Biohydrogen production from waste bread in a continuous stirred tank reactor: A techno-economic analysis

• Biohydrogen production from waste bread was techno-economically assessed.
• Aspen Plus was used to simulate the mass and energy balance of the plant.
• The unit hydrogen production cost was USD1.34/m3 H2 (or USD14.89/kg H2).
• The plant started to profit with the waste bread fed more than 0.58 ton/day.

Biohydrogen production from waste bread in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) was techno-economically assessed. The treating capacity of the H2-producing plant was assumed to be 2 ton waste bread per day with lifetime of 10 years. Aspen Plus was used to simulate the mass and energy balance of the plant. The total capital investment (TCI), total annual production cost (TAPC) and annual revenue of the plant were USD931020, USD299746/year and USD639920/year, respectively. The unit hydrogen production cost was USD1.34/m3 H2 (or USD14.89/kg H2). The payback period and net present value (NPV) of the plant were 4.8 years and USD1266654, respectively. Hydrogen price and operators cost were the most important variables on the NPV. It was concluded that biohydrogen production from waste bread in the CSTR was feasible for practical application.