Cost analysis of enzymatic biodiesel production in small-scaled packed-bed reactors

A cost analysis of enzymatic biodiesel production in small-scaled packed-bed reactors using refined sunflower oil is performed in this work. A few enzymatic micro-flow reactors have so far reached a performance close to gram-scale, which might be sufficient for the pharmaceutical industry. This study, motivated by the availability of new immobilization materials and techniques, wants to go one step further and explore the application of enzymatic micro-flow reactors to the biofuel market, which is much larger in volume. However, there are certain hurdles which need to be overcome to ensure commercialization of this process; this requires a simultaneous multi-innovation approach, which has been reviewed in the introduction. A detailed analysis of the two main hurdles – lipase production & immobilization, and severe mass transfer limitations – along with the state-of-the-art, and forecasted innovations, has also been provided.