Economics evaluation for on-site pyrolysis of kraft lignin to value-added chemicals

This work is part of a series of investigations on pyrolysis of lignin. After obtaining the necessary information regarding the quantity and quality of the obtained products, a first step economics evaluation for converting lignin into chemicals was essential. To accomplish this aim, a pyrolysis plant with a 50 t/d capacity was designed, and the total capital investment and operating costs were estimated. Next, the minimal selling price of the obtained dry oil was calculated and the effect of crucial variables on the estimated price was examined. The key result indicates the estimated selling price would not compete with the price of the chemicals that are fossil fuel based, which is primarily due to the high cost of the feed-stock. To overcome this challenge, different scenarios for reducing the selling price of the obtained oil, which consequently is helping by taking a place among the fossil fuel based chemicals, were discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.