Economic simulation of biodiesel production: SIMB-E tool

Recently biodiesel has been receiving increasing attention as an alternative fuel due to its environmental benefits. It is derived from renewable sources which are considered as strategic opportunities to favor environmental sustainability, to improve the population's quality of life and to promote the development of more efficient and equitable economic systems. Besides technical aspects, economics feasibility is also of great importance to access the biodiesel production viability. This paper traces the development of a software tool capable of performing economic analysis of different biodiesel plants considering the contemporary industry practices. The economic indexes considered during the analysis are the net present value (NVP), the Benefit-Costs Ratio (BCR), the Capital Return Time (CRT) and the Internal Rate of Return (IRR). Fixed capital costs, operating costs, depreciation, and auxiliary costs are also taken into account for the economic calculations.

Research highlights► Increase their knowledge about the economic aspects of the biodiesel production. ► Be motivated to develop new models or improve the proposed one. ► Be motivated to diversify energy and agricultural activity in a sustainable manner.