Exploring possibilities of energy insertion from vinasse biogas in the energy matrix of Paraná State, Brazil

The growth in the sugar and alcohol sector in Brazil has led to a significant increase in vinasse production, what aggravates the issue of its destination. Anaerobic biodigestion is an alternative for the treatment of this byproduct, presenting a relevant economic factor: its use as a source of energy. This work presents a technical-economic assessment of the electric energy production from vinasse biogas, obtained from an alcohol plant located in the state of Paraná, Brazil, under three different operations. For each operation, it was considered five scenarios, varying from the most optimistic (best energy selling price) to the most pessimistic (worst energy selling price). The viability of the proposed project was calculated by using the Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Net Present Value (NPV) and Discounted Payback Period (DPP), showing that the plant is feasible for almost all scenarios. The energy production costs for the expected scenario for Operations 1, 2 and 3, were US$ 38.91 MW h−1, US$ 56.32 MW h−1 and US$ 46.93 MW h−1, respectively.