Economic feasibility of biodiesel production from Macauba in Brazil

Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy Economics

j ourna l homepage: www.e lsev ie r .com/ locate /eneco

Economic feasibility of biodiesel production from Macauba in Brazil

Daniela de Carvalho Lopes a,⁎, Antonio José Steidle Neto a,Adriano Aguiar Mendes b, Débora Tamires Vítor Pereira a

a Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, MG 424, km 47, Sete Lagoas, MG CEP 35701-970, Brazilb Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Instituto de Química, Alfenas, MG, CEP 37130-000, Brazil

⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 31 3697 2039; fax: +E-mail addresses: [email protected] (D.C. Lopes

(A.J. Steidle Neto), [email protected] ([email protected] (D.T.V. Pereira).

0140-9883/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2013.10.003

a b s t r a c t

Article history:Received 18 October 2012Received in revised form 2 October 2013Accepted 5 October 2013Available online 19 October 2013

JEL classification:C53C63O54Q01Q13Q16

Keywords:Acrocomia aculeataEconomyTransesterification

In this work the economic feasibility of biodiesel production in Brazil by using the Macauba oil as raw matter isstudied. The software SIMB-E, in which a cash flow model applied to biodiesel production is implemented, wasusedduring simulations. Economic indexes related to biodiesel production features, aswell as the competitivenessbetween selling prices of biodiesel and petrodiesel were considered. It was found that all of the 8 simulatedscenarios were potentially profitable, but only 2 of them presented competitive biodiesel selling prices, beingconsidered as worthwhile projects. These were seed-oil plants with alkaline transesterification. Results alsoindicated that the success of biodiesel production still requires additional revenues beyond that derived frombiodiesel itself, including income from the feedstock coproducts and glycerol. Macauba showed to be a potentialcrop to be used in biodiesel production. However, the domestication and improvement on processing of thisspecies are indispensable to ensure its availability of long-term use.

© 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Biodiesel has become a high priority in the energy policy strategies ata global scale. Its production and use have becomemandatory nowadaysdue to its environmental benign characters (Jegannathan et al., 2011). In2004, the share of biofuels in total transport fuel demand was above 2%in Brazil, Cuba and Sweden. The International Energy Agency (IEA)projects biofuels to provide 9% of the total transport fuel demand in2030, while in 2007 this projection was 7% (Eisentraut, 2010).

Macauba (Acrocomia aculeata) is a native oleaginous palm tree of theBrazilian Cerrado, located mainly in the center of this country, butadapted from cooler subtropical to drier semiarid ecosystems and alsodistributed in Mexico, Antilles, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay(Moura et al., 2009). This palm has a potential to produce up to 30 t offruits ha−1 year−1, presenting oil content between 23 and 34% on dryweight basis (Lopes and Steidle Neto, 2011).

Experimentswere performed employing the oils fromMacauba fruitto investigate the effects of time of pyrolysis, temperature of the

55 31 3697 2022.), [email protected]),

ghts reserved.

pyrolytic process, and how different atmospheres affect the yield andcomposition of the pyrolysate. Under the experimental conditions, thecomponent oils studied undergo a process of partial pyrolysis to varyingextents, generating considerable yields of carboxylic acid, aldehydes,alcohols, alkenes, and alkadienes (Fortes and Baugh, 2004).

The effect of microwave irradiation on the rate of transesterificationof Macauba oil with ethanol catalyzed by supported enzymes, namelyNovozym 435 (Candida antarctica) and Lipozyme IM (Mucor miehei)was also investigated. The experimental variables were temperature,reaction time and supported enzyme concentration. The measuredresponse was the reaction conversion which was converted to catalyticactivity. It was observed that the reaction rate was significantlyincreased with microwave irradiation and that reaction temperaturewas the most important variable (Nogueira et al., 2010).

A study was carried out in which ethyl and methyl esters fromMacauba oils were obtained by transesterification under homogeneousbasic, homogeneous acid and heterogeneous catalysis. In all studiedreactions the best proportions of catalyst were determined, as well as,their influence on the process reactions. The quality of the producedbiodiesel was determined by comparison with the Brazilian (ANP),American (ASTM) and European (prEN 14214) specifications, confirmingthe potential of this raw matter for biodiesel production (Rodrigues,2007).

820 D.C. Lopes et al. / Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824

Besides technical, environmental and social aspects, economicfeasibility is also of great importance to assess the biodiesel productionviability. The choice of feedstock, chemicals and technology to employin a production plant will in turn influence costs and the biodieselcompetitiveness with petrodiesel (Amigun et al., 2008; Vlysidis et al.,2011).

Economic studies about biodiesel production provide a betterunderstanding of the business of this kind of plant and how variablesrelated to market law and country policy's might affect the generaleconomy. These studies are also useful tools to predict limits of economicfeasibility, allowing that producers have an idea of different situationsand to take decisions in order to improve or to invest in biodiesel plants(Marchetti, 2011).

This paper is an economic study for biodiesel production using theMacauba oil as raw matter. The feasibility of producing biodiesel isanalyzed according to representative Brazilian configurations. For this,the SIMB-E model (Lopes et al., 2011) was used, relating the biodieselproduction features with the economic indexes net present value(NPV), benefit–cost ratio (BCR), capital return time (CRT) and internalrate of return (IRR). Fixed capital costs, operating costs, depreciation,and auxiliary costs were also taken into account for the economiccalculations.

The expectation is to contribute for a better understanding of thebusiness of biodiesel plants and motivate the academic and industrialinterest on Macauba, allowing diversifying energy and agricultureactivities.

2. Methodology

2.1. Simulated scenarios

Transesterifications of Macauba oil with methanol and ethanol,catalyzed by bases and enzymes were simulated. Also, seed-oil-processing and only oil-processing plants were analyzed, totaling to 8simulated scenarios (Table 1). All studied cases were considered ascontinuous processes in order to meet an industrial design scale ofbiodiesel production. The period considered for simulated investments(lifetime of project) was 15years.

During simulations the annual production capacity of plantswas set at15,000t, with utilization ratio of 90%.When transesterifications catalyzedby bases were simulated the molar ratio of alcohol to triglycerides was6:1, while for enzymatic catalysis it was considered as a ratio of 3:1(Harding et al., 2007). The catalyst concentrations by weight of oil were1.5 and 4% for bases and enzymes, respectively, considering yields from95 to 98% conversion oil into esters (Bernardes et al., 2007; Hardinget al., 2007). It also accounted the enzyme reuse, considering thatimmobilized enzyme operates over 30 days without losing catalyticactivity (Chen et al., 2011). Molecular weights of ethanol, methanol andglycerol were 46, 32 and 92 g mol−1, respectively (Agarwal, 2007;Arzamendi et al., 2006). Molecular weights of ethylic andmethylic estersfrom Macauba were 303.6 and 289.6 g mol−1, respectively. Also, oilcontent and molar weight of Macauba oil were considered as 30% and864.7gmol−1 respectively (Silva, 2009; Silva et al., 2010).

Table 1Simulated scenarios and their features.

Scenario Catalysis Alcohol Processing

1 Alkaline Methanol Seed-oil2 Alkaline Ethanol Seed-oil3 Enzymatic Methanol Seed-oil4 Enzymatic Ethanol Seed-oil5 Alkaline Methanol Oil6 Alkaline Ethanol Oil7 Enzymatic Methanol Oil8 Enzymatic Ethanol Oil

The initial investments and operating costs used in simulations wereestimated based on Brazilian market, considering the capacity of theplant, the plant building, the equipment installation and technologyapplied, varying according to the different simulated scenarios (Amigunet al., 2008; ANP, 2012; Marques, 2006). The cost of maintenance forthe simulated biodiesel plants was a factor of 1.5% of the capitalinvestment cost (Amigun et al., 2008). It was also assumed that therewas a constant depreciation (10% of the capital investment per year) ofthe equipment along the lifetime of the project (Haas et al., 2006).Operating costs, such as cooling water, electricity, labor and otherexpenses were also estimated according to the market and prices inBrazil (ANP, 2012; Marques, 2006; Souza et al., 2007).

The inflation rate of 10.0% per annum was used, as well as anattractiveness rate of 13% (Souza et al., 2007; BCB, 2012). The taxationof biodiesel was not considered since Law No. 12.546-2011 establishesthe total exemption of the taxes PIS/PASEP and COFINS for biodieselproducers in Brazil. This Federal taxation is still applied to gasoline,diesel and alcohol in the country (Biodiesel, 2011; Brazil, 2011).

Simulations included the production and sale of partially pure glycerolcoproduct. When seed-oil-processing plants were considered, theMacauba cakewas also included as a coproduct. The amount of feedstock,catalyst, alcohol and co-products was calculated by stoichiometry,considering the molar ratio of triglycerides to alcohol (1:6 or 1:3depending on the catalyst), the molar ratio of triglycerides to esters(1:3), and the molar ratio of triglycerides to glycerol (1:1). Prices of oil,alcohol, catalyst and co-products were considered according to themarket in Brazil as shown in Table 2 (MAPA, 2012).

For each scenario different profit margins were tested and thosevalues in which the economic feasibility was verified with minimalbiodiesel prices were considered during the final analysis (Table 3).

Simulations were carried out using the SIMB-E tool, which wasdeveloped for this purpose (Lopes et al., 2011).

2.2. SIMB-E model

The model starts from the calculation of a cash flow, which is thebalance of the amount of revenues and the expenses during the lifetimeof the project. The year zero considers no revenues and the capitalinvestment as expenses. The other years are calculated based on Eq. (1).

Cif ¼ Gi

r þ SirþBir−Gi

e−Fic−Lic−Mic−Fit−Dc; ð1Þ

where i is the year considered in the cash flow (varying from 1 to thelifetime of the project), Cf is the balance of the amount of revenuesand expenses ($), Gr are the glycerol revenues ($), Sr are the subproductrevenues ($), Br are the biodiesel revenues ($), Ge are the generalexpenses ($), Fc are the feedstock and chemical expenses ($), Lc arethe labor costs ($), Mc are the maintenance costs ($), Ft are the Federaltax costs ($) and Dc is the depreciation cost ($).

The glycerol revenues are calculated based on Eq. (2), consideringthat the glycerol liberated during transesterification has substantialcommercial value if purified to USP (United States Pharmacopeia)grade. However, this process is expensive. Small and moderately sized

Table 2Raw materials and co-products prices.

Item Cost (R$ ton−1)

Macauba crude oil 3,650,00Macauba seeds 130.00Methanol 403.00Ethanol 1,340.00Base 1,135.84Enzyme 91,600.00Macauba cake 500.00Glycerol 2,473.20

Table 3Simulated scenarios and their profit margins.

Scenario Profit margin (%)

1 252 153 104 105 56 57 58 5

Fig. 1. Internal rate of return (IRR) for the 8 scenarios and attractiveness rate consideredduring simulations.

821D.C. Lopes et al. / Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824

operations often find it most cost effective to partially purify theglycerol, removing methanol, fatty acids and most of the water, andselling the product to industrial glycerol refiners. Thus, the modelincludes the production and sale of such partially (100% glycerol bymass, Pm=1) or totally (80% glycerol by mass, Pm=0.8) pure glycerolcoproduct, as proposed by Haas et al. (2006).

Gr ¼ MgAgPm 1−Dg=100� �i−1

; ð2Þ

where Mg is the market price of glycerol ($ ton−1), Ag is the amount ofglycerol formed as a by-product during biodiesel production (ton), Pm isthe purification level of glycerol (dimensionless) and Dg is the annualdepreciation rate for the market price of glycerol (%).

The subproducts and biodiesel revenues are calculated by usingEqs. (3) and (4), respectively.

Sr ¼ AsMs 1þ k=100ð Þi−1; ð3Þ

whereAs is the amount of cake ormeal formed as a by-product during thegrain processing (ton), Ms is the market price of subproduct ($ ton−1)and k is the annual inflation rate (%). Subproduct revenues are calculatedonly when simulation considers biodiesel production integrated with anoilseed processing facility.

Br ¼ Te 1þ PM=100ð Þ−Gr−Sr; ð4Þ

where Te are the total expenses ($) and PM is the profit margin (%).Total expenses include the depreciation cost, the general expenses,

the Federal taxes, the feedstock and chemical expenses, the labor costsand the maintenance costs. The depreciation and the Federal taxes arefixed, considering the annual depreciation rate and the cost per cubicmeter of biodiesel which should be paid, respectively. Other expensesare calculated by using Eqs. (5) to (8).

Ge ¼C Gp

1001þ k=100ð Þi−1

; ð5Þ

Mc ¼C Mp

1001þ k=100ð Þi−1 ð6Þ

Lc ¼ S F H 1þ St=100ð Þ 1þWr=100ð Þi−1; ð7Þ

Fc ¼ 1þ k=100ð Þi−1 Q fCf þ QaCa þ QcCc þ QOCOð Þ; ð8Þ

where C is the capital cost ($), Gp is the general expense index(% of capital cost), Mp is the maintenance index (% of capital cost), S isthe a wage index ($ h−1 employee−1), F is the number of employees(dimensionless), H is their workload (h year−1), St is the social taxcost (%ofwage),Wr is the annualwage adjustment (%), Qf is the amountof feedstock (ton), Qa is the amount of alcohol (ton), Qc is the amount ofcatalyst (ton), Qo is the amount of other chemicals (ton), Cf is thefeedstock cost ($ ton−1), Ca is the alcohol cost ($ ton−1), Cc is thecatalyst cost (ton) and Co is the other chemical cost ($ ton−1).

The amount of feedstock and alcohol is calculated by stoichiometry,considering the molar ratio of triglycerides to alcohol informed as inputdata, the molar ratio of 1:3 of triglycerides to esters, and themolar ratioof 1:1 of triglycerides to glycerol.

With the cash flow data, themodel calculates the economic indexes.The net present value (NPV) and the benefit–cost ratio (BCR) arecalculated by Eqs. (9) and (10), respectively. The capital return time(CRT) is calculated iteratively, seeking the number of years and monthsrequired to the capital investment payback. The internal rate of return(IRR) is calculated by Lagrange interpolation, consisting on the discountrate used in capital budgeting thatmakes the NPV of the cashflow equalto zero.

Npv ¼ ∑Li¼1

Cif

1þ kð Þi −C ð9Þ

Bcr ¼ ∑Li¼1

Cif

1þ kð Þi !

= C ð10Þ

where Npv is the net present value ($), Bcr is the benefit–cost ratio and Lis the lifetime of the project (years).

The biodiesel production will be economically viable if the NPV isgreater than zero, the BCR is greater than one, the CRT is smaller thanthe lifetime of the project and the IRR is greater than the attractivenessrate. But, this viability should be prejudiced if the biodiesel selling price(Eq. (11)) does not to be competitive with petrodiesel. In this case, theproject will be considered economically viable, but risky, and isdiscouraged.

Bc ¼ Br=P; ð11Þ

where Bc is the biodiesel price ($ kg−1) and P is the amount of biodieselproduced (kg).

Fig. 3. Benefit–cost ratios (BCRs) for the 8 simulated scenarios.

822 D.C. Lopes et al. / Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824

3. Results and discussion

Profitability criteria for all simulated scenarios included the evaluationof economic indexes and competitiveness between biodiesel andpetrodiesel prices. Economic indexes were evaluated aiming to identifythe potential of the project to be economically feasible. But the maincriterion to suggest worthwhile projects was the biodiesel selling pricerequired to reach the revenues indicated by the economic indexes.Thus, simulations were carried out searching for economic feasibilitywith minimal biodiesel prices. The economic potential of biodieselproduction from Macauba oil was verified, but at the expense of highbiodiesel selling prices for most of simulated scenarios. This is aconsiderable disadvantage, since only those scenarios which presentedcompetitive selling prices should be considered really worthwhileprojects.

IRRs ranged from 15.31% to 45.16% (Fig. 1), all of them are greaterthan the attractiveness rate of 13% considered in this study. The greaterthe IRR value, the higher the potential of the project to be economicallyfeasible, since the IRR refers to the return which can be earned on thecapital invested in the project and the attractiveness rate describes theperceived quality and utility of a product. But, the greater IRRs observedwere those of scenarios which required the higher biodiesel sellingprices to be feasible (scenarios 7 and 8). Scenarios 1 and 2 presentedcompetitive biodiesel prices and acceptable IRRs (15.31% and 15.85%).

The economic potentiality of all simulated scenarios was confirmedby the CRT index as shown in Fig. 2. All studied cases presented CRTsmaller than the lifetime of project (15 years), varying from 3 yearsand 3 months (3.3 years) to 10 years and 10 months (10.8 years).Again, the smaller CRTs observed were those of scenarios 7 and 8,which are not competitive in the market. Considering this index,scenario 1 is detached, since it presented one of the smallest CRTs andattractive biodiesel selling price.

BCRs varied from 1.22 to 4.23 (Fig. 3). All of themwere greater than1 which is the minimum value for such a project to be consideredpotentially profitable. These values show that sum of the benefitsexceeded the costs in all projects. Following the above trend, the greaterBCRs were related to the scenarios which presented higher biodieselselling prices (scenarios 7 and 8).

Fig. 2. Capital return time (CRT) and lifetime of projects considered during simulations.

NPV values varied from R$ 1,010,328.00 to R$ 4,480,313.00. Allsimulated scenarios presented NPV greater than zero, indicatingpotentially feasible projects (Fig. 4). The net present value is the totalsum of the capital expenditure, operating expenses and incomegenerated by the project, discounted inflation rate to the initialmomentof the lifecycle, with greater values indicating greater profitability. NPVis used as a long-term metric that requires information about rate ofreturn, regulatory and market possibilities, and hedging options.Despite the NPVs of scenarios 1 and 2 to be the smallest ones, theywere still economic attractive options, mainly when this economicindex is compared with the biodiesel selling prices of each project.

As mentioned above, to reach the revenues suggested by theeconomic indexes, most of simulated scenarios require that the biodieselbe sell at high prices, which are not competitive with petrodiesel one(Fig. 5). These results discourage the investment in scenarios 3 to 8. Thefuel selling prices are generally ruled by international offer and demand,government policies and international agreements. As these scenarioswere already simulated considering small profit margins, the practice ofcompetitive biodiesel prices will result in economic unfeasibility of them.

Only scenarios 1 and 2 were considered really feasible whencomparing the biodiesel selling prices with the petrodiesel ones. It isimportant to emphasize the environmental benefits of biodiesel andthe fact that it comes from renewable resources. Also, the present energyscenario has stimulated active research interest in non-petroleum,renewable, and non-polluting fuels. So, considering the similar sellingprices between petrodiesel and scenario 2, biodiesel is still advantageousover petrodiesel.

Seed-oil-processing and alkaline transesterifications were benefitedby low costs of catalyst and Macauba fruits, beyond by sales of Macaubacake which together with glycerol commercialization gave an extraeconomical boost to the production processes. Macauba cake is appraiseddue to its countless applications such as in animal feed and fertilization

Fig. 4. Net present values (NPVs) for the 8 simulated scenarios.

Fig. 5. Selling prices of Macauba biodiesel and petrodiesel obtained by simulations.

823D.C. Lopes et al. / Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824

(Lopes and SteidleNeto, 2011; Rodrigues, 2007). It is also adequate for theremoval of waste dye from industrial effluents by virtue of its abundance,low cost and efficiency of adsorption (Vieira et al., 2012). The advantagesverifiedwith seed-oil processing plants agreedwith the one discussed byAmigun et al. (2008), where it is affirmed that this kind of facility mayprovide logistic advantages in that the feedstock can be used at source,reducing costs to an oil processing plant. Other observation is that theincreased cost of production due to higher unit capital cost should bemore than offset by savings in transportation cost.

Oil-processing plants were not economically feasible due to the highcost of the crude oil ofMacauba and the lack of coproducts derived fromits seed processing. The Macauba crude oil is around 28 times moreexpensive than Macauba fruits. This high cost also contributed tominimizing the influence of other inputs, as alcohol and catalyst, onthe selling price of biodiesel. Yet the glycerol selling represented aminor impact on the total biodiesel production costs when comparedwith the cost of crude oil. Comparing scenarios where only processingtype varied, selling prices of biodiesel produced fromMacauba in plantswithout integrated oil mill were around 1.8 times greater than thoseproduced in a seed-oil processing plant.

Regarding enzymatic transesterification, it was confirmed that themain obstacle for its commercialization is the cost of the enzyme,mainly when this cost is compared with alkaline-catalyzed processes.Since considering that enzyme should be reused during 30dayswithoutlosing catalytic activity, its cost was considerably greater than the baseone (approximately 80 times more expensive). This reflected on theselling prices of biodiesel, which were approximately double of thatproduced from alkaline transesterifications.

Other challenges associated with enzymatic transesterificationinclude low reaction rates and the potential for enzyme deactivation.Many researchers (Chen et al., 2011; Harding et al., 2007; Silva, 2009;Vlysidis et al., 2011) agree that advances on these areas shouldcontribute to reasonable costs of such transesterification process andshould be motivated. Compared to alkaline catalysis and acid catalysisthe enzymatic transesterification is more compatible with variations inthe quality of feedstock. It also requires only simple purification stepsand conducts under moderate reaction conditions. Other interestingremark is that alkaline transesterification is energy consuming and

generates undesirable coproducts (soaps) which difficult the separationand purification of biodiesel.

The difference between methanol and ethanol prices did not havesignificant influence on biodiesel prices when compared with otherproduction variables. But results of scenario 1,which employedmethanolduring transesterification, were more attractive than those of scenario 2,which employed ethanol. In Brazil the ethanol cost is around three timesthemethanol one, but this proportionwas not perceived in selling pricesof biodiesel produced, considering scenarios where only the alcohol wasdifferent among the production features. Methanol is still the mostcommonly used alcohol in commercial plants mainly due to its lowcost. But it is important to emphasize that ethanol is renewable and hassuggested advantages being environmentally based and carbon dioxideneutral,making it themost promising alternative for producing biodiesel.These observations were comproved by several authors (Agarwal, 2007;Arzamendi et al., 2006; Harding et al., 2007).

The attractive economic indexes obtainedwith scenarios 3 to 8 shouldbe maintained with smaller biodiesel selling prices if the feedstock costswere smaller, as well as the initial investment in this kind of project.

Macauba fruits are cheapwhen comparedwith other oleaginous usedas feedstock to biodiesel production, while its co-products present highaggregated value in Brazil. Also, as mentioned by Lorenzi (2006), Mouraet al. (2009) and Lopes and Steidle Neto (2011), this palm is highlyproductive and adapted to different environments, including coolersubtropical and drier semiarid ecosystems. These factors werepreponderant to the economic potential of simulated scenarios, as wellas, for scenarios 1 and 2 which reach competitive biodiesel selling prices.

Despite Macauba being a native palm with high potential forbiodiesel production as well as being used as food or in cosmeticindustry, its actual exploitation occurs mostly by gathering in largenatural populations. To enable its use for commercial purposes and ona large scale, it is indispensable that the creation of production fieldsand community processing of the Macauba fruit, encourage producersto provide products with the quality, quantity and consistency thatthis growing market demands and ensure its availability for long-termuse. In this perspective, some researches (Borcioni, 2012; Lorenzi,2006; Moura et al., 2009) have been aiming to contribute to thedomestication and processing of this species.

4. Conclusion

All of the 8 simulated scenarios were potentially profitable, resultingin attractive economic indexes. But among them, only 2 presentedcompetitive biodiesel selling prices were being considered asworthwhile projects. These were biodiesel plants with integrated oilmill and alkaline transesterification. It was shown that the success ofbiodiesel production still requires additional revenues beyond thosederived from biodiesel itself. Also, the high costs of Macauba crude oiland enzymes reflected on the selling prices of biodiesel, contributingto scenarios with these features be not worthwhile.

Macauba showed to be a potential crop to be used in biodieselproduction due to its high yield, easy adaptation to differentecosystems, low cost of fruits and good valuation of its co-products.However, the actual exploitation of this species occurs mostly bygathering in large natural populations, which makes essential thedomestication and improvement on processing of it with the purposeof ensuring the Macauba availability for long-term use. Actually, theagriculture-industrial exploration of this tree is under its real potentialand Macauba plantations in many places in the world are still in theirprimary stage. But researches have been developed in this area andstudies have been done on new technologies for improving theMacauba oil processing. These facts associated with the economicviability of the biodiesel production from Macauba certainly willcontribute to its industrial growth in a near future.

This study can be extrapolated to other technologies, marketscenarios or feedstock as a mean to show tendencies of how relevant

824 D.C. Lopes et al. / Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824

variables can affect a biodiesel plant and to search for ways to decreasecosts andmake this kind of productionmore competitive in themarket.

Disclaimer

The authors do not accept responsibility for commercial or industrialdecisions taken based on the presented results. Simulations discussed inthis paper are for research purpose only. For recommendations aboutspecific projects please contact the authors.

Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the Conselho Nacional deDesenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for its financialsupport.

References

Agarwal, A.K., 2007. Biofuels (alcohols and biodiesel) applications as fuels for internalcombustion engines. Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 33, 233–271.

Amigun, B., Müller-Langer, F., von Blottnitz, H., 2008. Predicting the costs of biodieselproduction in Africa: learning from Germany. Energy Sustain. Dev. 12 (1), 5–21.

ANP, 2012. Agência Nacional do Petróleo. Levantamento de preços. www.anp.gov.br (Lastaccessed February 2012).

Arzamendi, G., Arguinarena, E., Campo, I., Gandía, L.M., 2006. Monitoring of biodieselproduction: simultaneous analysis of the transesterification products using size-exclusion chromatography. Chem. Eng. J. 122, 31–40.

BCB, 2012. Banco Central do Brasil. Histórico das taxas de juros. http://www.bcb.gov.br/?COPOMJUROS (Last accessed March 2012).

Bernardes, O.L., Bevilaqua, J.V., Leal, M.C., Freire, D.M., Langone, M.A., 2007. Biodiesel fuelproduction by transesterification reaction of soybean oil using immobilized lípase.Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 137–140, 105–114.

Biodiesel, 2011. Programa Nacional de Produção e Uso de Biodiesel— PNPB. http://www.biodiesel.gov.br/programa.html (Last accessed February 2011).

Borcioni, E., 2012. Subisídios à implementação de sistemas de cultivo de Acrocomiaaculeate (Jacq.) Lodd. Ex Mart (arecaceae). Doctor Scientiae Thesis Federal Universityof Paraná (113 pp.).

Brazil, 2011. Federal Law No. 12.546 of December 14, 2011 (Lei Federal No. 12.546 de 14de dezembro de 2011). Presidência da República, Brasília.

Chen, H.C., Ju, H.Y., Wu, T.T., Liu, Y.C., Lee, C.C., Chang, C., Chung, Y.L., Shieh, C.J., 2011.Continuous production of lípase-catalyzed biodiesel in a packed-bed reactor:optimization and enzyme reuse study. J. Biomed. Biotechnol. 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/950725.

Eisentraut, A., 2010. Sustainable production of second-generation biofuels — potentialand perspectives in major economies and developing countries, 1st ed. InternationalEnergy Agency, Brazil.

Fortes, I.C.P., Baugh, P.J., 2004. Pyrolysis–GC/MS studies of vegetable oils from Macaubafruit. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis 72 (1), 103–111.

Haas, M.J., McAloon, A.J., Yee, W.C., Foglia, T.A., 2006. A process model to estimatebiodiesel production costs. Bioresour. Technol. 97, 671–678.

Harding, K.G., Dennis, J.S., von Blottnitz, H., Harrison, S.T.L., 2007. A life-cycle comparisonbetween inorganic and biologic catalysis for the production of biodiesel. J. Clean.Prod. 16, 1368–1378.

Jegannathan, K.R., Eng-Seng, C., Ravindra, P., 2011. Economic assessment of biodieselproduction: comparison of alkali and biocatalyst processes. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev.15, 745–751.

Lopes, D.C., Steidle Neto, A.J., 2011. Potential crops for biodiesel production in Brazil: areview. World J. Agric. Sci. 7 (2), 206–217.

Lopes, D.C., Steidle Neto, A.J., Martins, P.A.R., 2011. Economic simulation of biodieselproduction: SIMB-E tool. Energy Econ. 33, 1138–1145.

Lorenzi, G.M.A.C., 2006. Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. Ex Mart. — (Arecaceae): basespara o extrativismo sustentável. (Doctor Scientiae Thesis) Federal University ofParaná (166 pp.).

MAPA, 2012. Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento. http://www.agricultura.gov.br/ (Last accessed February 2012).

Marchetti, J.M., 2011. The effect of economic variables over a biodiesel production plant.Energy Convers. Manag. 52, 3227–3233.

Marques, J.S., 2006. Análise de viabilidae econômica da produção de biodiesel. MagisterScientiae Dissertation.Polytechnic School of Federal University of São Paulo (98 pp.).

Moura, E.F., Motoike, S.Y., Ventrella, M.C., Sá Júnior, A.Q., Carvalho, M., 2009. Somaticembryogenesis in macaw palm (Acrocomia aculeata) from zygotic embryos. Sci.Hortic. 119 (4), 447–454.

Nogueira, B.M., Carretoni, C., Crus, R., Freitas, S., Melo Jr., P.A., Costa-Félix, R., Pinto, J.C.,Nele, M., 2010. Microwave activation of enzymatic catalysts for biodiesel production.J. Mol. Catal. B Enzym. 67, 117–121.

Rodrigues, H.S., 2007. Obtenção de esters etílicos e metílicos, por reações detransesterificação, a partir do óleo da palmeira Latino Americanamacaúba – Acrocomiaaculeata. (Doctor Scientiae Thesis) Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil (236 pp.).

Silva, I.C.C., 2009. Uso de processos combinados para aumento do rendimento da extraçãoe da qualidade do óleo de macaúba. Magister Scientiae Dissertation.FederalUniversity of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (99 pp.).

Silva, C.A.S., Sanaiotti, G., Lanza, M., Follegatti-Romero, L.A., Meirelles, A.J.A., Batista, E.A.C.,2010. Mutual solubility for systems composed of vegetable oil + ethanol+water asdifferent temperatures. J. Chem. Eng. 55, 440–447.

Souza, A.P.F., Coelho, T.M., Santos, R.E., 2007. Estudo de viabilidade de implantação deuma micro usina produtora de biodiesel na micro região de Campo Mourão – PR.XXVII Encontro Nacional de Engenharia de Produção. Foz do Iguaçu, Brasil.

Vieira, S.S., Magriotis, Z.M., Santos, N.A.V., Cardoso, M.G., Saczk, A., 2012. Macaúba palm(Acrocomia aculeata) cake from biodiesel processing: an efficient and low costsubstrate for the adsorption of dyes. Chem. Eng. J. 183, 152–161.

Vlysidis, A., Binns, M., Webb, C., Theodoropoulos, C., 2011. A techno-economic analysis ofbiodiesel biorefineries: assessment of integrated designs for the co-production offuels and chemicals. Energy 36, 4671–4683.