IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v70y2017icp224-229.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Economic analysis of converting of waste agricultural biomass into liquid fuel: A case study on a biofuel plant in China

Author

Listed:
  • Ji, Li-Qun
  • Zhang, Chuang
  • Fang, Jing-Qi

Abstract

Liquid fuel from pyrolysis of waste agricultural biomass has great potential to replace petroleum. In this work, an economic analysis has been carried out to study the production cost of liquid fuel from biomass pyrolysis and economic feasibility of a biofuel plant with a feedstock feeding rate of 4000kgh−1 in China. The results have shown that the production cost of liquid fuel is 1748 yuan per ton, which is less than the expected selling price of pyrolysis liquid fuel (2100 yuan per ton). The liquid fuel production cost is highly sensitive to the liquid fuel yield and unit feedstock cost. The payback period of the biofuel plant with 100% equity financing is about six years. With an internal rate of return of 13%, the biofuel plant would be financially viable if it earns revenues from both liquid fuel and char. If 50% or 30% debt financing is considered, the positive net present value of the biofuel plant would appear at the seventh and eighth year. The results will be helpful for the commercial production and application of liquid fuel from biomass pyrolysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Ji, Li-Qun & Zhang, Chuang & Fang, Jing-Qi, 2017. "Economic analysis of converting of waste agricultural biomass into liquid fuel: A case study on a biofuel plant in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 224-229.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:70:y:2017:i:c:p:224-229
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.189
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032116309431
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.189?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Palma, Marco A. & Richardson, James W. & Roberson, Brad E. & Ribera, Luis A. & Outlaw, Joe L. & Munster, Clyde, 2011. "Economic Feasibility of a Mobile Fast Pyrolysis System for Sustainable Bio-crude Oil Production," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 14(3), pages 1-16, September.
    2. Bridgwater, A. V. & Peacocke, G. V. C., 2000. "Fast pyrolysis processes for biomass," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 4(1), pages 1-73, March.
    3. Andre Faaij, 2006. "Modern Biomass Conversion Technologies," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 335-367, March.
    4. Hossain, A.K. & Davies, P.A., 2013. "Pyrolysis liquids and gases as alternative fuels in internal combustion engines – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 21(C), pages 165-189.
    5. Ji, Li-Qun, 2015. "An assessment of agricultural residue resources for liquid biofuel production in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 561-575.
    6. Yanli, Yang & Peidong, Zhang & Wenlong, Zhang & Yongsheng, Tian & Yonghong, Zheng & Lisheng, Wang, 2010. "Quantitative appraisal and potential analysis for primary biomass resources for energy utilization in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(9), pages 3050-3058, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kang, Kang & Zhu, Mingqiang & Sun, Guotao & Qiu, Ling & Guo, Xiaohui & Meda, Venkatesh & Sun, Runcang, 2018. "Codensification of Eucommia ulmoides Oliver stem with pyrolysis oil and char for solid biofuel: An optimization and characterization study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 223(C), pages 347-357.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Motasemi, F. & Afzal, Muhammad T., 2013. "A review on the microwave-assisted pyrolysis technique," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 317-330.
    2. Kostas, Emily T. & Beneroso, Daniel & Robinson, John P., 2017. "The application of microwave heating in bioenergy: A review on the microwave pre-treatment and upgrading technologies for biomass," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 12-27.
    3. Chintala, Venkateswarlu, 2018. "Production, upgradation and utilization of solar assisted pyrolysis fuels from biomass – A technical review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 120-130.
    4. Qin, Zhangcai & Zhuang, Qianlai & Cai, Ximing & He, Yujie & Huang, Yao & Jiang, Dong & Lin, Erda & Liu, Yaling & Tang, Ya & Wang, Michael Q., 2018. "Biomass and biofuels in China: Toward bioenergy resource potentials and their impacts on the environment," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 2387-2400.
    5. Vargas-Moreno, J.M. & Callejón-Ferre, A.J. & Pérez-Alonso, J. & Velázquez-Martí, B., 2012. "A review of the mathematical models for predicting the heating value of biomass materials," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(5), pages 3065-3083.
    6. Kan, Tao & Strezov, Vladimir & Evans, Tim J., 2016. "Lignocellulosic biomass pyrolysis: A review of product properties and effects of pyrolysis parameters," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1126-1140.
    7. Asci, Serhat & Borisova, Tatiana & VanSickle, John J., 2015. "Role of economics in developing fertilizer best management practices," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 251-261.
    8. Weng, Yuwei & Chang, Shiyan & Cai, Wenjia & Wang, Can, 2019. "Exploring the impacts of biofuel expansion on land use change and food security based on a land explicit CGE model: A case study of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 514-525.
    9. Mushtaq, Faisal & Mat, Ramli & Ani, Farid Nasir, 2014. "A review on microwave assisted pyrolysis of coal and biomass for fuel production," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 555-574.
    10. Zhao, Xiqiang & Zhou, Xing & Wang, Guoxiu & Zhou, Ping & Wang, Wenlong & Song, Zhanlong, 2022. "Evaluating the effect of torrefaction on the pyrolysis of biomass and the biochar catalytic performance on dry reforming of methane," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 313-325.
    11. Soria-Verdugo, Antonio & Rubio-Rubio, Mariano & Goos, Elke & Riedel, Uwe, 2020. "On the characteristic heating and pyrolysis time of thermally small biomass particles in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 312-322.
    12. Yang, Jing & Song, Kaihui & Hou, Jian & Zhang, Peidong & Wu, Jinhu, 2017. "Temporal and spacial dynamics of bioenergy-related CO2 emissions and underlying forces analysis in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 1323-1330.
    13. Bergthorson, Jeffrey M. & Thomson, Murray J., 2015. "A review of the combustion and emissions properties of advanced transportation biofuels and their impact on existing and future engines," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1393-1417.
    14. Saidur, R. & Abdelaziz, E.A. & Demirbas, A. & Hossain, M.S. & Mekhilef, S., 2011. "A review on biomass as a fuel for boilers," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 2262-2289, June.
    15. Kung, Chih-Chun & McCarl, Bruce A. & Cao, Xiaoyong, 2013. "Economics of pyrolysis-based energy production and biochar utilization: A case study in Taiwan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 317-323.
    16. Asci, Serhat & VanSickle, John J. & Cantliffe, Daniel J., 2014. "Risk in Investment Decision Making and Greenhouse Tomato Production Expansion in Florida," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 17(4), pages 1-26, November.
    17. Mirkouei, Amin & Haapala, Karl R. & Sessions, John & Murthy, Ganti S., 2017. "A review and future directions in techno-economic modeling and optimization of upstream forest biomass to bio-oil supply chains," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 15-35.
    18. Makarfi Isa, Yusuf & Ganda, Elvis Tinashe, 2018. "Bio-oil as a potential source of petroleum range fuels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 69-75.
    19. Suopajärvi, Hannu & Pongrácz, Eva & Fabritius, Timo, 2013. "The potential of using biomass-based reducing agents in the blast furnace: A review of thermochemical conversion technologies and assessments related to sustainability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 511-528.
    20. Ji, Li-Qun, 2015. "An assessment of agricultural residue resources for liquid biofuel production in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 561-575.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:70:y:2017:i:c:p:224-229. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.