The Econometrics of Production of Bulk Oil and Lipid Extracted Algae in an Agroindustrial Biorefinery

Title:The Econometrics of Production of Bulk Oil and Lipid Extracted Algae in an Agroindustrial Biorefinery

Volume: 4 Issue: 4

Author(s): Gabriela Rigo Roso, Alberto Meireles dos Santos, Maria Isabel Queiroz, Juliano Smanioto Barin, Leila Queiroz Zepka and Eduardo Jacob-Lopes

Affiliation:

Keywords: Animal feed, biodiesel, feasibility analysis, microalgae, techno-economic analysis.

Abstract: Background: This article highlights the techno-economic analysis of a simulated large-scale process to produce bulk oil and lipid extracted algae (LEA) in an agroindustrial biorefinery.

Methods: The process is based on a heterotrophic microalgal bioreactor used to simultaneously convert organic matter, nitrogen and phosphorus of the slaughterhouse wastewater into microalgal biomass. The experimental data, obtained from a bench-scale facility, were used to estimate the costs of an industrial scale (16,000 m3/day).

Results: The microalgal biorefinery has capacity to produce 503,677.70 tons of biomass per year resulting in a bulk oil and lipid extracted algae production of 77,611.10 and 425,859.5 tons/year, respectively. The economic analysis foresees an estimated cost of USD 386.5 per ton of bulk oil and USD 70.4 per ton of LEA.

Conclusion: The proposed technological route was demonstrated to be potentially technical and economical in providing feedstocks to energy and feed industries.

Cite this article as:

Rigo Roso Gabriela, Meireles dos Santos Alberto, Isabel Queiroz Maria, Smanioto Barin Juliano, Queiroz Zepka Leila and Jacob-Lopes Eduardo, The Econometrics of Production of Bulk Oil and Lipid Extracted Algae in an Agroindustrial Biorefinery, Current Biotechnology 2015; 4 (4) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/2211550104666150911191836