Bioresource Technology 343 (2022) 126119

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Bioresource Technology
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/biortech

Integrated polylactic acid and biodiesel production from food waste:

Process synthesis and economics
Naveenkumar Rajendran a, Jeehoon Han a, b, *
a
School of Chemical Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 54896, Republic of Korea
b
School of Semiconductor and Chemical Engineering, Jeonbuk National University, 54896, Republic of Korea

H I G H L I G H T S

• An integrated process of PLA and biodiesel production from FW was investigated.

• FW composition plays a major role in creating an economically feasible process.
• The lowest minimum selling price of PLA is 4.29 $/kg (USA-FW).
• A large amount of solvent use and recycling process increases the energy and cost.

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: In this study, techno-economic analysis of the sustainable production of polylactic acid (PLA) and biodiesel from
Food waste Food Waste (FW), with a plant capacity of 50 tons/day, was investigated. In addition, FW of four countries
PLA (China, India, Brazil, and the USA) with different compositions of water, protein, lipid and carbohydrate were
Biodiesel
proposed. Each country has different PLA production rates based on carbohydrate and biodiesel production
Techno-economic analysis
based on fat. In this study, the FW composition of the USA shows better economic feasibility than other countries.
Energy integration
The actual minimum selling price is 6.53 (China), 5.35 (India), 4.75 (Brazil), and 4.29 (US) $/kg. The uncertainty
of the MSP was analyzed based on various input limits. The sensitivity analysis was conducted based on
biodiesel-selling price, PLA-selling price, income tax, and project lifetime on techno-economic analysis param­
eters, such as ROI, payback period, IRR and NPV were investigated.

1. Introduction valorization techniques reduce the environmental impact (Zhang et al.,

2020).
In 2019, about 931 million tons of FW was generated from house­ Another global socio-economic and environmental problem is plastic
holds (61%), food services (26%), and retail (13%). This FW equals 17% pollution. The high population and plastic usage increase the production
of total global food production (5.3 billion tons); thus, FW management rate. In 2018, plastic production was 359 million tons and in 2019 was
is a critical issue in the world (Hamish Forbes et al., 2021). FW without 368 million tons. Globally, Asia is the highest plastic production region,
proper management affects environments and the world economy. The with approximately 51% of total plastic production, whereas China
greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from FW accounts for 6.8% of world produces 31% of plastic. (PlasticEurope, 2020). Currently, plastic plays
emissions (Slorach et al., 2019; World Bank, 2016). In 2007, 1.3 billion a major role in every sector; during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the
tons of FW emit 3.3 billion tons of CO2. In 2011, the carbon footprint of lifesaving personal safety equipment such as face masks, shields, gloves,
FW was approximately 4.4 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, including gowns, goggles, et. are made from plastic, however, it leads to envi­
land-use change. In 2012, the market value of FW was approximately ronmental pollution due to improper plastic waste management prac­
936 billion USD. FW affects the world environment and economy. tices. The percentage of annual plastics recycled universally are about
Therefore, the sustainable and economical management of FW is a 9% of overall plastic production, which is around 33.12 million tons.
global challenge. The sustainable and economically feasible food-waste- Most plastics affect the ecosystem by occupying the land and water

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Han).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126119
Received 6 September 2021; Received in revised form 7 October 2021; Accepted 8 October 2021
Available online 12 October 2021
0960-8524/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
N. Rajendran and J. Han Bioresource Technology 343 (2022) 126119

bodies. Microplastic particles are often present in human drinking water product revenue and the uncertainty of MSP based on FW composition
and food, and according to World Wide Fund (WWF), each person using Monte Carlo simulation. The sensitivity analysis explains the ups
consumes approximately 5 g of plastic every week (Kantai, 2020). Long- and downs in economics based on different considerable factors. In the
time degradation and CO2 emission are unfavorable to the environment integrated process, byproducts play a considerable positive impact on
(Emadian et al., 2017). Bioplastics are sustainable solutions to reduce economics. A comprehensive comparison based on economics is
the environmental impact of chemically derived plastic and plastic considered as a novelty of this work. The main objective of the present
demand. work was to investigate the economic feasibility of integrated PLA and
Bioplastics are natural polymers from renewable biological sources, biodiesel production from different FW compositions. The integrated
which are degradable (Samantaray et al., 2020). Bioplastics are pro­ PLA and biodiesel production and economic parameters were investi­
duced from various sources, such as agricultural residues, plant-based gated using SuperPro software.
residues, FW, wastewater, algae sources. Bioplastic reduces GHG emis­
sion, energy consumption, and is easily degradable than petroleum- 2. Materials and methods
based plastics (Bilo et al., 2018). Starch-based bioplastic compared to
polystyrene reduces the usage of nonrenewable sources (50%) and GHG 2.1. Simulation scenario
(60%) (Emadian et al., 2017; Razza et al., 2015). In 2020, global bio­
plastic production is approximately 2.11 million tons, including biode­ The simulation was conducted using SuperPro software V10. This
gradable bioplastics (58.1%) such as poly(butylene adipate-co- simulation focused on oil extraction, biodiesel production, bio­
terephthalate), Poly (butylene succinate), poly (lactic acid), Ploy mass–glucose conversion, lactic acid production, lactide conversion, and
(hydroxyalkanoates), starch blends and nonbiodegradable bioplastics PFA synthesis. The plant capacity is 50 tons of FW per day. This simu­
(41.9%) such as ploy(ethylene), Polyethylene terephthalate, Polyamide, lation focuses on China, India, Brazil, and the USA’s FW composition.
Polypropylene, Polytrimethylene terephthalate. The estimated bio­ The input raw materials, equipment size and cost, utilities, and con­
plastic production in 2025 is approximately 2.87 million tons, which sumables were modified based on FW composition. The plant con­
includes 37.3% (1.07 million tons) of non-biodegradable bioplastic and struction, startup, and lifetime duration are 1 yr, 4 months, and 20 yr,
62.7% (1.8 million tons) of biodegradable bioplastic (PlasticEurope, respectively. The 100% operating capacity is maintained each year. The
2020). income tax percentage was 25%. The plant’s annual operating period is
FW contains a high amount of organic nutrients, which are low-cost 330 days (7920 h).
feedstock for value-added product production, such as biofuels, chem­
icals, fertilizers, and bioplastic. Recently, studies focus on bioplastic 2.2. Process-flow design
production from FW because of its carbohydrate content and availabil­
ity. Bioplastic from FW proposed more socio-economic and environ­ The simulation was performed based on various published experi­
mental advantages, such as sustainable food-waste management and mental works, such as oil extraction (Mofijur et al., 2020), biodiesel
plastic replacement. The PLA production involves reaction and purifi­ production (Degfie et al., 2019), biomass hydrolysis (Kwan et al., 2016),
cation steps, which increased the production cost and minimum selling lactic acid production (Kwan et al., 2016), lactic acid purification (Lee
price of PLA. Recent studies proposed the conversion of FW into biofuels et al., 2017), lactide conversion (Upare et al., 2016), and PLA synthesis
(biodiesel, biomethane, biohydrogen, and biohythane.), value-added (Rahmayetty et al., 2018). The major components of FW are water,
products (bioplastic, organic acids, and single-cell protein), and spe­ carbohydrate, fat, and protein. The proportion of food-waste composi­
cial chemicals (pharmaceutical, antioxidants, Flavonoids, fragrances, tion in each country varies according to the food culture of the people. In
and adhesive). Certain FW conversion techniques are not economically this study, techno-economic analysis of PLA and biodiesel production
feasible (Cristóbal et al., 2018). The integrated-biofuel recovery and from FW is evaluated based on four countries (China, India, Brazil, and
value-added product separation technology are good for sustainable United States) FW composition.
food-waste valorization (Yukesh Kannah et al., 2020). To reduce the size of the particle, the FW was transferred to bead mil
FW contains 5%–30% lipid content, 30%–60% starch, 5%–10% using a belt conveyor. The particle size impacts the oil extraction; large
protein and water content (Chen et al., 2019; Karmee et al., 2015; Kwan size particles reduce the solvent infiltration and oil release. The FW
et al., 2016; Pleissner and Lin, 2013). The literature was used, as a guide, contains high water content, which was removed using a spray dryer.
for simulating oil extraction and biodiesel production from FW. The PLA The high moisture dilutes the solvent and reduces the oil yield by
production from FW involves three steps: lactic acid production, lactide complicating the separation process. Manimaran et al. study the effect of
conversion, and PLA production from lactide (Hu et al., 2017). Kwan water and element size on oil extraction from Trichosanthes cucumerina
et al. synthesized lactic acid from FW using fungal hydrolysis and seeds (Manimaran et al., 2020). Oil yield reduced when the moisture
fermentation, with Lactobacillus casei Shirota techniques. In this study, content and particle size were more than 6% and 0.2 mm, respectively.
94 g/L of lactic acid was produced from FW. Lactic acid purification is The 1:22.5 (w/v) ratio of FW and n-hexane were transferred to the
essential for pure PLA production. Lee et al. proposed a membrane- mixture and settler (assumed as ultrasonicator). The oil extraction time
integrated separation process for lactic acid purification and obtained was 34 min, and the amplitude was 32%. The solvent oil extraction with
high purity lactic acid (greater than99.5%) (Lee et al., 2017). The high n-hexane is a wildly used technique because of its high quality and yield
yield 94% of lactide from lactic acid using a heterogeneous catalyst, (Bhuiya et al., 2020; Jahirul et al., 2013). The n-hexane is a non-polar
SnO2-SiO2 (Upare et al., 2016). Rahmayetty et al. reported L-lactide solvent that extracts almost 99.3%–99.7% of oil (Topare et al., 2011).
ring-opening polymerization using Candida rugosa lipase as a biocata­ The solvent and oil mixture was transferred to a flash evaporator, where
lyst, and the yield of the PLA was 93% (Rahmayetty et al., 2018). the solvent was recovered and recycled, while the solvent-free oil was
The previous study concluded that FW is considered a sustainable separated and used for biodiesel production. The oil-free biomass with
source for bioplastic production. The composition of FW plays an 1% of n-hexane was used for lactic acid production. The biodiesel syn­
important role in FW valorization, which depends on the people food thesis was conducted at optimized conditions, such as methanol to oil
habits, which vary in each country. In this study, the top four FW pro­ molar ratio 1:8, CaO nanocatalyst concentration, 1 wt%, time, 90, min
ducing countries were selected such as China, India, Brazil, and the USA and temperature, 50 ◦ C, and conversion rate, 96%. The CaO affected the
and investigated the economic feasibility of bioplastic (PLA) production biodiesel conversion, and it shows several benefits, such as ease of re­
based on different FW compositions which were obtained from the covery and reuse. In addition, it is environmentally and economically
literature (Byun et al., 2021). This study presents the fluctuation of the feasible (Degfie et al., 2019). After the reaction, the solid catalyst was
minimum selling price (MSP) of PLA based on feedstock price and by- recovered using a centrifuge. In this study, the recovered catalyst was

2
N. Rajendran and J. Han Bioresource Technology 343 (2022) 126119

not reused because the catalytic efficiency reduced after each cycle. It is 2.4 g/L. The centrifuge and microfilter were used to remove the solid
considered a revenue stream (50% of raw catalyst cost). The excess biomass and fungal cell debris. The hydrolyzed glucose solution was
methanol in the mixture was recovered and recycled in a flash evapo­ used for lactic acid fermentation by Lactobacillus casei Shirota (Inoculum
rator and cooling unit. Decanter was used to separate crude glycerol and size 2% (v/v)). 10 M NaOH solution was used in the fermentation pro­
biodiesel. Finally, distilled water was used to wash the crude biodiesel to cess to maintain the pH at 6.0. The fermented mixture contains lactic
obtain pure biodiesel. Crude glycerol and pure biodiesel are considered acid with a concentration of 94 g/L (0.94 g/g sugar) (Kwan et al., 2016),
revenue streams. which was purified using a membrane-integrated separation process
A spray dryer was used to remove the remaining 1% of n-hexane (Lee et al., 2017). In this purification process, ultrafiltration and nano­
from biomass. Hydrolysis is an essential and initial step of biomass filtration are integrated with vacuum-assisted evaporators. Cell debris,
valorization. In this study, the hydrolysis of residual FW biomass was unreacted glucose, and excess water were removed using UF, NF, and
conducted with fungal mash enzyme source of Aspergillus awamori and VE, respectively. In this purification process, high purity (95%) lactic
Aspergillus oryzae, and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 30% (w/v). The hydro­ acid was recovered and used for lactide production. The single-step
lyzed mixture contains solid biomass, glucose, fungal cell debris, and continuous process of lactide conversion from lactic acid was conduct­
excess water. The concentration of glucose in hydrolysis was 100.2 ± ed using novel nanocomposite catalyst SnO2-SiO2 and the conversion

Fig. 1. Process flow of PLA and Biodiesel production from FW.

3
N. Rajendran and J. Han Bioresource Technology 343 (2022) 126119

rate was 94% . The novel process shows the better quality and produc­ Table 1
tivity of lactide. The pure lactide was synthesized from crude lactide Total Capital Investment Calculation.
using the crystallization technique. In this process, ethanol is the dis­ Total Capital Investment
solving agent. After the crystallization process, the excess ethanol was
Direct Fixed Capital (DFC)
recovered and reused for the next cycle (Upare et al., 2016). The pure
lactide was transferred to the reactor and melted at 120 ◦ C for 1hr. The Direct Cost

ring-opening polymerization reaction was conducted at 90 ◦ C using 2% Piping (A) 0.31 × PC

(w/w) Candida rugosa lipase. The reaction mixture was dissolved in Instrumentation (B) 0.43 × PC
chloroform, after which it was mixed with excess methanol to synthesize Insulation (C) 0.03 × PC
the PLA (Rahmayetty et al., 2018). The PLA was separated from the Electrical Facilities (D) 0.10 × PC
Buildings (E) 0.15 × PC
mixture, then, the mixture of chloroform and methanol was recovered
Yard Improvement (F) 0.12 × PC
and recycled (Galanido et al., 2020). The overall process flow in Fig. 1 Auxiliary Facilities (G) 0.20 × PC
was developed by the SuperPro designer. DC = PC + installation + A + B + C + D + E + F + G
Indirect Cost
2.3. Techno-economic analysis Engineering Cost 0.25 × PC
Construction 0.35 × PC
Other Cost
The techno-economic analysis helps to investigate the plant’s eco­ Contractor’s Fee 0.05 × PC
nomic feasibility (Park et al., 2021), which focused on calculating the Contingency 0.35 × PC
capital investment, operating cost, revenue, return on investment (ROI), DFC = DC + IC + OC
Working Capital (WC)
payback period, internal rate of return (IRR), and net present value
30 Days of Labor, Raw materials, Utilities, Waste treatment
(NPV). The energy integration and minimum selling price of PLA were Startup and Validation Cost (SVC)
investigated. Economic analysis was conducted based on various food 0.5% × DFC
compositions, while sensitivity analysis was conducted based on various Total Capital Investment = DFC + WC + SVC
input aspects.
2.3.3. Minimum selling price and sensitivity analysis
2.3.1. Cost estimation
The minimum selling price of PLA was investigated based on bio­
This simulation assumes the cost of FW was 0 $/kg. In this study, the
diesel selling price. Monte Carlo simulation was used to analyze the
food waste collection and transportation costs are offset by tipping fees
uncertainty of MSP of the PLA based on input FW composition. The
from waste producers. Mostly in FW management, the entire operation
input carbohydrate percentage limits were assumed based on four
cost is charged as tipping fees with profit. In this study, as per the social
country data (24.4% to 38.2%). The MSP of PLA was estimated based on
perspective, the tipping fees are not considered as a profit, which helps
pert distribution with 10,000 iterations based on a previous study. Un­
to provides the low-cost FW disposal system to society (Shahid and
certainty analysis of the carbohydrate ratio impact on MSP of PLA was
Hittinger, 2021). The output materials, such as PLA (5.22 $/kg), bio­
studied using Risk software (Palisade). Sensitivity analysis helps opti­
diesel (0.84 $/kg), glycerol (0.65 $/kg), and final residual biomass (0.45
mize the economically feasible process model, as well as identify the
$/kg) price were determined based on literature (Gebremariam and
factor, which creates a major impact, economically. In addition, it im­
Marchetti, 2021; Kwan et al., 2018). The capital investment estimation
proves the process, while reducing the production cost. The impact of
includes three major parts: direct fixed capital (DFC), working capital,
biodiesel-selling price, PLA-selling price, income tax, and project life­
and startup and validation cost. DFC estimation is divided into three
time on economic parameters were investigated.
sections: direct cost (DC), indirect cost (IC), and other costs (OC). DC
depends on the equipment purchase cost. The equipment cost was
3. Results and discussion
calculated based on the SuperPro build-in cost model, varied based on
equipment volume and construction material. DC is the sum of the total
3.1. Total capital investment and operating cost
equipment purchase cost, installation costs, piping, instrumentation,
insulation, electrical facility, buildings and yard improvement, and
The capital investment and operating costs are estimated based on
auxiliary facilities. IC are the sum of engineering and construction costs,
food-waste composition. In this simulation, four countries (China, India,
estimated based on direct cost. The contractor’s fee and contingency are
Brazil, and the USA) food-waste compositions were selected (Fig. 3).
under OC (Naveenkumar and Baskar, 2021, 2020). Total capital in­
Equipment size and amount of input chemicals were modified based on
vestment (TCI) calculation (Table 1). The calculation of operating cost is
input food-waste composition. The equipment size and cost for each
based on facility-dependent cost (FDC), labor, lab and quality control,
country are shown in Supplementary Materials. The total capital in­
utilities, R&D, and process validation. FDC includes maintenance,
vestment and operating cost of China, India, Brazil, and the USA were
depreciation, insurance, local taxes, and factory expense(Rajendran
shown in Table 2. The operating cost breakdown was shown in Fig. 2.
et al., 2021). The plant profitability was analyzed using four parameters:
The operating cost depends on the FDC, raw material cost, and labor
return on investment, payback period, IRR, and NPV.
cost. Brazilian FW contains a high amount of carbohydrate and lipid,
and this will require a large amount of solvent and energy for
2.3.2. Heat integration
conversion.
In this process, FW conversion utilized more energy sources in the
form of electricity and heating agent such as steam-high P (242 ◦ C),
steam (152 ◦ C), cooling water (25 ◦ C–30 ◦ C), and chilled water 3.2. Profitability analysis
(5 ◦ C–10 ◦ C). The oil extraction and PLA separation used excess solvent
to improve yield, which in turn increased the heating source usage and The revenue is separated into two major parts: main revenue and
production cost. A large amount of steam and cooling water was used in other revenue. The main revenue is PLA and other revenue is biodiesel,
the solvent recovery process (Kim et al., 2020). In heat integration, heat glycerol and final residual biomass. The final residual biomass from the
is exchanged between the hot and cold streams (Han, 2017). Heat hydrolysis step contains a large amount of protein content, which is used
integration reduces energy needs and operating cost (Han, 2021). Su­ as animal feed. Other revenue plays an important role in the sustainable
perPro software was used to calculate the potential of energy-saving and economically feasible process. The profitability-analysis investiga­
through heat integration. tion is based on economic parameters, such as ROI, payback period, IR,

4
N. Rajendran and J. Han Bioresource Technology 343 (2022) 126119

Table 2 require more solvent to improve the conversion efficiency. Solvent re­
Economic parameters of PLA and biodiesel production from 50 tons of food covery and recycling processes are necessary for the sustainable- and
waste. economically feasible process (Naveenkumar and Baskar, 2020). Before
Parameters China India Brazil US heat integration, 328.65, 328.68, 305.09, 305.65 MW/kg PLA of heat
Total Capital 41,891,000 45,065,000 48,217,000 47,320,000
energy was used in China, India, Brazil and the USA respectively. The
Investment process with heat integration saved 15.37, 18.47, 15.86 and 14.35 MW/
Capital Investment 41,891,000 45,065,000 48,217,000 47,320,000 kg PLA in China, India, Brazil and the USA scenario respectively. In the
Charged to This steam section, approximately 91–93% of steam was used in P-1 (Dryer),
Project
P-21 (Multi-effective evaporation) and P-8 (Flash evaporator). In the
Operating Cost ($/Yr) 12,252,000 13,651,000 15,027,000 12,782,000
Main Revenue 9,807,000 12,994,000 15,489,000 14,669,000 cooling section, P-38 and P-39 used a large amount of cooling water
Other Revenues 2,074,566 2,579,271 3,333,726 3,077,874 (93–94%). The utilization of large heat energy affects the process energy
Total Revenues 11,882,000 15,573,000 18,822,000 17,747,000 efficiency. The alternative drying process, oil extraction techniques and
($/Yr) low solvent utilization improve overall energy efficiency.
Cost Basic Annual 1,880,551 2,491,601 2,970,102 2,812,807
Rate
Unit Production Cost 6.51 5.48 5.06 4.54 3.4. Minimum selling price of PLA
Unit Production 6.32 6.25 6.34 6.31
Revenue In this scenario, the minimum selling price ($/kg) of PLA was 6.53
Gros Margin (-3.11) 12.34 20.16 27.98
(China), 5.35 (India), 4.75 (Brazil), and 4.29 (USA). The pert distribu­
Return on Investment 8.35 12.42 15.12 17.11
Payback Time (Yr) 11.98 8.05 6.62 5.84 tion graph of the Monte Carlo simulation used in uncertainty analysis is
IRR (After Taxes) (%) 4.14 10.55 15.55 18.36 shown in Fig. 4. The 90% confidence level was marked in the graph,
NPV (at 10% Interest) (-12532000) 1,456,000 18,271,000 26,902,000 which varies based on each country’s carbohydrate percentage. 90%
confidence levels are between 5.265 and 6.652 $/kg (China), 4.710 and
6.268 $/kg (India), 4.594 and 5.562 $/kg (Brazil), and 4.2 and 5.321
and NPV. In the overall analysis, the USA shows the most economic
$/kg (the USA). In this study, the USA shows the lowest minimum selling
feasibility with high ROI (17.11%) and IRR (18.36%), short payback
price limits (4.2 to 5.321 $/kg) however, it was more expensive than
period (5.84 yr), and positive NPV values (26.9 M$). The PLA produc­
petroleum polymers (PP: 1.78 $/kg, HDPE: 1.52/kg). The reason is a
tion of Brazil is more than the USA, but the economically USA shows
large number of unit operations and solvent usage. Technological
more feasibility than Brazil due to high capital investment, operating
development and reduction of solvent usage reduce the production cost
cost and low biodiesel yield. The working capacity and byproducts also
of PLA. In addition, the mixture of PLA with other co-polymers is a
play a major role in economics. China shows a negative NPV which was
method to reduce the minimum selling cost (Claro et al., 2016). The
not a profitable process. In this integrated process, China shows high
actual market PLA price is varied from 0.4 to 9 $/kg, based on purity and
unit production cost of PLA was 6.51 $/kg and the USA shows low unit
seller (Claro et al., 2016; Fahim et al., 2019; Jem et al., 2010). Kwan
production cost was 4.54 $/kg. The schematic of the overall study is
et al. investigated the PLA production from FW, and the selling price of
shown in Fig. 3. The economic analysis of the scenarios is shown in
PLA was determined at 5.215 $/kg (Kwan et al., 2018). The byproducts
Table 2.
from the process help to reduce the MSP of PLA. The minimum selling
price of PLA was studied based on biodiesel price, shown in Fig. 5 (a).
3.3. Heat integration

The oil extraction, biodiesel production, and PLA production steps

Fig. 2. Annual operating cost breakdown (a) China, (b) India, (c) Brazil, (d) USA.

5
N. Rajendran and J. Han Bioresource Technology 343 (2022) 126119

Fig. 3. Schematic diagram of the overall process of PLA and biodiesel production.

Fig. 4. Uncertainty analysis of MSP of PLA using Monte Carlo simulation (a) China, (b) India, (c) Brazil, (d) USA.

3.5. Sensitivity analysis project lifetime (15 to 30 years). The high-income tax shows a negative
impact on ROI, payback period, and IRR. The high biodiesel and PLA-
The economic parameters such as ROI, payback period, IRR, and selling price show a positive impact on ROI, payback period, and IRR.
NPV were investigated based on various biodiesel-selling price (0.64 to The value of NPV in China shows negative value in most conditions,
1.04 $/kg), PLA-selling price (4 to 8 $/kg), income tax (10 to 30%), and However, NPV shows a positive value when the selling price of PLA is

6
N. Rajendran and J. Han Bioresource Technology 343 (2022) 126119

Fig. 5. (a) Effect of biodiesel price on MSP of PLA, (b) Effect of biodiesel price on economic factors, (c) Effect of PLA price on economic factors, (d) Effect of income
tax (%) on economic factors.

increased 6 to 7$/kg. The value of NPV in India shows a negative value Acknowledgements
when the selling price of PLA decreased by 6 to 5 $/kg and the project
lifetime decreased by 20 to 15 years. In Brazil and USA scenario, This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program
negative NPV shows when PLA price is decreased 5 to 4 $/kg. The through the National research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the
complete sensitivity analysis was shown in Fig. 5(b) to 5(d) and Sup­ Ministry of Education (2019R1I1A3A01061118), Technology Develop­
plementary Materials, and the values are shown in Supplementary ment Program to Solve Climate Changes of the National Research
Materials. Foundation (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT
(2020M1A2A2080858), and the Carbon-to-X (C2X) R&D project (no.
4. Conclusion 2020M3H7A1096361) sponsored by the National Research Foundation
(NRF) of the Ministry of Science and ICT.
This study showed the technical process and economic analysis of
PLA and Biodiesel from four countries FW. The USA FW composition Appendix A. Supplementary data
was economically feasible with high ROI and IRR, short payback period,
and positive NPV values. FW composition, working volume and by- Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.
products play a major role in the development of economically org/10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126119.
feasible process plants. The integrated FW to PLA and biodiesel pro­
duction is a sustainable and economically feasible technique as well as it References
helps to reduce the fuel demand, petroleum-based plastic utility and
Bhuiya, M.M.K., Rasul, M., Khan, M., Ashwath, N., Mofijur, M., 2020. Comparison of oil
global warming potential.
extraction between screw press and solvent (n-hexane) extraction technique from
beauty leaf (Calophyllum inophyllum L.) feedstock. Ind. Crops Prod. 144, 112024.
CRediT authorship contribution statement https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2019.112024.
Bilo, F., Pandini, S., Sartore, L., Depero, L.E., Gargiulo, G., Bonassi, A., Federici, S.,
Bontempi, E., 2018. A sustainable bioplastic obtained from rice straw. J. Cleaner
Naveenkumar Rajendran: Conceptualization, Methodology, Soft­ Prod. 200, 357–368. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.252.
ware, Investigation, Writing – original draft, Visualization, Resources. Byun, J., Kwon, O., Park, H., Han, J., 2021. Food waste valorization to green energy
vehicles: sustainability assessment. Energy Environ. Sci. 14 (7), 3651–3663. https://
Jeehoon Han: Writing - review & editing, Supervision, Project admin­
doi.org/10.1039/D1EE00850A.
istration, Funding acquisition. Chen, W.-H., Lin, Y.-Y., Liu, H.-C., Chen, T.-C., Hung, C.-H., Chen, C.-H., Ong, H.C., 2019.
A comprehensive analysis of food waste derived liquefaction bio-oil properties for
industrial application. Appl. Energy 237, 283–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
Declaration of Competing Interest apenergy.2018.12.084.
Claro, P.I.C., Neto, A.R.S., Bibbo, A.C.C., Mattoso, L.H.C., Bastos, M.S.R., Marconcini, J.
M., 2016. Biodegradable blends with potential use in packaging: a comparison of
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
PLA/chitosan and PLA/cellulose acetate films. J. Polym. Environ. 24 (4), 363–371.
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-016-0785-4.
the work reported in this paper.

7
N. Rajendran and J. Han Bioresource Technology 343 (2022) 126119

Cristóbal, J., Caldeira, C., Corrado, S., Sala, S., 2018. Techno-economic and profitability Mofijur, M., Kusumo, F., Fattah, I.M.R., Mahmudul, H.M., Rasul, M.G., Shamsuddin, A.
analysis of food waste biorefineries at European level. Bioresour. Technol. 259, H., Mahlia, T.M.I., 2020. Resource recovery from waste coffee grounds using
244–252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2018.03.016. ultrasonic-assisted technology for bioenergy production. Energies 13 (7), 1770.
Degfie, T.A., Mamo, T.T., Mekonnen, Y.S., 2019. Optimized biodiesel production from https://doi.org/10.3390/en13071770.
waste cooking oil (WCO) using calcium oxide (CaO) nano-catalyst. Sci. Rep. 9, 1–8. Naveenkumar, R., Baskar, G., 2021. Process optimization, green chemistry balance and
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55403-4. technoeconomic analysis of biodiesel production from castor oil using heterogeneous
Emadian, S.M., Onay, T.T., Demirel, B., 2017. Biodegradation of bioplastics in natural nanocatalyst. Bioresour. Technol. 320, 124347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
environments. Waste Manage. 59, 526–536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. biortech.2020.124347.
wasman.2016.10.006. Naveenkumar, R., Baskar, G., 2020. Optimization and techno-economic analysis of
Fahim, I.S., Chbib, H., Mahmoud, H.M., 2019. The synthesis, production & economic biodiesel production from Calophyllum inophyllum oil using heterogeneous
feasibility of manufacturing PLA from agricultural waste. Sustainable Chem. Pharm. nanocatalyst. Bioresour. Technol. 315, 123852. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
12, 100142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scp.2019.100142. biortech.2020.123852.
Galanido, R.J., Kim, D.S., Cho, J., 2020. Separation of methanol-chloroform mixture Park, H., Byun, J., Han, J., 2021. Economically feasible thermochemical process for
using pressure-swing distillation: Modeling and optimization. Korean J. Chem. Eng. methanol production from kenaf. Energy 230, 120729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
37 (5), 850–865. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-020-0505-6. energy.2021.120729.
Gebremariam, S.N., Marchetti, J.M., 2021. Process simulation and techno-economic PlasticEurope, Plastics, The Material for the 21st Century, 2020.
performance evaluation of alternative technologies for biodiesel production from Pleissner, D., Lin, C.S.K., 2013. Valorisation of food waste in biotechnological processes.
low value non-edible oil. Biomass Bioenergy 149, 106102. https://doi.org/10.1016/ Sustainable Chem. Processes 1, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1186/2043-7129-1-21.
j.biombioe.2021.106102. Rahmayetty, Whulanza, Y., Sukirno, Rahman, S.F., Suyono, E.A., Yohda, M., Gozan, M.,
Hamish Forbes; Tom Quested; Clementine Ó Connor, 2021. Food Waste Index United 2018. Use of Candida rugosa lipase as a biocatalyst for L-lactide ring-opening
Nations Environment Programme. polymerization and polylactic acid production. Biocatalysis and Agricultural
Han, J., 2021. Catalytic syngas production from carbon dioxide of two emission source Biotechnology 16, 683–691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bcab.2018.09.015.
scenarios: techno-economic assessment. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 96, 213–218. https://doi. Rajendran, N., Gurunathan, B., I., A.E.S., 2021. Optimization and technoeconomic
org/10.1016/j.jiec.2021.01.019. analysis of biooil extraction from Calophyllum inophyllum L. seeds by ultrasonic
Han, J., 2017. Process design and techno-economic evaluation for catalytic production of assisted solvent oil extraction. Industrial Crops and Products 162, 113273. https://
cellulosic γ-Valerolactone using lignin derived propyl guaiacol. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113273.
52, 218–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jiec.2017.03.048. Razza, F., Degli Innocenti, F., Dobon, A., Aliaga, C., Sanchez, C., Hortal, M., 2015.
Hu, Y., Daoud, W.A., Fei, B., Chen, L., Kwan, T.H., Ki Lin, C.S., 2017. Efficient ZnO Environmental profile of a bio-based and biodegradable foamed packaging prototype
aqueous nanoparticle catalysed lactide synthesis for poly(lactic acid) fibre in comparison with the current benchmark. J. Cleaner Prod. 102, 493–500. https://
production from food waste. J. Cleaner Prod. 165, 157–167. https://doi.org/ doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.04.033.
10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.07.067. Samantaray, P.K., Little, A., Haddleton, D.M., McNally, T., Tan, B., Sun, Z., Huang, W.,
Jahirul, M.I., Brown, J.R., Senadeera, W., Ashwath, N., Laing, C., Leski-Taylor, J., Ji, Y., Wan, C., 2020. Poly(glycolic acid) (PGA): a versatile building block expanding
Rasul, M.G., 2013. Optimisation of bio-oil extraction process from beauty leaf high performance and sustainable bioplastic applications. Green Chem. 22 (13),
(Calophyllum Inophyllum) oil seed as a second generation biodiesel source. Procedia 4055–4081. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0GC01394C.
Eng. 56, 619–624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2013.03.168. Shahid, K., Hittinger, E., 2021. Techno-economic optimization of food waste diversion to
Jem, K.J., van der Pol, J.F., de Vos, S., 2010. Microbial Lactic Acid, Its Polymer Poly treatment facilities to determine cost effectiveness of policy incentives. J. Cleaner
(lactic acid), and Their Industrial Applications. pp. 323–346. https://doi.org/ Prod. 279, 122634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122634.
10.1007/978-3-642-03287-5_13. Slorach, P.C., Jeswani, H.K., Cuéllar-Franca, R., Azapagic, A., 2019. Environmental and
Kantai, T., 2020. Confronting the plastic pollution pandemic. International Institute for economic implications of recovering resources from food waste in a circular
Sustainable Development 1–7. economy. Sci. Total Environ. 693, 133516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
Karmee, S.K., Linardi, D., Lee, J., Lin, C.S.K., 2015. Conversion of lipid from food waste scitotenv.2019.07.322.
to biodiesel. Waste Manage. 41, 169–173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. Topare, N.S., Raut, S.J., Renge, V.C., Khedkar, S. v., Chavan, Y.P., Bhagat, S.L., 2011.
wasman.2015.03.025. Extraction of oil from algae by solvent extraction and oil expeller method.
Kim, H., Choi, J., Park, J., Won, W., 2020. Production of a sustainable and renewable International Journal of Chemical Sciences 9, 1746–1750.
biomass-derived monomer: conceptual process design and techno-economic Upare, P.P., Yoon, J.W., Hwang, D.W., Lee, U.H., Hwang, Y.K., Hong, D.Y., Kim, J.C.,
analysis. Green Chem. 22 (20), 7070–7079. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0GC02258F. Lee, J.H., Kwak, S.K., Shin, H., Kim, H., Chang, J.S., 2016. Design of a heterogeneous
Kwan, T.H., Hu, Y., Lin, C.S.K., 2018. Techno-economic analysis of a food waste catalytic process for the continuous and direct synthesis of lactide from lactic acid.
valorisation process for lactic acid, lactide and poly(lactic acid) production. Green Chemistry 18, 5978–5983. https://doi.org/10.1039/c6gc02405j.
J. Cleaner Prod. 181, 72–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.01.179. Yukesh Kannah, R., Merrylin, J., Poornima Devi, T., Kavitha, S., Sivashanmugam, P.,
Kwan, T.H., Hu, Y., Lin, C.S.K., 2016. Valorisation of food waste via fungal hydrolysis Kumar, G., Rajesh Banu, J., 2020. Food waste valorization: biofuels and value added
and lactic acid fermentation with Lactobacillus casei Shirota. Bioresour. Technol. product recovery. Bioresource Technology Reports 11, 100524. https://doi.org/
217, 129–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2016.01.134. 10.1016/j.biteb.2020.100524.
Lee, H.D., Lee, M.Y., Hwang, Y.S., Cho, Y.H., Kim, H.W., Park, H.B., 2017. Separation World Bank, 2016. Total greenhouse gas emissions (kt of CO2 equivalent), 2018. https://
and purification of lactic acid from fermentation broth using membrane-integrated doi.org/data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.GHGT.KT.CE.
separation processes. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 56 (29), 8301–8310. https://doi.org/ Zhang, J., Hu, Q., Qu, Y., Dai, Y., He, Y., Wang, C.H., Tong, Y.W., 2020. Integrating food
10.1021/acs.iecr.7b02011. waste sorting system with anaerobic digestion and gasification for hydrogen and
Manimaran, R., Murugu Mohan Kumar, K., Sathiya Narayanan, N., 2020. Synthesis of methane co-production. Applied Energy 257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
bio-oil from waste Trichosanthes cucumerina seeds: a substitute for conventional apenergy.2019.113988.
fuel. Scientific Reports 10, 17815. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74130-9.