An economic model for estimating the viability of biodiesel production fromJatropha curcasL.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: At commercial level, the biodiesel production process is well established for many types of feedstock. However, economic feasibility depends on regional fluctuating data, making each case unique. A calculation model to analyze the economic feasibility of biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas was developed, along with an analysis of the energetic balance derived from this process. RESULTS: Yucatán state has the cultivation surface to replace 10% of its fossil diesel fuel consumption with biodiesel. Two scenarios were studied: the use of biodiesel-fossil diesel blends B5 and B10. The net energy ratio (NER) of biodiesel production is 2.88, indicating that the system provides more energy than it consumes. The economic analysis indicates that biodiesel cost remains constant with production capacities of 10 000 m 3 year −1 and higher. Field labor, pesticides, and fertilizers are the major costs at J. curcas plantations, representing 64.3, 16.3 and 11.5% of total biodiesel cost, respectively. The net present value (NPV) was always negative, proving that the biodiesel-jatropha chain is not economically viable. CONCLUSIONS: Actual seed productivity (1 495 kg ha −1 year −1 ) must be increased 2.17 times to attain economic viability. Agricultural practices need to be enhanced in order to lower labor cost and the use of fertilizers.

Environmental Impact Associated with the Supply Chain and Production of Biodiesel from Jatropha curcas L. through Life Cycle Analysis

“…However, Jatropha is considered an emergent commercial crop, and there is not enough information about cultivation and production cost [21]. There have been a great number of LCAs for Jatropha curcas, some of them not including land-use change (LUC); other studies found that LUC can be more useful in determining the carbon balance [22].…”

Spatiotemporal assessment of farm‐gate production costs and economic potential of Miscanthus × giganteus, Panicum virgatum L., and Jatropha grown on marginal land in China

“…For example, Wang, Calderon, and Lu () calculated the cost of Jatropha seed production to be 2.4 × 10 4 CNY t −1 year −1 , accounting for 88.4% of the full‐chain costs of Jatropha biodiesel production in China with a seed yield assumption of 1,485 kg ha −1 year −1 , and the study indicates that financial breakeven on this yield level cannot be achieved based on the market price of the biodiesel. Navarro‐Pineda, Ponce‐Marbán, Sacramento‐Rivero, and Barahona‐Pérez () concluded that the biodiesel–jatropha chain is not economically viable with a seed productivity of 1,495 kg ha −1 year −1 in Mexico, with field labor being the major cost, accounting for 64.3% of the total biodiesel cost. Seed yield and mechanization need to be improved to achieve a positive net present value.…”

Conceptual design of a dedicated‐crop biorefinery for Jatropha curcas using a systematic sustainability evaluation

“…However, most previous works studied individual processes for valorizing one fraction of the jatropha biomass at a time, not considering the integration of processes in a whole‐crop biorefinery. Furthermore, most of the studies evaluating the impacts of bioenergy from jatropha biomass consider energy, economic, or environmental factors independently, and did not include a holistic sustainability approach …”

“…Furthermore, most of the studies evaluating the impacts of bioenergy from jatropha biomass consider energy, economic, or environmental factors independently, and did not include a holistic sustainability approach. [14][15][16][17] This study reports the conceptual design integrated with sustainability criteria for a biorefinery plant for processing jatropha fruits. The objective of this work was to confirm whether a biorefinery configuration improves the overall sustainability of the plant design, compared to a typical biodiesel production configuration.…”