Economic evaluation of the conversion of industrial paper sludge to ethanol

Hui Chen, Richard Venditti, Ronalds Gonzalez, Richard Phillips, Hasan Jameel and Sunkyu Park

Energy Economics, 2014, vol. 44, issue C, 281-290

Abstract: The conversion of industrial paper sludge to ethanol was simulated using engineering process simulation software loaded with laboratory generated conversion data and financially analyzed. In one scenario, sludge is fractionated to remove ash, generating a higher concentration carbohydrate stream for separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF). In a second scenario, non-fractionated sludge is processed with only pH adjustment. Four primary sludges from mills producing either virgin or recycled paper were analyzed and the experimental conversion results used to inform the simulations. Financial analysis was conducted assuming ethanol wholesale price of US$ 0.608 per liter. The most profitable case was fractionated virgin sludge (from a virgin paper mill) to ethanol (F-VK1) with a net present value (NPV) of US$ 11.4million, internal rate of return (IRR) of 28%, payback period of 4.4years and minimum ethanol revenue (MER) of US$ 0.32 per liter. Risk analysis showed that the F-VK1 case obtained a near 100% probability of business success with both central and bearish (pessimistic) assumptions.

Keywords: Paper sludge; Mechanical fractionation; Enzymatic hydrolysis; Fermentation; Process simulation; Economic analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q10 Q16 Q20 Q27 Q40 Q42 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:44:y:2014:i:c:p:281-290

DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2014.04.018

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