Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy Economics
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco

Economic feasibility of biodiesel production from Macauba in Brazil

Daniela de Carvalho Lopes a,⁎, Antonio José Steidle Neto a,
Adriano Aguiar Mendes b, Débora Tamires Vítor Pereira a
a
Universidade Federal de São João del-Rei, MG 424, km 47, Sete Lagoas, MG CEP 35701-970, Brazil
b
Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Instituto de Química, Alfenas, MG, CEP 37130-000, Brazil

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this work the economic feasibility of biodiesel production in Brazil by using the Macauba oil as raw matter is
Received 18 October 2012 studied. The software SIMB-E, in which a cash flow model applied to biodiesel production is implemented, was
Received in revised form 2 October 2013 used during simulations. Economic indexes related to biodiesel production features, as well as the competitiveness
Accepted 5 October 2013
between selling prices of biodiesel and petrodiesel were considered. It was found that all of the 8 simulated
Available online 19 October 2013
scenarios were potentially profitable, but only 2 of them presented competitive biodiesel selling prices, being
JEL classification:
considered as worthwhile projects. These were seed-oil plants with alkaline transesterification. Results also
C53 indicated that the success of biodiesel production still requires additional revenues beyond that derived from
C63 biodiesel itself, including income from the feedstock coproducts and glycerol. Macauba showed to be a potential
O54 crop to be used in biodiesel production. However, the domestication and improvement on processing of this
Q01 species are indispensable to ensure its availability of long-term use.
Q13 © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Q16

Keywords:
Acrocomia aculeata
Economy
Transesterification

1. Introduction
Biodiesel has become a high priority in the energy policy strategies at
a global scale. Its production and use have become mandatory nowadays
due to its environmental benign characters (Jegannathan et al., 2011). In
2004, the share of biofuels in total transport fuel demand was above 2%
in Brazil, Cuba and Sweden. The International Energy Agency (IEA)
projects biofuels to provide 9% of the total transport fuel demand in
2030, while in 2007 this projection was 7% (Eisentraut, 2010).
Macauba (Acrocomia aculeata) is a native oleaginous palm tree of the
Brazilian Cerrado, located mainly in the center of this country, but
adapted from cooler subtropical to drier semiarid ecosystems and also
distributed in Mexico, Antilles, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay
(Moura et al., 2009). This palm has a potential to produce up to 30 t of
fruits ha−1 year−1, presenting oil content between 23 and 34% on dry
weight basis (Lopes and Steidle Neto, 2011).
Experiments were performed employing the oils from Macauba fruit
to investigate the effects of time of pyrolysis, temperature of the
⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 31 3697 2039; fax: +55 31 3697 2022.
E-mail addresses: danielalopes@ufsj.edu.br (D.C. Lopes), antonio@ufsj.edu.br
(A.J. Steidle Neto), adriano_amendes@yahoo.com.br (A.A. Mendes),
debora.tata@hotmail.com (D.T.V. Pereira).
pyrolytic process, and how different atmospheres affect the yield and
composition of the pyrolysate. Under the experimental conditions, the
component oils studied undergo a process of partial pyrolysis to varying
extents, generating considerable yields of carboxylic acid, aldehydes,
alcohols, alkenes, and alkadienes (Fortes and Baugh, 2004).
The effect of microwave irradiation on the rate of transesterification
of Macauba oil with ethanol catalyzed by supported enzymes, namely
Novozym 435 (Candida antarctica) and Lipozyme IM (Mucor miehei)
was also investigated. The experimental variables were temperature,
reaction time and supported enzyme concentration. The measured
response was the reaction conversion which was converted to catalytic
activity. It was observed that the reaction rate was significantly
increased with microwave irradiation and that reaction temperature
was the most important variable (Nogueira et al., 2010).
A study was carried out in which ethyl and methyl esters from
Macauba oils were obtained by transesterification under homogeneous
basic, homogeneous acid and heterogeneous catalysis. In all studied
reactions the best proportions of catalyst were determined, as well as,
their influence on the process reactions. The quality of the produced
biodiesel was determined by comparison with the Brazilian (ANP),
American (ASTM) and European (prEN 14214) specifications, confirming
the potential of this raw matter for biodiesel production (Rodrigues,
2007).

0140-9883/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2013.10.003
820 D.C. Lopes et al. / Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824
Besides technical, environmental and social aspects, economic
feasibility is also of great importance to assess the biodiesel production
viability. The choice of feedstock, chemicals and technology to employ
in a production plant will in turn influence costs and the biodiesel
competitiveness with petrodiesel (Amigun et al., 2008; Vlysidis et al.,
2011).
Economic studies about biodiesel production provide a better
understanding of the business of this kind of plant and how variables
related to market law and country policy's might affect the general
economy. These studies are also useful tools to predict limits of economic
feasibility, allowing that producers have an idea of different situations
and to take decisions in order to improve or to invest in biodiesel plants
(Marchetti, 2011).
This paper is an economic study for biodiesel production using the
Macauba oil as raw matter. The feasibility of producing biodiesel is
analyzed according to representative Brazilian configurations. For this,
the SIMB-E model (Lopes et al., 2011) was used, relating the biodiesel
production features with the economic indexes net present value
(NPV), benefit–cost ratio (BCR), capital return time (CRT) and internal
rate of return (IRR). Fixed capital costs, operating costs, depreciation,
and auxiliary costs were also taken into account for the economic
calculations.
The expectation is to contribute for a better understanding of the
business of biodiesel plants and motivate the academic and industrial
interest on Macauba, allowing diversifying energy and agriculture
activities.
2. Methodology
2.1. Simulated scenarios
Transesterifications of Macauba oil with methanol and ethanol,
catalyzed by bases and enzymes were simulated. Also, seed-oil-
processing and only oil-processing plants were analyzed, totaling to 8
simulated scenarios (Table 1). All studied cases were considered as
continuous processes in order to meet an industrial design scale of
biodiesel production. The period considered for simulated investments
(lifetime of project) was 15 years.
During simulations the annual production capacity of plants was set at
15,000 t, with utilization ratio of 90%. When transesterifications catalyzed
by bases were simulated the molar ratio of alcohol to triglycerides was
6:1, while for enzymatic catalysis it was considered as a ratio of 3:1
(Harding et al., 2007). The catalyst concentrations by weight of oil were
1.5 and 4% for bases and enzymes, respectively, considering yields from
95 to 98% conversion oil into esters (Bernardes et al., 2007; Harding
et al., 2007). It also accounted the enzyme reuse, considering that
immobilized enzyme operates over 30 days without losing catalytic
activity (Chen et al., 2011). Molecular weights of ethanol, methanol and
glycerol were 46, 32 and 92 g mol−1, respectively (Agarwal, 2007;
Arzamendi et al., 2006). Molecular weights of ethylic and methylic esters
from Macauba were 303.6 and 289.6 g mol−1, respectively. Also, oil
content and molar weight of Macauba oil were considered as 30% and
864.7 g mol−1 respectively (Silva, 2009; Silva et al., 2010).
Table 1
Simulated scenarios and their features.
Scenario Catalysis Alcohol Processing
1 Alkaline Methanol Seed-oil
2 Alkaline Ethanol Seed-oil
3 Enzymatic Methanol Seed-oil
4 Enzymatic Ethanol Seed-oil
5 Alkaline Methanol Oil
6 Alkaline Ethanol Oil
7 Enzymatic Methanol Oil
8 Enzymatic Ethanol Oil
The initial investments and operating costs used in simulations were
estimated based on Brazilian market, considering the capacity of the
plant, the plant building, the equipment installation and technology
applied, varying according to the different simulated scenarios (Amigun
et al., 2008; ANP, 2012; Marques, 2006). The cost of maintenance for
the simulated biodiesel plants was a factor of 1.5% of the capital
investment cost (Amigun et al., 2008). It was also assumed that there
was a constant depreciation (10% of the capital investment per year) of
the equipment along the lifetime of the project (Haas et al., 2006).
Operating costs, such as cooling water, electricity, labor and other
expenses were also estimated according to the market and prices in
Brazil (ANP, 2012; Marques, 2006; Souza et al., 2007).
The inflation rate of 10.0% per annum was used, as well as an
attractiveness rate of 13% (Souza et al., 2007; BCB, 2012). The taxation
of biodiesel was not considered since Law No. 12.546-2011 establishes
the total exemption of the taxes PIS/PASEP and COFINS for biodiesel
producers in Brazil. This Federal taxation is still applied to gasoline,
diesel and alcohol in the country (Biodiesel, 2011; Brazil, 2011).
Simulations included the production and sale of partially pure glycerol
coproduct. When seed-oil-processing plants were considered, the
Macauba cake was also included as a coproduct. The amount of feedstock,
catalyst, alcohol and co-products was calculated by stoichiometry,
considering the molar ratio of triglycerides to alcohol (1:6 or 1:3
depending on the catalyst), the molar ratio of triglycerides to esters
(1:3), and the molar ratio of triglycerides to glycerol (1:1). Prices of oil,
alcohol, catalyst and co-products were considered according to the
market in Brazil as shown in Table 2 (MAPA, 2012).
For each scenario different profit margins were tested and those
values in which the economic feasibility was verified with minimal
biodiesel prices were considered during the final analysis (Table 3).
Simulations were carried out using the SIMB-E tool, which was
developed for this purpose (Lopes et al., 2011).
2.2. SIMB-E model
The model starts from the calculation of a cash flow, which is the
balance of the amount of revenues and the expenses during the lifetime
of the project. The year zero considers no revenues and the capital
investment as expenses. The other years are calculated based on Eq. (1).
i i i i i i i i i
C f ¼ Gr þ Sr þBr −Ge −Fc −Lc −Mc −Ft −Dc ; ð1Þ
where i is the year considered in the cash flow (varying from 1 to the
lifetime of the project), Cf is the balance of the amount of revenues
and expenses ($), Gr are the glycerol revenues ($), Sr are the subproduct
revenues ($), Br are the biodiesel revenues ($), Ge are the general
expenses ($), Fc are the feedstock and chemical expenses ($), Lc are
the labor costs ($), Mc are the maintenance costs ($), Ft are the Federal
tax costs ($) and Dc is the depreciation cost ($).
The glycerol revenues are calculated based on Eq. (2), considering
that the glycerol liberated during transesterification has substantial
commercial value if purified to USP (United States Pharmacopeia)
grade. However, this process is expensive. Small and moderately sized
Table 2
Raw materials and co-products prices.
Item Cost (R$ ton−1)
Macauba crude oil 3,650,00
Macauba seeds 130.00
Methanol 403.00
Ethanol 1,340.00
Base 1,135.84
Enzyme 91,600.00
Macauba cake 500.00
Glycerol 2,473.20
 D.C. Lopes et al. / Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824 821

Table 3 The amount of feedstock and alcohol is calculated by stoichiometry,

Simulated scenarios and their profit margins. considering the molar ratio of triglycerides to alcohol informed as input
Scenario Profit margin (%) data, the molar ratio of 1:3 of triglycerides to esters, and the molar ratio
of 1:1 of triglycerides to glycerol.
1 25
2 15 With the cash flow data, the model calculates the economic indexes.
3 10 The net present value (NPV) and the benefit–cost ratio (BCR) are
4 10 calculated by Eqs. (9) and (10), respectively. The capital return time
5 5
(CRT) is calculated iteratively, seeking the number of years and months
6 5
7 5 required to the capital investment payback. The internal rate of return
8 5 (IRR) is calculated by Lagrange interpolation, consisting on the discount
rate used in capital budgeting that makes the NPV of the cash flow equal
to zero.
operations often find it most cost effective to partially purify the
glycerol, removing methanol, fatty acids and most of the water, and i
selling the product to industrial glycerol refiners. Thus, the model L Cf
Npv ¼ ∑i¼1 −C ð9Þ
includes the production and sale of such partially (100% glycerol by ð1 þ kÞi
mass, Pm = 1) or totally (80% glycerol by mass, Pm = 0.8) pure glycerol
coproduct, as proposed by Haas et al. (2006). !
L Cif

i−1 Bcr ¼ ∑i¼1 = C ð10Þ
ð1 þ kÞi
Gr ¼ Mg Ag Pm 1−Dg =100 ; ð2Þ

where Mg is the market price of glycerol ($ ton−1), Ag is the amount of
glycerol formed as a by-product during biodiesel production (ton), Pm is
the purification level of glycerol (dimensionless) and Dg is the annual
depreciation rate for the market price of glycerol (%).
The subproducts and biodiesel revenues are calculated by using
Eqs. (3) and (4), respectively.
i−1
Sr ¼ As Ms ð1 þ k=100Þ ; ð3Þ
where As is the amount of cake or meal formed as a by-product during the
grain processing (ton), Ms is the market price of subproduct ($ ton−1)
and k is the annual inflation rate (%). Subproduct revenues are calculated
only when simulation considers biodiesel production integrated with an
oilseed processing facility.
Br ¼ Te ð1 þ PM =100Þ−Gr −Sr ; ð4Þ
where Npv is the net present value ($), Bcr is the benefit–cost ratio and L
is the lifetime of the project (years).
The biodiesel production will be economically viable if the NPV is
greater than zero, the BCR is greater than one, the CRT is smaller than
the lifetime of the project and the IRR is greater than the attractiveness
rate. But, this viability should be prejudiced if the biodiesel selling price
(Eq. (11)) does not to be competitive with petrodiesel. In this case, the
project will be considered economically viable, but risky, and is
discouraged.
Bc ¼ Br =P; ð11Þ
where Bc is the biodiesel price ($ kg−1) and P is the amount of biodiesel
produced (kg).

where Te are the total expenses ($) and PM is the profit margin (%).
Total expenses include the depreciation cost, the general expenses,
the Federal taxes, the feedstock and chemical expenses, the labor costs
and the maintenance costs. The depreciation and the Federal taxes are
fixed, considering the annual depreciation rate and the cost per cubic
meter of biodiesel which should be paid, respectively. Other expenses
are calculated by using Eqs. (5) to (8).

C Gp i−1
Ge ¼ ð1 þ k=100Þ ; ð5Þ
100

C Mp i−1
Mc ¼ ð1 þ k=100Þ ð6Þ
100

i−1
Lc ¼ S F H ð1 þ St =100Þ ð1 þ Wr =100Þ ; ð7Þ

i−1
Fc ¼ ð1 þ k=100Þ ðQ f C f þ Q a Ca þ Q c Cc þ Q O CO Þ; ð8Þ

where C is the capital cost ($), Gp is the general expense index

(% of capital cost), Mp is the maintenance index (% of capital cost), S is
the a wage index ($ h−1 employee−1), F is the number of employees
(dimensionless), H is their workload (h year−1), St is the social tax
cost (% of wage), Wr is the annual wage adjustment (%), Qf is the amount
of feedstock (ton), Qa is the amount of alcohol (ton), Qc is the amount of
catalyst (ton), Qo is the amount of other chemicals (ton), Cf is the
feedstock cost ($ ton−1), Ca is the alcohol cost ($ ton−1), Cc is the Fig. 1. Internal rate of return (IRR) for the 8 scenarios and attractiveness rate considered
catalyst cost (ton) and Co is the other chemical cost ($ ton−1). during simulations.
822 D.C. Lopes et al. / Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824
3. Results and discussion
Profitability criteria for all simulated scenarios included the evaluation
of economic indexes and competitiveness between biodiesel and
petrodiesel prices. Economic indexes were evaluated aiming to identify
the potential of the project to be economically feasible. But the main
criterion to suggest worthwhile projects was the biodiesel selling price
required to reach the revenues indicated by the economic indexes.
Thus, simulations were carried out searching for economic feasibility
with minimal biodiesel prices. The economic potential of biodiesel
production from Macauba oil was verified, but at the expense of high
biodiesel selling prices for most of simulated scenarios. This is a
considerable disadvantage, since only those scenarios which presented
competitive selling prices should be considered really worthwhile
projects.
IRRs ranged from 15.31% to 45.16% (Fig. 1), all of them are greater
than the attractiveness rate of 13% considered in this study. The greater
the IRR value, the higher the potential of the project to be economically
feasible, since the IRR refers to the return which can be earned on the
capital invested in the project and the attractiveness rate describes the
perceived quality and utility of a product. But, the greater IRRs observed
were those of scenarios which required the higher biodiesel selling
prices to be feasible (scenarios 7 and 8). Scenarios 1 and 2 presented
competitive biodiesel prices and acceptable IRRs (15.31% and 15.85%).
The economic potentiality of all simulated scenarios was confirmed
by the CRT index as shown in Fig. 2. All studied cases presented CRT
smaller than the lifetime of project (15 years), varying from 3 years
and 3 months (3.3 years) to 10 years and 10 months (10.8 years).
Again, the smaller CRTs observed were those of scenarios 7 and 8,
which are not competitive in the market. Considering this index,
scenario 1 is detached, since it presented one of the smallest CRTs and
attractive biodiesel selling price.
BCRs varied from 1.22 to 4.23 (Fig. 3). All of them were greater than
1 which is the minimum value for such a project to be considered
potentially profitable. These values show that sum of the benefits
exceeded the costs in all projects. Following the above trend, the greater
BCRs were related to the scenarios which presented higher biodiesel
selling prices (scenarios 7 and 8).
Fig. 2. Capital return time (CRT) and lifetime of projects considered during simulations.
Fig. 3. Benefit–cost ratios (BCRs) for the 8 simulated scenarios.
NPV values varied from R$ 1,010,328.00 to R$ 4,480,313.00. All
simulated scenarios presented NPV greater than zero, indicating
potentially feasible projects (Fig. 4). The net present value is the total
sum of the capital expenditure, operating expenses and income
generated by the project, discounted inflation rate to the initial moment
of the lifecycle, with greater values indicating greater profitability. NPV
is used as a long-term metric that requires information about rate of
return, regulatory and market possibilities, and hedging options.
Despite the NPVs of scenarios 1 and 2 to be the smallest ones, they
were still economic attractive options, mainly when this economic
index is compared with the biodiesel selling prices of each project.
As mentioned above, to reach the revenues suggested by the
economic indexes, most of simulated scenarios require that the biodiesel
be sell at high prices, which are not competitive with petrodiesel one
(Fig. 5). These results discourage the investment in scenarios 3 to 8. The
fuel selling prices are generally ruled by international offer and demand,
government policies and international agreements. As these scenarios
were already simulated considering small profit margins, the practice of
competitive biodiesel prices will result in economic unfeasibility of them.
Only scenarios 1 and 2 were considered really feasible when
comparing the biodiesel selling prices with the petrodiesel ones. It is
important to emphasize the environmental benefits of biodiesel and
the fact that it comes from renewable resources. Also, the present energy
scenario has stimulated active research interest in non-petroleum,
renewable, and non-polluting fuels. So, considering the similar selling
prices between petrodiesel and scenario 2, biodiesel is still advantageous
over petrodiesel.
Seed-oil-processing and alkaline transesterifications were benefited
by low costs of catalyst and Macauba fruits, beyond by sales of Macauba
cake which together with glycerol commercialization gave an extra
economical boost to the production processes. Macauba cake is appraised
due to its countless applications such as in animal feed and fertilization
Fig. 4. Net present values (NPVs) for the 8 simulated scenarios.
 D.C. Lopes et al. / Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824
Fig. 5. Selling prices of Macauba biodiesel and petrodiesel obtained by simulations.
(Lopes and Steidle Neto, 2011; Rodrigues, 2007). It is also adequate for the
removal of waste dye from industrial effluents by virtue of its abundance,
low cost and efficiency of adsorption (Vieira et al., 2012). The advantages
verified with seed-oil processing plants agreed with the one discussed by
Amigun et al. (2008), where it is affirmed that this kind of facility may
provide logistic advantages in that the feedstock can be used at source,
reducing costs to an oil processing plant. Other observation is that the
increased cost of production due to higher unit capital cost should be
more than offset by savings in transportation cost.
Oil-processing plants were not economically feasible due to the high
cost of the crude oil of Macauba and the lack of coproducts derived from
its seed processing. The Macauba crude oil is around 28 times more
expensive than Macauba fruits. This high cost also contributed to
minimizing the influence of other inputs, as alcohol and catalyst, on
the selling price of biodiesel. Yet the glycerol selling represented a
minor impact on the total biodiesel production costs when compared
with the cost of crude oil. Comparing scenarios where only processing
type varied, selling prices of biodiesel produced from Macauba in plants
without integrated oil mill were around 1.8 times greater than those
produced in a seed-oil processing plant.
Regarding enzymatic transesterification, it was confirmed that the
main obstacle for its commercialization is the cost of the enzyme,
mainly when this cost is compared with alkaline-catalyzed processes.
Since considering that enzyme should be reused during 30days without
losing catalytic activity, its cost was considerably greater than the base
one (approximately 80 times more expensive). This reflected on the
selling prices of biodiesel, which were approximately double of that
produced from alkaline transesterifications.
Other challenges associated with enzymatic transesterification
include low reaction rates and the potential for enzyme deactivation.
Many researchers (Chen et al., 2011; Harding et al., 2007; Silva, 2009;
Vlysidis et al., 2011) agree that advances on these areas should
contribute to reasonable costs of such transesterification process and
should be motivated. Compared to alkaline catalysis and acid catalysis
the enzymatic transesterification is more compatible with variations in
the quality of feedstock. It also requires only simple purification steps
and conducts under moderate reaction conditions. Other interesting
remark is that alkaline transesterification is energy consuming and
823
generates undesirable coproducts (soaps) which difficult the separation
and purification of biodiesel.
The difference between methanol and ethanol prices did not have
significant influence on biodiesel prices when compared with other
production variables. But results of scenario 1, which employed methanol
during transesterification, were more attractive than those of scenario 2,
which employed ethanol. In Brazil the ethanol cost is around three times
the methanol one, but this proportion was not perceived in selling prices
of biodiesel produced, considering scenarios where only the alcohol was
different among the production features. Methanol is still the most
commonly used alcohol in commercial plants mainly due to its low
cost. But it is important to emphasize that ethanol is renewable and has
suggested advantages being environmentally based and carbon dioxide
neutral, making it the most promising alternative for producing biodiesel.
These observations were comproved by several authors (Agarwal, 2007;
Arzamendi et al., 2006; Harding et al., 2007).
The attractive economic indexes obtained with scenarios 3 to 8 should
be maintained with smaller biodiesel selling prices if the feedstock costs
were smaller, as well as the initial investment in this kind of project.
Macauba fruits are cheap when compared with other oleaginous used
as feedstock to biodiesel production, while its co-products present high
aggregated value in Brazil. Also, as mentioned by Lorenzi (2006), Moura
et al. (2009) and Lopes and Steidle Neto (2011), this palm is highly
productive and adapted to different environments, including cooler
subtropical and drier semiarid ecosystems. These factors were
preponderant to the economic potential of simulated scenarios, as well
as, for scenarios 1 and 2 which reach competitive biodiesel selling prices.
Despite Macauba being a native palm with high potential for
biodiesel production as well as being used as food or in cosmetic
industry, its actual exploitation occurs mostly by gathering in large
natural populations. To enable its use for commercial purposes and on
a large scale, it is indispensable that the creation of production fields
and community processing of the Macauba fruit, encourage producers
to provide products with the quality, quantity and consistency that
this growing market demands and ensure its availability for long-term
use. In this perspective, some researches (Borcioni, 2012; Lorenzi,
2006; Moura et al., 2009) have been aiming to contribute to the
domestication and processing of this species.
4. Conclusion
All of the 8 simulated scenarios were potentially profitable, resulting
in attractive economic indexes. But among them, only 2 presented
competitive biodiesel selling prices were being considered as
worthwhile projects. These were biodiesel plants with integrated oil
mill and alkaline transesterification. It was shown that the success of
biodiesel production still requires additional revenues beyond those
derived from biodiesel itself. Also, the high costs of Macauba crude oil
and enzymes reflected on the selling prices of biodiesel, contributing
to scenarios with these features be not worthwhile.
Macauba showed to be a potential crop to be used in biodiesel
production due to its high yield, easy adaptation to different
ecosystems, low cost of fruits and good valuation of its co-products.
However, the actual exploitation of this species occurs mostly by
gathering in large natural populations, which makes essential the
domestication and improvement on processing of it with the purpose
of ensuring the Macauba availability for long-term use. Actually, the
agriculture-industrial exploration of this tree is under its real potential
and Macauba plantations in many places in the world are still in their
primary stage. But researches have been developed in this area and
studies have been done on new technologies for improving the
Macauba oil processing. These facts associated with the economic
viability of the biodiesel production from Macauba certainly will
contribute to its industrial growth in a near future.
This study can be extrapolated to other technologies, market
scenarios or feedstock as a mean to show tendencies of how relevant
824 D.C. Lopes et al. / Energy Economics 40 (2013) 819–824
variables can affect a biodiesel plant and to search for ways to decrease
costs and make this kind of production more competitive in the market.
Disclaimer
The authors do not accept responsibility for commercial or industrial
decisions taken based on the presented results. Simulations discussed in
this paper are for research purpose only. For recommendations about
specific projects please contact the authors.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the Conselho Nacional de
Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) for its financial
support.
References
Agarwal, A.K., 2007. Biofuels (alcohols and biodiesel) applications as fuels for internal
combustion engines. Prog. Energy Combust. Sci. 33, 233–271.
Amigun, B., Müller-Langer, F., von Blottnitz, H., 2008. Predicting the costs of biodiesel
production in Africa: learning from Germany. Energy Sustain. Dev. 12 (1), 5–21.
ANP, 2012. Agência Nacional do Petróleo. Levantamento de preços. www.anp.gov.br (Last
accessed February 2012).
Arzamendi, G., Arguinarena, E., Campo, I., Gandía, L.M., 2006. Monitoring of biodiesel
production: simultaneous analysis of the transesterification products using size-
exclusion chromatography. Chem. Eng. J. 122, 31–40.
BCB, 2012. Banco Central do Brasil. Histórico das taxas de juros. http://www.bcb.gov.br/?
COPOMJUROS (Last accessed March 2012).
Bernardes, O.L., Bevilaqua, J.V., Leal, M.C., Freire, D.M., Langone, M.A., 2007. Biodiesel fuel
production by transesterification reaction of soybean oil using immobilized lípase.
Appl. Biochem. Biotechnol. 137–140, 105–114.
Biodiesel, 2011. Programa Nacional de Produção e Uso de Biodiesel — PNPB. http://www.
biodiesel.gov.br/programa.html (Last accessed February 2011).
Borcioni, E., 2012. Subisídios à implementação de sistemas de cultivo de Acrocomia
aculeate (Jacq.) Lodd. Ex Mart (arecaceae). Doctor Scientiae Thesis Federal University
of Paraná (113 pp.).
Brazil, 2011. Federal Law No. 12.546 of December 14, 2011 (Lei Federal No. 12.546 de 14
de dezembro de 2011). Presidência da República, Brasília.
Chen, H.C., Ju, H.Y., Wu, T.T., Liu, Y.C., Lee, C.C., Chang, C., Chung, Y.L., Shieh, C.J., 2011.
Continuous production of lípase-catalyzed biodiesel in a packed-bed reactor:
optimization and enzyme reuse study. J. Biomed. Biotechnol. 1–6. http://dx.doi.org/
10.1155/2011/950725.
Eisentraut, A., 2010. Sustainable production of second-generation biofuels — potential
and perspectives in major economies and developing countries, 1st ed. International
Energy Agency, Brazil.
Fortes, I.C.P., Baugh, P.J., 2004. Pyrolysis–GC/MS studies of vegetable oils from Macauba
fruit. J. Anal. Appl. Pyrolysis 72 (1), 103–111.
Haas, M.J., McAloon, A.J., Yee, W.C., Foglia, T.A., 2006. A process model to estimate
biodiesel production costs. Bioresour. Technol. 97, 671–678.
Harding, K.G., Dennis, J.S., von Blottnitz, H., Harrison, S.T.L., 2007. A life-cycle comparison
between inorganic and biologic catalysis for the production of biodiesel. J. Clean.
Prod. 16, 1368–1378.
Jegannathan, K.R., Eng-Seng, C., Ravindra, P., 2011. Economic assessment of biodiesel
production: comparison of alkali and biocatalyst processes. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev.
15, 745–751.
Lopes, D.C., Steidle Neto, A.J., 2011. Potential crops for biodiesel production in Brazil: a
review. World J. Agric. Sci. 7 (2), 206–217.
Lopes, D.C., Steidle Neto, A.J., Martins, P.A.R., 2011. Economic simulation of biodiesel
production: SIMB-E tool. Energy Econ. 33, 1138–1145.
Lorenzi, G.M.A.C., 2006. Acrocomia aculeata (Jacq.) Lodd. Ex Mart. — (Arecaceae): bases
para o extrativismo sustentável. (Doctor Scientiae Thesis) Federal University of
Paraná (166 pp.).
MAPA, 2012. Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento. http://www.agricultura.
gov.br/ (Last accessed February 2012).
Marchetti, J.M., 2011. The effect of economic variables over a biodiesel production plant.
Energy Convers. Manag. 52, 3227–3233.
Marques, J.S., 2006. Análise de viabilidae econômica da produção de biodiesel. Magister
Scientiae Dissertation.Polytechnic School of Federal University of São Paulo (98 pp.).
Moura, E.F., Motoike, S.Y., Ventrella, M.C., Sá Júnior, A.Q., Carvalho, M., 2009. Somatic
embryogenesis in macaw palm (Acrocomia aculeata) from zygotic embryos. Sci.
Hortic. 119 (4), 447–454.
Nogueira, B.M., Carretoni, C., Crus, R., Freitas, S., Melo Jr., P.A., Costa-Félix, R., Pinto, J.C.,
Nele, M., 2010. Microwave activation of enzymatic catalysts for biodiesel production.
J. Mol. Catal. B Enzym. 67, 117–121.
Rodrigues, H.S., 2007. Obtenção de esters etílicos e metílicos, por reações de
transesterificação, a partir do óleo da palmeira Latino Americana macaúba – Acrocomia
aculeata. (Doctor Scientiae Thesis) Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil (236 pp.).
Silva, I.C.C., 2009. Uso de processos combinados para aumento do rendimento da extração
e da qualidade do óleo de macaúba. Magister Scientiae Dissertation.Federal
University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (99 pp.).
Silva, C.A.S., Sanaiotti, G., Lanza, M., Follegatti-Romero, L.A., Meirelles, A.J.A., Batista, E.A.C.,
2010. Mutual solubility for systems composed of vegetable oil + ethanol + water as
different temperatures. J. Chem. Eng. 55, 440–447.
Souza, A.P.F., Coelho, T.M., Santos, R.E., 2007. Estudo de viabilidade de implantação de
uma micro usina produtora de biodiesel na micro região de Campo Mourão – PR.
XXVII Encontro Nacional de Engenharia de Produção. Foz do Iguaçu, Brasil.
Vieira, S.S., Magriotis, Z.M., Santos, N.A.V., Cardoso, M.G., Saczk, A., 2012. Macaúba palm
(Acrocomia aculeata) cake from biodiesel processing: an efficient and low cost
substrate for the adsorption of dyes. Chem. Eng. J. 183, 152–161.
Vlysidis, A., Binns, M., Webb, C., Theodoropoulos, C., 2011. A techno-economic analysis of
biodiesel biorefineries: assessment of integrated designs for the co-production of
fuels and chemicals. Energy 36, 4671–4683.