Converting Eucalyptus biomass into ethanol: Financial and sensitivity analysis in a co-current dilute acid process. Part II

Gonzalez, Ronalds; Treasure, Trevor; Phillips, Robert; Jameel, Hasan; Saloni, Daniel; Abt, Robert C.; Wright, Jeff

doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2010.10.025

Cited by 58 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…The need for a biomass that is fast growing, relatively low cost, and highly productive has been the main motivation to explore the potential for bioenergy production from eucalyptus [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investment Uncertainty Analysis in Eucalyptus Bole Biomass Production in Brazil

Simões

Dinardi

Silva

2018

Forests

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Forestry investment projects for the biomass production of the eucalyptus bole can be characterized by uncertain environments, which result in economic risk to the forest producer, however that can be measured by applying probabilistic techniques. This was our motivation and justification for analyzing the economic-financial viability of different silvicultural practices for eucalyptus bole biomass production under conditions of uncertainties, running Monte Carlo method for risk management. The experiment was carried out in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, using 5 treatments with spacings of 3 m × 2 m; 3 m × 1 m; 1.5 m × 2 m; 3 m × 0.5 m; and 1.5 m × 1.0 m, i.e., different spacings between planting lines and plants. These treatments were characterized as investment projects. To develop stochastic models, we relied on technical-economic deterministic variables. We evaluated the investment projects based on the cash flows under conditions of uncertainty, discounted at the attractiveness rate calculated by capital asset pricing model. With the results of these economic flows, the net present value, the modified internal rate of return and the profitability index values were estimated, commonly used in the analysis of investments in projects. The results showed that based on economic metrics, the three-year rotation cycle for forest stands for biomass production of the main bole of eucalyptus, with a spacing of three meters between rows and two meters between plants, had an 83% probability of economic success. The sensitivity analysis showed that the bole biomass of eucalyptus is the most important variable for determining the economic-financial feasibility of the investment project.

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“…The need for a biomass that is fast growing, relatively low cost, and highly productive has been the main motivation to explore the potential for bioenergy production from eucalyptus [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investment Uncertainty Analysis in Eucalyptus Bole Biomass Production in Brazil

Simões

Dinardi

Silva

2018

Forests

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“…Developments in eucalypt plantations for bio-energy are emerging rapidly in many parts of the world (Gonzalez et al 2011a). Potential bioenergy "products" currently include biodiesel, wood pellets (Pirraglia et al 2010), cellulosic ethanol (Gonzalez et al 2011b), combined heat and power (CHP), advanced biofuels, torrefaction, and electricity generation directly from wood products or from co-firing with coal or other alternative fuel sources. Recent improvements in silvicultural systems and hardwood demand for pulp, paper, mulch, and bio-energy are encouraging commercial development of eucalypt plantations in the southern US.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Silviculture and Economic Evaluation of Eucalypt Plantations in the Southern Us

Dougherty¹,

Wright²

2012

BioResources

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Demand for hardwood from plantation-grown stands for pulp and bioenergy in the southern US is more than 90 million tons per year and is increasing. In the specific case of bio-energy and pulp, demand for biomass from eucalypts could approach 20 million tons/year by the year 2022. Fast growing species and hybrids of Eucalyptus are being evaluated to partially fill this demand gap. Though widely grown in a number of countries for pulp as well as for bio-energy, eucalypts in the southern US have not been extensively researched. Initial growth rates of 18 to 36 green tons/ha/year on rotation lengths of 6 to 8 years are possible. Current estimated costs for energy production from eucalypts in the Southern US are estimated at $3.10 to $3.49 per MBtu, where landowner required return rates on reforestation capital invested range from 6 to 14 percent. Eucalypts as a bio-energy feedstock can be competitive with coal in cost per BTU in the southern US.

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“…A terminal value in year 15 of five times of year-15 EBITDA was assumed. A discount rate of 12% was set which is consistent with other studies (Frederick et al 2008;Gonzalez et al 2011a). The capital cost was determined based on all the investment required for the process modifications.…”

Section: Economic Analysismentioning

confidence: 86%

Techno-Economic Analysis of the Optimum Softwood Lignin Content for the Production of Bioethanol in a Repurposed Kraft Mill

Wu¹,

Chang²,

Phillips³

et al. 2014

BioResources

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Kraft pulping is one possible pretreatment for softwood to economically produce bioethanol. This work evaluates the techno-economic potential of using the kraft process for producing bioethanol from softwoods in a repurposed or co-located kraft mill. Pretreated loblolly pine was enzymatically hydrolyzed at low enzyme dosages of 5 and 10 FPU/g of substrate. Pretreated residue with 13% lignin content had the highest sugar recovery, 32.7% and 47.7% at 5 and 10 FPU/g, respectively. The pretreated residues were oxygen delignified and refined. In all cases, oxygen delignification improved sugar recovery, while refining was mostly effective for pulps with high lignin content. At 5 FPU/g, the sugar recovery for all kraft pulps was 51 to 53% with oxygen delignification and refining. Increasing the enzyme dosage to 10 FPU/g increased the sugar recovery for these pulps to greater than 60%. Economic analysis for the pulps with different initial lignin content showed that kraft pulps with an initial lignin content of 6.7% with oxygen delignification had an ethanol yield of 285 L/ODt wood and the lowest total production cost of $0.55/L. Pulps with initial lignin content of 18.6% had a total production cost of $0.64/L with an ethanol yield of 264 L/ODt wood. Keywords INTRODUCTIONLignocellulosic biomass is the most abundant renewable resource on earth. In the past decade, there has been a growing interest in using this biomass as feed stock for the production of bioethanol (Faaij 2006;Ragauskas et al. 2006;Jørgensen et al. 2007;Bozell 2008;Regalbuto 2009;Tilman et al. 2009). It is not practical to convert lignocellulosic biomass directly to ethanol; several unit operations must be employed. The modern biotechnical process of converting lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol includes pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis, and fermentation. In the past few decades, many pretreatment strategies have been developed to make the lignocellulosic substrate more susceptible to enzymatic hydrolysis. Following pretreatment, enzymatic hydrolysis is a key operation for the bioconversion of carbohydrates in lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars by enzymatic hydrolysis. It is an important factor because the cost of the enzymes has a great impact on the economic feasibility of bioethanol production on a commercial scale. The price and dosages of cellulolytic enzymes have been progressively reduced due to intensive research by enzyme producers such as Novozymes and Genencor (Zhang et al. 2006). Although substantial progress has been achieved to improve the PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLE bioresources.com Wu et al. (2014). "Kraft pulping for bioethanol," BioResources 9(4), 6817-6830. 6818 enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass, the rate of saccharification is slow and often incomplete, especially at low enzyme loadings. Lignocellulosic biomass, especially softwood, has natural resistance to biological degradation because of its morphological structure and chemical composition. Many softwood pretreatment methods have been studied, including ac...

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Converting Eucalyptus biomass into ethanol: Financial and sensitivity analysis in a co-current dilute acid process. Part II

Cited by 58 publications

References 7 publications

Investment Uncertainty Analysis in Eucalyptus Bole Biomass Production in Brazil

Investment Uncertainty Analysis in Eucalyptus Bole Biomass Production in Brazil

Silviculture and Economic Evaluation of Eucalypt Plantations in the Southern Us

Techno-Economic Analysis of the Optimum Softwood Lignin Content for the Production of Bioethanol in a Repurposed Kraft Mill

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