The Economic Feasibility of the Valorization of Water Hyacinth for Bioethanol Production

Zanxin Wang, Fangyuan Zheng and Shiya Xue
Additional contact information
Zanxin Wang: School of Development Studies, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Fangyuan Zheng: School of Development Studies, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Shiya Xue: School of Development Studies, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-21

Abstract: One approach to effectively control the rapid expansion of water hyacinth is to use it as a feedstock in producing valuable goods. While it is technically feasible to produce bioethanol using water hyacinth, the economic feasibility of this valorization is yet unknown. This article conducted an ex-ante cost-benefit analysis of the production of bioethanol from water hyacinth. The results show that in comparison with the active control approach of collection and landfill, it is economically feasible to produce bioethanol from the collected biomass. In addition to its contribution to energy diversification, the production of bioethanol using water hyacinth as a feedstock cannot only control the rapid expansion of water hyacinth but can also contribute to carbon emissions reduction and water quality improvement. While the production cost of bioethanol is high, environmental values play an important role in the economic justification of the production. The coupled use of water hyacinth as a phytoremediation plant and bioethanol feedstock is a potential response to green development strategies.

Keywords: water hyacinth; economic feasibility; cost benefit analysis; bioethanol; landfill (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/905/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/3/905/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:3:p:905-:d:204734

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().