Experimental studies and techno-economic analysis of hydro-processed renewable diesel production in Taiwan

For the purpose of promoting hydro-processed renewable diesel as the local replacements of traditional diesel and transestification biodiesel, the experimental investigation and techno-economic analysis were carried out in this study. The experiment was conducted with varying reaction temperature, pressure, weight hourly space velocity (WHSV) and H2-to-oil ratio over the NiMo/γ-Al2O3 catalyst and the conversion, selectivity and yield were determined. The experimental conditions and results were input into process simulation model for determining the mass and energy flows at the scale of 600 tonnes per day. Furthermore, the techno-economic analysis was conducted based on the mass and energy balances obtained from process simulation, and the locally quoted capital and operating costs, yielding to the minimum renewable diesel price (MRDP) of $1.72/L. The effects of hydrogen, plant capacity, catalyst as well as the operating conditions on MRDP were demonstrated and discussed.