Comparison between Biodiesel Production from Soybean Oil and Palm Oil with Ethanol: Design and Economic Evaluation

Abstract

Biodiesel production by homogeneous alkali catalysis was simulated in PRO/II ® from crude soybean oil and crude palm oil at industrial level, with ethanol. Actual compositions were assumed for both vegetable oils from the literature and thermodynamic properties were estimated by a group contribution method. Because of the higher content of free fatty acids in crude palm oil, it was demonstrated that some changes in the ethanol content and in the equipment specifications are needed to reach a fuel in agreement with the international quality laws, if compared to biodiesel from soybean oil. A same plant could process both raw materials, because the main structural differences are in vessel volumes and temperatures and not in distillation columns or heat exchangers specifications. An economic evaluation was performed to compare the relative potential of both the oilseeds. In the case of Brazil in the mid-2014, it was not profitable to produce biodiesel from these oilseeds and ethanol. Palm oil had the highest manufacturing cost in that scenario, mainly because of the higher demand for ethanol in the pre-treatment step. However, due to the big contribution of raw materials costs in the total manufacturing cost, this scenario could easily change with tax reductions, subsidy or the simple expansion of palm production in the country. The authors expect that the same methodology could be applied to other technologies and/or other raw materials to update the available information about biodiesel production alternatives in Brazil and elsewhere.