Technoeconomic analysis of camelina oil extraction as feedstock for biojet fuel in the Canadian Prairies

This study presents a technoeconomic analysis of commercial extraction of camelina oil as an aviation fuel feedstock. An engineering economic model was designed in Superpro Designer® to quantify capital investment, scale, production cost, and profitability for a 120,000–1,500,000 tonnes annum−1 solv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biomass & bioenergy 2016-12, Vol.95, p.221-234
Main Authors: Mupondwa, Edmund, Li, Xue, Tabil, Lope, Falk, Kevin, Gugel, Richard
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biojet fuel
Break-even price
Camelina oil extraction
Canadian Prairies
Net present value
Technoeconomic
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Summary:This study presents a technoeconomic analysis of commercial extraction of camelina oil as an aviation fuel feedstock. An engineering economic model was designed in Superpro Designer® to quantify capital investment, scale, production cost, and profitability for a 120,000–1,500,000 tonnes annum−1 solvent extraction plant. The corresponding estimated capital investment was $24.7 - $155 million. Feedstock cost ($0.29–0.40 kg−1), seed yield (1400–2100 kg ha−1), oil content (38–47%), scale, and camelina meal revenue are key factors in the break-even selling price (BESP) and competitiveness of camelina oil as a feedstock. Feedstock represented 81–90% of operating cost. The BESP ranges from $0.43 -$1.22 L-1. Larger plants have lower BESP compared to smaller plants which require higher breakeven prices. This suggests better economies of scale associated with higher plant scale. Camelina can be introduced into underutilized summerfallow land of semiarid Canadian Prairies of Saskatchewan. Swift Current is an ideal extraction plant location. These results can guide R&D and investment decisions for advancing camelina as an industrial feedstock within the innovation value chain. •Technoeconomic analysis of solvent extraction of camelina oil is presented.•Location of a crushing plant and its feedstocks are identified.•Camelina seed and oil are evaluated vis-à-vis their feedstock cost for biojet fuel.•Capital investment scaling and profitability are analyzed using SuperPro Designer®.•NPV shows viability of a camelina crushing plant over wide scale in Saskatchewan.
ISSN:0961-9534
1873-2909
DOI:10.1016/j.biombioe.2016.10.014