Process simulation and techno-economic assessment for direct production of advanced bioethanol using a genetically modified Synechocystis sp.

Tiago F. Lopes, Catarina Cabanas, André Silva, Diana Fonseca, Edgar Santos, L. Tiago Guerra, Con Sheahan, Alberto Reis, Francisco Gírio

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

A techno-economic assessment for the direct production of ethanol using a genetically-modified microalgae has been studied. It was considered two main scenarios for process modelling: i) bioenergy-driven microalgae plant, i.e., focused on the production of fuel-grade ethanol and biogas for CHP and, ii) biorefinery-driven microalgae plant, focused on the recovery of added-value bioproducts (zeaxanthin and phycocyanin) along with ethanol and CHP production. These main scenarios and several variants were modelled and optimized for a small-scale demo plant of 1000 Lethanol/day and extrapolated for larger production capacities. Results showed that despite the innovative approach of direct production of ethanol by microalgae, the bioenergy-driven scenario is non-feasible under the studied conditions. Conversely, ethanol production becomes economically feasible as co-product in the biorefinery-driven scenario although having payback periods >10 years. Furthermore, if only bio-based products are produced the NPV and the payback are even more positive, 104.8 M€ and ca. 5 years, respectively.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)113-122
Number of pages10
JournalBioresource Technology Reports
Volume6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2019

Keywords

  • Advanced biofuels
  • Bioethanol
  • Biorefinery
  • Microalgae
  • Process Modelling

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