(587ai) Techno-Economic Analysis and Environmental Sustainability of Biochemical Biorefinery Sizing

A cross-functional team has recently investigated issues around biorefinery capacity, techno-economy, environmental sustainability, and reliable feedstock logistics [1]. This presentation will be largely based on this study and will highlight the results of techno-economic analysis and environmental sustainability assessment including life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, biochemical ethanol production cost is found to depend strongly on the interplay between feedstock logistics and biorefinery capacity. Biochemical ethanol production using a conventional-bale system (CBS) results in the lowest minimum ethanol selling price (MESP) at small biorefinery scales. On the other hand, at larger biorefineries (>5000 DMT/day), these advanced uniform design (AUD) logistics result in production costs lower than those possible with conventional systems. Additionally, our results also show that AUD logistics result in modestly higher GHG emissions (10–15%) than CBS, mainly due to additional field-to-depot and depot-to-terminal transportation steps, as well as increased transportation contribution to the biorefinery.

[1] Argo, A.M., Tan, E.C.D., Inman, D., Langholtz, M.H., Eaton, L.M., Jacobson, J.J., Wright, C.T., Muth Jr., D.J., Wu, M.M., Chiu, Y.-W., and Graham, R.L., “Investigation of biochemical biorefinery sizing and environmental sustainability impacts for conventional bale system and advanced uniform biomass logistics designs,” Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 7(3), 282–302, 2013.