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In 2008, a number of Southern African countries cultivated about 900,000 ha of Jatropha, with a number of biodiesel plants ready for production; however, none of the projects succeeded. In 2014, KiOR advanced biofuel Energy Company in the USA announced bankruptcy due to incompetent technology. Studies disclose that the reasons for biofuel plants failure are not only due to lack of incentives and unclear policies but also due to lack of economic feasibility and low production yields. This paper aims to review the techno-economy assessment of second-generation biofuel technologies. The purpose of this paper is to summarize specific techno-economic indicators such as production cost, technology efficiency and process life cycle analysis for advanced biofuel technology and to narrate and illustrate a clear view of what requires assessment to deploy a feasible advanced biofuel technology. This study also reviews assessment of biomass supply chain, feedstock availability and site selection criteria. The review also elaborates on the use of different processes, forecasting and simulation-modeling tools used in different techno-economic analysis studies. The review provides guidance for conducting a technical and economic feasibility study for the advanced biofuels energy business.

The aim of this review is, therefore, to evaluate the techno-economic feasibility studies for the establishment of viable industrial scale production of second-generation biofuels. It does so by grouping studies based on technology selection, feedstock availability and suitability, process simulation and economies as well as technology environmental impact assessment.

In conclusion, techno-economic analysis tools offer researchers insight in terms of where their research and development should focus, to attain the most significant enhancement for the economics of a technology. The study patterns within the scope of techno-economics of advanced biofuel reveal that there is no generic answer as to which technology would be feasible at a commercial scale. It is therefore important to keep in mind that models can only simplify and give a simulation of reality to a certain extent. Nevertheless, reviewed studies do not reach the same results, but some results are logically similar.

The originality of this article specifically illustrates important technical and economic indicators that should be considered when conducting feasibility studies for advance biofuels.

The US Department of Energy has a goal to make ethanol from biomass cost competitive with petroleum by 2012. Feedstock procurement is expected to represent a significant portion of the operating costs for a refinery that produces ethanol from biomass such as switchgrass. Thus, cost‐effective feedstock logistics will be a key factor for the future development of a capital intensive cellulosic ethanol industry. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the cost of various logistic methods of switchgrass production, harvesting, storing, and transportation.

This study applied enterprise budgeting and geographical information system (GIS) software to analyze the costs of three logistic methods of acquiring switchgrass feedstock for a 25 million gallon per year refinery. Procurement methods included traditional large round and rectangular bale harvest and storage systems and satellite preprocessing facilities using field‐chopped material. The analysis evaluated tradeoffs in operating costs, dry matter losses during storage, and investment requirements among the three systems.

Results suggest that the preprocessing system outperformed the conventional bale harvest methods in the delivered costs of switchgrass.

The cost savings in harvest, transportation, and dry matter losses for the preprocessing system offset their extensive capital costs and generated cost advantages over the conventional methods.

The traditional round bale system has a higher overall investment cost, may not be the most cost‐effective way to procure switchgrass feedstock for a refinery, and may limit farmer participation in the feedstock value chain.

GIS methods combined with enterprise budgeting can be useful tools for evaluating investment in feedstock supply chain infrastructure.

One way of overcoming logistics barriers (poor transportation, handling and storage properties) towards increased utilisation of biomass is to introduce a pre‐treatment process such as torrefaction early in the biomass‐to‐energy supply chain. Torrefaction offers a range of potentially beneficial logistics properties but the actual benefits depend upon how the supply chain is configured to address various elements of customer demand. Hence, the aim of this paper is to develop a framework for torrefaction configuration in a supply chain perspective for different types of customers.

Sophisticated pre‐treatment processes are yet to reach the commercialisation phase. Identification of possible supply chain configurations is in this paper done through a conceptual approach by bringing together knowledge from related research fields such as unrefined forest fuel, pellets and coal logistics with prescriptions for configuration derived from the subject area of supply chain management (SCM).

A framework that explicates different elements of supply and demand of torrefaction is proposed, and exemplified by three distinct supply chains. Depending on demand, torrefaction serves different purposes, bridging gaps in place, time, quality and ownership. Furthermore, different supply chain configurations will pose different requirements on torrefaction in terms of producing different product quality, durability, energy density and hydrophobicity of the pellets.

The proposed framework entails a set of propositions, but requires further development through empirical studies using complementary research methods such as interviews or surveys and quantification through techno‐economical or optimisation from a supply chain perspective.

This paper provides a framework that can inform decisions makers in biomass‐to‐energy supply chains, in particular at torrefaction plants, on upstream and downstream implications of their decisions.

The findings have implications for biomass‐to‐energy supply chains in general, and in particular, the paper provides a supply chain perspective of pre‐treatment processes, where previous research has focused primarily on technical aspects of torrefaction.

Additive manufacturing raw material cost has been recently confirmed as a significant obstacle to widespread deployment of these technologies in industry. Aiming at reducing the cost of the selective laser melting (SLM) process, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the different properties of products fabricated by SLM using low‐cost ($10/Kg) feedstock 304L stainless steel powders. The entire process cost was also evaluated.

Using an experimental approach, 24 samples with different shapes and sizes were fabricated with layer thickness of 30, 50 and 70 μm and laser scanning speed set at 70 and 90 mm/s. Part geometry, dimensional tolerance, surface quality, density, mechanical properties and microstructure were evaluated.

Results confirmed that the SLM of low‐cost 304L powder was successful and could produce functional parts with fine details and small wall thickness. Using small layer thickness and low scanning speed improved the properties by more than 20 per cent. At a layer thickness of 30 μm and speed of 70 mm/s, density was 92 per cent and hardness was 190 HV. At layer thickness of 70 μm porosity increases and cracks started to form which decreased strength and ductility. The steel remained austenitic with no carbide films at grain boundaries due to the high melting and cooling cycles.

This research was limited to 304L powders. Future work should be done on different materials and should include the effect of post processing heat treatment on improving the mechanical properties and microstructure.

The cost of the SLM process using feedstock powders was less than 10per cent of the cost of using the special powders from a machine manufacturer with almost no effect on product quality.

The paper describes how cost reduction in the SLM process was achieved by using 304L powder.

A low‐cost, open source, self‐replicating rapid prototyper (RepRap) has been developed, which greatly expands the potential user base of rapid prototypers. The operating cost of the RepRap can be further reduced using waste polymers as feedstock. Centralized recycling of polymers is often uneconomic and energy intensive due to transportation embodied energy. The purpose of this paper is to provide a proof of concept for high‐value recycling of waste polymers at distributed creation sites.

Previous designs of waste plastic extruders (also known as RecycleBots) were evaluated using a weighted evaluation matrix. An updated design was completed and the description and analysis of the design is presented including component summary, testing procedures, a basic life cycle analysis and extrusion results. The filament was tested for consistency of density and diameter while quantifying electricity consumption.

Filament was successfully extruded at an average rate of 90 mm/min and used to print parts. The filament averaged 2.805 mm diameter with 87 per cent of samples between 2.540 mm and 3.081 mm. The average mass was 0.564 g/100 mm length. Energy use was 0.06 kWh/m.

The success of the RecycleBot further reduces RepRap operating costs, which enables distributed in‐home, value added, plastic recycling. This has implications for municipal waste management programs, as in‐home recycling could reduce cost and greenhouse gas emissions associated with waste collection and transportation, as well as the environmental impact of manufacturing custom plastic parts.

This paper reports on the first technical evaluation of a feedstock filament for the RepRap from waste plastic material made in a distributed recycling device.

This paper aims to identify all variables and parameters related to business and emission within the petrochemical industry. The variables and parameters specified will be modeled into a system dynamic model that will be a baseline for the proposed best scenario(s) to address the business issue related to emission reduction in the petrochemical industry.

Literature review and stakeholder interviews were conducted to define the key factors contributing to the emission reduction of the petrochemical industry. The key factors are then developed into a system dynamic model to measure the quantitative impact of changes in those variables on emission and industry profitability.

This paper provides an analysis of system dynamic model. It suggests that process optimization can lead to a slight amount reduction in emissions. In contrast, a significant reduction shows in the simulation result of bio-based feedstock utilization and implementation of advanced technology. To sustain the emission reduction, strong commitment from stakeholders and support from the government will play an important role.

This research is limited to problem analysis of the primary product (high-value chemical) of the petrochemical industry by only considering the changes in the key factors of emission reduction.

This paper includes implications for interventions that can be imposed to reduce emission while retaining the business profitability.

The contribution of this study is to find the best scenario that can boost emission reduction within Indonesia’s petrochemical industry.

Second-generation biofuel is regarded as a sustainable alternatives to fossil energy in transportation where electricity is not feasible. The main purpose of this study is to analyze how large-scale second-generation biofuel based on wood may affect the competitiveness of more mature bioenergy technologies such as bioheat through competition in the biomass market. The impacts on forest industries are also included.

An economic model for the energy and forest sectors based on partial equilibrium modeling is used to quantify the impacts of four different locations of biofuel production in Norway.

The results show that there are regional variations in biomass price effects depending on local raw material availability and costs of transport and import. Technologies allowing for a larger variety of wood biomass qualities will face lower biomass prices than technologies using only one species as raw material, causing less reduction in the production of bioheat and forest industrial products. For Norway specifically, the paper concludes that even if there is a potential for both increased bioheat generation and large-scale biofuel production, the production of second-generation biofuels based on domestic wood resources will cause a 5-20 percent reduction in bioheat generation depending on the scale of biofuel production.

This study demonstrates how impacts on biomass markets from establishment of biofuel production vary quite substantially with location, production level and choice of feedstock. One main finding is the quite large biomass cost impact that is seen in the model runs when introducing large-scale biofuel production. Increased biomass costs reduce the profitability and this must be taken into account when establishing a biofuel installation.

The originality of the paper is the analyses of biofuel impacts with a detailed model for biomass supply as the bioenergy and forest sectors.

Additive manufacturing (AM) offers potential solutions when conventional manufacturing reaches its technological limits. These include a high degree of design freedom, lightweight design, functional integration and rapid prototyping. In this paper, the authors show how AM can be implemented not only for prototyping but also production using different optimization approaches in design including topology optimization, support optimization and selection of part orientation and part consolidation. This paper aims to present how AM can reduce the production cost of complex components such as jet engine air manifold by optimizing the design. This case study also identifies a detailed feasibility analysis of the cost model for an air manifold of an Airbus jet engine using various strategies, such as computer numerical control machining, printing with standard support structures and support optimization.

Parameters that affect the production price of the air manifold such as machining, printing (process), feedstock, labor and post-processing costs were calculated and compared to find the best manufacturing strategy.

Results showed that AM can solve a range of problems and improve production by customization, rapid prototyping and geometrical freedom. This case study showed that 49%–58% of the cost is related to pre- and post-processing when using laser-based powder bed fusion to produce the air manifold. However, the cost of pre- and post-processing when using machining is 32%–35% of the total production costs. The results of this research can assist successful enterprises, such as aerospace, automotive and medical, in successfully turning toward AM technology.

Important factors such as validity, feasibility and limitations, pre-processing and monitoring, are discussed to show how a process chain can be controlled and run efficiently. Reproducibility of the process chain is debated to ensure the quality of mass production lines. Post-processing and qualification of the AM parts are also discussed to show how to satisfy the demands on standards (for surface quality and dimensional accuracy), safety, quality and certification. The original contribution of this paper is identifying the main production costs of complex components using both conventional and AM.

There is still much uncertainty in Processing industries resulting from rapidly increasing costs of raw materials, energy and labour and from the general inflation in all European countries. Many companies have themselves carried out studies aimed at assessing the likely influence on their business resulting from the dramatic increase in crude oil prices in the recent past. However, other inflationary pressures are also at work — e.g. rapidly increasing costs of labour and capital — which will contribute at differing levels to the increasing costs and, therefore, prices of industrial raw materials such as chemicals, plastics and the other materials.