beneficial effects on lignocellulolytic fungi

“…The ascomycete filamentous fungus Trichoderma reesei is a major producer of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes), which are used for the conversion of plant biomass to sustainable fuels and chemicals [ 29 – 31 ]. The high cost of enzyme production as an important factor for the economic feasibility of biorefineries, especially for the production of biofuels, has driven the development of several hypercellulolytic mutant strains [ 32 – 34 ]. One of these strains, RUT-C30, has been extensively modified from its progenitor wild-type QM6a by several rounds of random mutagenesis and screening [ 35 ].…”