Design and assessment of biolubricant production processes utilizing various feedstocks in palm oil-based biodiesel industry

IF 10 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENGINEERING, ENVIRONMENTAL

Journal of Cleaner Production Pub Date : 2025-06-11 DOI:10.1016/j.jclepro.2025.145949

Piyawan Thanahiranya , Jhuma Sadhukhan , Pongtorn Charoensuppanimit , Treerat Vacharanukrauh , Santi Chuetor , Merika Chanthanumataporn , Suttichai Assabumrungrat

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Abstract

Exploring biolubricant production from renewable resources offers a promising path towards sustainability. Various palm oil derivatives present readily available and versatile feedstocks for biolubricant production. This study investigates the design and evaluation of biolubricant production, specifically trimethylolpropane esters, from various palm oil-based feedstocks derived from the biodiesel industry. The aim is to identify the most suitable feedstock for sustainable biolubricant production. Six feedstocks are evaluated, namely fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), high oleic FAME (HOFAME), palm fatty acid distillate (PFAD), high oleic PFAD (HOPFAD), refined palm oil (RPO), and high oleic palm oil fatty acid (HOPOFA). Economic performance, energy efficiency, and environmental impacts are evaluated and served as process performance indexes. The obtained results based on a biolubricant production capacity of 10,000 tonne per year indicate that HOPFAD is the most suitable feedstock for biolubricant production, demonstrating superior economic viability with a net present value (NPV) of 409 million USD, an internal rate of return (IRR) of 144.6 %, and a payback period (PBP) of 1.81 years. Life cycle assessment results reveal that FAME, HOFAME, PFAD, and HOPFAD provoke similar overall environmental performance, with HOPFAD having only slightly better performance than others. Additionally, the HOPFAD production (6 kg CO_2-eq/kg) results in a seven-fold reduction in global warming potential (GWP) compared to conventional mineral oil-based biolubricants. Thus, overall, HOPFAD is recommended for balanced tradeoffs between economic, energy, and environmental performances.

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设计和评估利用棕榈油为基础的生物柴油工业的各种原料的生物润滑剂生产过程

探索利用可再生资源生产生物润滑剂为实现可持续性提供了一条有希望的道路。各种棕榈油衍生物为生物润滑剂的生产提供了现成的和通用的原料。本研究调查了生物润滑油生产的设计和评估，特别是三甲基丙烷酯，来自生物柴油工业的各种棕榈油为基础的原料。目的是确定最适合可持续生物润滑剂生产的原料。评估了六种原料，即脂肪酸甲酯（FAME），高油酸FAME (HOFAME)，棕榈脂肪酸馏出物（PFAD），高油酸PFAD (HOPFAD)，精炼棕榈油（RPO）和高油酸棕榈油脂肪酸（HOPOFA）。对经济性能、能源效率和环境影响进行评价，并作为工艺性能指标。以1万吨/年的生物润滑剂生产能力为基础得出的结果表明，HOPFAD是最适合生物润滑剂生产的原料，具有良好的经济可行性，净现值（NPV）为4.09亿美元，内部收益率（IRR）为144.6%，投资回收期（PBP）为1.81年。生命周期评价结果表明，FAME、HOFAME、PFAD和HOPFAD的整体环境绩效相似，HOPFAD的绩效仅略好于其他几种。此外，与传统矿物油为基础的生物润滑剂相比，HOPFAD的产量（6千克二氧化碳当量/千克）使全球变暖潜能值（GWP）降低了7倍。因此，总体而言，建议在经济、能源和环境绩效之间进行平衡权衡。

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来源期刊

Journal of Cleaner Production 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

20.40

自引率

9.00%

发文量

4720

审稿时长

111 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Cleaner Production is an international, transdisciplinary journal that addresses and discusses theoretical and practical Cleaner Production, Environmental, and Sustainability issues. It aims to help societies become more sustainable by focusing on the concept of 'Cleaner Production', which aims at preventing waste production and increasing efficiencies in energy, water, resources, and human capital use. The journal serves as a platform for corporations, governments, education institutions, regions, and societies to engage in discussions and research related to Cleaner Production, environmental, and sustainability practices.