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Title
Lignocellulosic biorefinery economic Evaluation
Authors
Kristian Melin and Markku Hurme
Received
June 20, 2011
Published
Volume 45 Issue 7-8 September-October
Keywords
biorefinery, biofuels, biofuel properties, biomass conversion, lignocellulosic biomass upgrading,
Abstract
The production economics of biomass-derived fuels and bio-based chemicals is a major challenge. Furthermore, the raw material, the conversion process and the by-products – all significantly influence the production economics. The large number of alternative production routes and by-products requires a simple approach for estimating production economics. Conclusions on the relative feasibilities of the production routes can be drawn even with limited information on the capital cost for a given technology and with uncertainty regarding the process parameters – such as product yield. In this paper, the relative feasibilities of lignocellulosic biomass upgrading routes for biofuel components and chemicals were studied on the basis of production costs. An economic evaluation method for biorefining of lignocellulosic biomass is presented. The application of the model using hemicellulose or lignin as a raw material for biofuels or chemicals, coupled with high-value fiber use of cellulose, was found as the most feasible production route. Hydrogen production from biomass, coupled with hydrogasification and methanation from forest biomass, appeared feasible due to high energy yield.
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