Techno-economic analysis of biooil production process from palm empty fruit bunches

Empty fruit bunches (EFB), a main residue of the palm oil industry, are one of the most recent renewable energy resources and they promise a high yield of liquid with low gas and char. The objective of this study is to evaluate the economic feasibility of the biooil production process from EFB via fast pyrolysis using the fluidized-bed. A comprehensive model of a biooil production plant was developed utilizing a commercial process simulator. The total capital investment (TCI) was estimated for five different plant sizes. The EFB biooil plant was analyzed in terms of the specific capital cost (SCC), payback period (PBP), return on investment (ROI), and the product value (PV). The minimum profitable plant size was found to be 20 kton-dry EFB/yr at a PV of 0.47 $/kg of biooil including 39% of water. Sensitivity analysis was performed on the basis of the minimum plant size to identify key variables that have a strong impact on the PV. The plant size and the biooil yield showed a major influence on the PV. In the most optimistic scenario investigated in this study, biooil can be produced at a PV of 0.27 $/kg.