Process design and simulation of industrial scale biofuel production via pyrolysis of saccharina japonica

Pyrolysis of 3
^rd
generation biomass i.e., microalgae and macroalgae for biofuel production has only been recently studied compared to 1
^st
and 2
^nd
generation biomass. In this study, production of biodiesel from the pyrolysis of brown macroalgae is simulated using Aspen Plus® software and bench scale experimental data. Special attention in the process design is made to accommodate the compositional differences of macroalgae compared to terrestrial biomass. Techno economical assessment of the 380,000 tons per year of dry feedstock is conducted and Minimum Diesel Selling Price is estimated.