CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY Fatima Usman Madugu Modelling and Analysis of the Techno ...

206 Pages·2016·3.1 MB·English

by  Hiscock, Deborah

CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY

Fatima Usman Madugu

Modelling and Analysis of the Techno-Economic and Social Impacts of an Algal oil
Production Facility

School of Energy, Environment and Agrifood
Offshore Renewable and Energy Engineering

PhD Thesis
CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY

School of Energy, Environment and Agrifood
Offshore Renewable and Energy Engineering Centre

PhD

Academic Year 2012 - 2015

Fatima Usman Madugu

Modelling and Analysis of the Techno-Economic and Social Impacts of an Algal oil
Production Facility

Supervisor:
Dr M Collu
Prof. F P Brennan

March, 2015

This thesis is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD

© Cranfield University 2015. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced without the written permission of the copyright owner.

ABSTRACT

The economic viability for a microalgae production facility for the production of algal
oil and bioproducts remains challenging and unanswered. Important aspects not
investigated in assessment of the economic viability of algal oil are the social benefits,
such as employment, local earnings and outputs created from such facilities. A model
that is able to include both techno-economic and social benefits can help provide
answers on the future of these technologies. The development of this type of model
requires a combination of techno-economic and social impact theory. This thesis
presents an integrated model that estimates the social (employment earnings, and
output) and techno-economic impacts generated from a microalgae production facility.
A process and system configuration of the algal production chain is selected first. The
construction costs of the equipment are then calculated, followed by overall capital cost
calculation. Then, the operating costs are estimated by multiplying the resources and
energy usage rate by a unit price. Employment, earnings, and output generated from
constructing and operating the facility is then calculated using output from the capital
and operating cost with input – output multipliers to measure the impact of the series of
effects generated by expenditure. The model as far as the author knows, is the first
techno-economic model that addresses the social impact. A parametric analysis is
carried out using two different methods to determine the viability of an algal oil
production facility. Taking the economic costs and the operating parameters from the
socio- techno-economic model, some key parameters are changed across a range of
values, and their influence on the final cost of algal oil and job impact are analysed. The
results shows highest cost contributor to the algal oil cost comes from capital costs.
Productivity rate and lipid content have the highest impact both on the final algal oil
costs, and the social impact outputs. Improvement would need to be made both in
biology and system units.

Sponsored by
PETROLUEM TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT FUND (PTDF)

La hauwla wala kuwatah illah
billah

Murjannat
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Collu Maurizio for his guidance and support
throughout my PhD, he was patient and understanding. He mentor and taught me and at
the same time allowed me to be myself. My appreciation also goes to my co-supervisor
Prof. F. Brennan for offering me the opportunity to gain knowledge through
conferences and training.
I would like to acknowledge my sponsor’s “The Petroleum Technology Development
Fund (PTDF), for giving me the financial support from the beginning to the completion
of my studies.
Finally I would like to thank my family, for their immense support, throughout the
period of my PhD. To my late mother who is the inspiration behind my success, she
believed in me more than I believed in myself. To my dad who took the role of being
both a mother and a father, listening to my endless complains, and continued to
encouraging me. To my husband for being patient, supportive, and encouraging, I love
you. To my sisters and brothers thanks for your love and support.