Geology

Organic chemistry

Investment (military)

Mathematics

Operations research

Pulp and paper industry

Biodiesel

Biodiesel production

Unit cost

Politics

Biomass (ecology)

Unit (ring theory)

Oceanography

Macroeconomics

Mathematics education

Engineering

Catalysis

Payback period

Political science

Bioenergy

Economics

Raw material

Chemistry

Production (economics)

Biorefinery

Agricultural economics

Environmental science

Biofuel

Waste management

Biochemistry

Mechanical engineering

Analytic hierarchy process

Sustainability

The high energy consumption in Iran, particularly in the transportation sector, has contaminated large cities and jeopardized the society health. Therefore, in this study technical and economic features of the production of biodiesel plant in Iran from various wastes are investigated. Based on the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method’s findings, the southern area of Iran is selected for establishing the biodiesel plant in Iran. The biorefinery, which includes three units of sewage sludge, edible waste oil and microalgae. The results of the economic evaluation show that the lowest costs of investment and production of biodiesel are related to microalgae units ($0.375/kg) and edible waste oil ($0.53/kg), respectively. Also, among all units, the lowest break even prices are related to biodiesel production ($1.17/kg) and the highest ATROR rate (29.16%) belongs to the microalgae unit. This indicates that this unit is more profitable than other units and the invested cost is returned to the investor in a shorter period of time (3.43 years). On the other hand, the results of sensitivity analysis show that the highest sensitivity of changes in the selling price of biodiesel and the cost of raw materials to ATROR to the microalgae and sludge unit. Therefore, the construction of a biorefinery in Iran has an economic justification.

Comprehensive Techno-Economic Analysis of a Multi-Feedstock Biorefinery Plant in Oil-Rich Country: A Case Study of Iran