Process design and techno-economic analysis of fuel ethanol production from food waste by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation

Xikai Chen; Xietian Zheng; Yanbo Pei; Weikun Chen; Qiang Lin; Jingang Huang; Pingzhi Hou; Junhong Tang; Wei Han

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127882

Process design and techno-economic analysis of fuel ethanol production from food waste by enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation

Bioresour Technol. 2022 Nov:363:127882. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127882. Epub 2022 Sep 5.

Authors

Xikai Chen¹, Xietian Zheng¹, Yanbo Pei², Weikun Chen¹, Qiang Lin¹, Jingang Huang³, Pingzhi Hou⁴, Junhong Tang¹, Wei Han⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
² College of Electronics and Information, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
³ College of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China; School of Automation, The Belt and Road Information Research Institute, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
⁴ School of Automation, The Belt and Road Information Research Institute, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China.
⁵ College of Materials and Environmental Engineering, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China; School of Automation, The Belt and Road Information Research Institute, Hangzhou Dianzi University, Hangzhou 310018, China. Electronic address: hanwei1982@hdu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36067898
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2022.127882

Abstract

In this study, fuel ethanol production from food waste using enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation was evaluated from techno-economic viewpoint. The plant was designed with a capacity of 10 t/d food waste and a lifetime of 15-year. The total capital cost, annual operation cost and annual net profits of the plant were US$ 367,552, US$ 155,959 and US$ 74,995.57, respectively. The plant was economically viable as long as the internal rate of return remained below 29.8%. The shortest payback time was 5 years with discount rate of 5%. The price of fuel ethanol and food waste treatment fee were the most important variables for the economic performance of the plant by sensitivity analysis. This work could provide the basic knowledge for techno-economic analysis of food waste treatment and promote the industrial production of fuel ethanol.

Keywords: Food waste; Fuel ethanol; Minimum selling price; Sensitivity analysis; Techno-economic evaluation.

MeSH terms

Ethanol*
Fermentation
Food
Hydrolysis
Refuse Disposal*

Substances

Ethanol