with >30% of the total cost. Energy consumption chiefly includes electricity, steam
and transport fuel consumptions. Owing to extensive energy utilization in a variety
of diverse processes, energy consumption takes the second position in material
costs, with a value of USD 579.77 USD/ton (*11% of the total cost). Carbon
dioxide, a necessity for algal growth, is the third largest source of material cost. To
generate 1 ton of algae-derived biodiesel, USD 558.22 worth of carbon dioxide is
required. In addition to the material inputs, algae-derived diesel production also
demands equipment such as flocculation tank and centrifuge. Henceforth, the cost
evaluation should take the equipment depreciation and repair into consideration.
The results show the relative significance of these two cost sources, which contribute to nearly a quarter of the total cost.
Costs pertaining to the non-production inputs, i.e., administration, finance, and
sale, are largely influenced by the management and the enterprise operation. The
non-production cost is virtually unaffected and is directly correlated with the stability in the technology and management sectors. According to Yang (2015), the
non-production costs account for approximately 9.9% of the total cost.
Algae-derived biodiesel production mainly needs labor during the process of algae
cultivation and biodiesel production. In this study, the monthly labor wage per
person is assumed to be about USD 375. The total labor expenditure accounts to a
small fraction (*1.18%) of the total cost.
The total annual revenue of the algae-derived biodiesel is USD 3676. The
byproducts of biodiesel mainly include algal residue, pastry, glycerin, and methyl
alcohol. Methyl alcohol may be used in the microalgae cultivation process to reduce
the costs of chemical reagent consumption due to its relatively high price. The algal
residue may be directly sold as animal feed (USD 640.03/ton) and fermentation
feed (USD 447.47/ton). Meanwhile, post raw materials fermentation, the manufactured biogas (USD 212.11/ton) may be sold directly, or may be used as the feed
gas for boiler gas production (USD 209.86/ton), power generation (USD 115.20/
ton), and purification (USD 220.66/ton). Consequentially, to advance the economic
benefits of the algae-derived biodiesel system, it is advised to vend the algal
Fig. 3 Structure of algal biodiesel production costs
166
K. Peng et al.
and transport fuel consumptions. Owing to extensive energy utilization in a variety
of diverse processes, energy consumption takes the second position in material
costs, with a value of USD 579.77 USD/ton (*11% of the total cost). Carbon
dioxide, a necessity for algal growth, is the third largest source of material cost. To
generate 1 ton of algae-derived biodiesel, USD 558.22 worth of carbon dioxide is
required. In addition to the material inputs, algae-derived diesel production also
demands equipment such as flocculation tank and centrifuge. Henceforth, the cost
evaluation should take the equipment depreciation and repair into consideration.
The results show the relative significance of these two cost sources, which contribute to nearly a quarter of the total cost.
Costs pertaining to the non-production inputs, i.e., administration, finance, and
sale, are largely influenced by the management and the enterprise operation. The
non-production cost is virtually unaffected and is directly correlated with the stability in the technology and management sectors. According to Yang (2015), the
non-production costs account for approximately 9.9% of the total cost.
Algae-derived biodiesel production mainly needs labor during the process of algae
cultivation and biodiesel production. In this study, the monthly labor wage per
person is assumed to be about USD 375. The total labor expenditure accounts to a
small fraction (*1.18%) of the total cost.
The total annual revenue of the algae-derived biodiesel is USD 3676. The
byproducts of biodiesel mainly include algal residue, pastry, glycerin, and methyl
alcohol. Methyl alcohol may be used in the microalgae cultivation process to reduce
the costs of chemical reagent consumption due to its relatively high price. The algal
residue may be directly sold as animal feed (USD 640.03/ton) and fermentation
feed (USD 447.47/ton). Meanwhile, post raw materials fermentation, the manufactured biogas (USD 212.11/ton) may be sold directly, or may be used as the feed
gas for boiler gas production (USD 209.86/ton), power generation (USD 115.20/
ton), and purification (USD 220.66/ton). Consequentially, to advance the economic
benefits of the algae-derived biodiesel system, it is advised to vend the algal
Fig. 3 Structure of algal biodiesel production costs
166
K. Peng et al.