Financial viability of microalgal biodiesel production: a case study in Southern Ontario, Canada
Notice bibliographique
Résumé
Biofuels are an alternative to fossil fuels with potential to help in the fight against climate change.With transportation accounting for 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions and most of the world's transportation energy coming from gasoline and diesel, biodiesel has the potential to replace fossil fuels, particularly in the road transportation sector.However not all biodiesel is created equal, due to the large number of potential feedstocks and conversion processes that may be followed to produce biodiesel.A suitable biodiesel must be environmentally and socially sustainable, and the manufacturing process must be financially cost-effective, before it can be considered as a replacement for conventional diesel fuel.This thesis evaluated the financial viability of a novel biodiesel source, produced from microalgae feedstock grown in wastewater with CO2 additions from flue gas.The case study was based on Canada-specific data.The optimal geographic location for producing microalgae feedstock in a municipal wastewater treatment facility was determined using climatic data on insolation and temperature effects, whilst also taking into account the location of existing wastewater treatment plants and biodiesel infrastructure in southern Ontario, Canada.Methods to grow the microalgae, whether in open ponds or photobioreactors, were determined from the literature review.Characteristics of the wastewater were derived from anonymous data provided by three wastewater treatment plants in Alberta, Canada.This was compared to microalgae growth requirements, to determine if sufficient nutrients and CO2 would be provided by the wastewater and flue gas to support microalgae growth in the case study, based on strains that were recommended for cold climates.Harvesting, dewatering and conversion pathways were determined from literature review and consultation with experts, and the most cost-effective options were retained for analysis.Financial metrics were estimated from ~ iii ~ literature, public and private data, and from consultation with industry professionals.The net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), breakeven date and investment multiple of the flue gas and wastewater co-utilization (FWC) system were then derived.A five case multi-scenario analysis was then conducted to identify the impact on the profitability of the proposed microalgae biodiesel production system in southern Ontario, Canada, with a ± 25% revenues or costs estimation error.Then, single-variable sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the impact on the profitability of the system of a percentage change in key revenue or cost variables, notably: the percentage of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removal savings passed on to a private company, the price of diesel, the Ontario energy price, the quantity of biodiesel and methane produced, as well as capital expenses (CapEx) and operational expenses (OpEx).In conclusion, the FWC systems was found to be profitable with a base case NPV of roughly $256.5M, an IRR of 38.77%, a 3.8X investment multiple and a 3-year payback period.Given that these results are primarily dependent on the percentage of N and P removal savings passed on to a private company, this type of project was found not to be suited for private businesses and investors but rather governments and wastewater treatment plant operators who would incur 100% of wastewater treatment savings generated.
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Comment cette classification a été obtenuedéplier
Prédiction machine sur la base complète
Imitation des enseignantsNi prévalence calibrée, ni vérité terrain. Validation humaine à venir. Le volet Gemma est une étiquette directe du modèle pour chaque travail de la base, lue sur la notice réduite au titre. Le volet Codex est un classifieur appris des 10 348 étiquettes directes de Codex et calibré sur les taux pondérés de l'échantillon; les champs sans appui suffisant ne portent aucun appel Codex. Le mode candidate est l'union des deux volets; le consensus est leur intersection. Ces sorties portent le statut machine_predicted_unvalidated et ne sont pas des étiquettes humaines.
Scores du classifieur distillé par catégorie (deux têtes)
| Catégorie | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Métarecherche | 0,001 | 0,001 |
| Méta-épidémiologie (sens strict) | 0,000 | 0,000 |
| Méta-épidémiologie (sens large) | 0,000 | 0,000 |
| Bibliométrie | 0,002 | 0,005 |
| Études des sciences et des technologies | 0,006 | 0,001 |
| Communication savante | 0,003 | 0,001 |
| Science ouverte | 0,001 | 0,001 |
| Intégrité de la recherche | 0,001 | 0,001 |
| Charge utile insuffisante (le modèle a refusé de juger) | 0,002 | 0,000 |
Scores machine (provisoires)
Les deux têtes enseignantes du modèle étudiant, lues sur ce travail. Un score ordonne la base pour la relecture; il n'affirme jamais une catégorie, et le statut de validation accompagne chaque rangée tel quel.
Scores de référence d'un modèle non mature (critères de maturité non atteints, 7 itérations). Un score ordonne; il n'affirme jamais une catégorie.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · tel quel depuis la passe de notation : score_only signifie que le nombre peut ordonner les travaux, et qu'aucune étiquette de catégorie n'en découleClassification
machine, non validéePrédiction automatique; un appel candidat d’une seule source (Gemma direct ou Codex distillé), pas un consensus.
Le détail, modèle par modèle et score par score, se trouve en fin de page sous « Comment cette classification a été obtenue ».