TITLE:
Modifying Plant Oils for Use as Fuel in Rural Contexts Tanzania: Techno-Economic Analysis
AUTHORS:
Happiness Mlay, Jamidu H. Y. Katima, Ruwaichi J. A. Minja
KEYWORDS:
Modified Plant Oil; Natural Gas Condensate; Jatropha Oil; Techno-Economic Analysis
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Modelling and Simulation,
Vol.2 No.2,
March
28,
2014
ABSTRACT: Techno-economic analysis of a small-scale Modified Plant Oil (MPO) production plant that has an
annual production capacity of 15,072,741 kg of MPO (batch process) was carried out to estimate
the capital and operating costs of a plant. The analysis was done by using a computer model that
was designed and simulated with an aid of SuperPro Designer (Version 4.32) software. The specified
feedstock was crude Jatropha oil (JO) and the main product was MPO. The major processes
involved were degumming, neutralisation and blending. Degumming involved the removal of
gums or phospholipids, and two methods were used: water degumming and acid degumming,
whereas blending involved mixing of degummed or purified JO with natural gas condensate (NGC)
modifier to lower the viscosity of JO. From techno-economic analysis of the process, it was found
that the total capital investment of a plant was about US $ 10,222,000 and the predicted unit production
cost of MPO was US $ 1.315/kg at a value of US $ 1.0/kg of JO. The economic feasibility of
MPO production was found to be highly influenced by the price of feedstock, which contributed
about 95% of the total annual production cost. The relationship between plant throughput and
unit cost of producing MPO showed that unit production cost was very sensitive to production rate
at low annual throughputs. The MPO cost showed a direct linear relationship with the cost of JO,
with a change of US $ 0.50/kg of MPO in MPO cost in every change of US $ 0.50/kg of JO in JO price.
The process technology simulated was found to be economically viable and can be implemented in
rural setting, taking into consideration Tanzania’s rural situation.