Carboxylate platform: the MixAlco process part 2: process economics

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Chemical Engineering
• Renewable Energy

Background:

• The MixAlco process utilizes a mixed microbial culture to convert biomass into carboxylate salts.
• These salts are concentrated and chemically converted into alcohols, which can be further processed into gasoline.
• Hydrogen is a critical input for alcohol production, sourced from various methods like biomass gasification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the economic viability of the MixAlco process for producing alcohols and gasoline.
• To compare the production costs and selling prices for different scales and feedstock types.
• To determine the capital costs associated with the alcohol and gasoline production plants.

Main Methods:

• Economic analysis of a 40-tonne/h plant processing municipal solid waste.
• Economic analysis of an 800-tonne/h plant processing high-yield biomass with integrated gasification for hydrogen production.
• Calculation of return on investment (ROI) and cash costs for both scenarios.

Main Results:

• A 40-tonne/h plant processing municipal solid waste can sell alcohols for $1.13/gal and gasoline for $1.75/gal with a 15% ROI.
• An 800-tonne/h plant processing high-yield biomass can sell alcohols for $1.33/gal and gasoline for $2.04/gal with a 15% ROI.
• Capital costs were $1.95/annual gallon for the smaller plant and $1.45/annual gallon for the larger plant.

Conclusions:

• The MixAlco process demonstrates economic potential for producing fuels from various biomass sources.
• Scale and feedstock significantly impact production costs and profitability.
• The process offers a viable pathway for converting waste materials into valuable chemical and fuel products.