Techno‐economic analysis of protein concentrate produced by flash hydrolysis of microalgae

Abstract

Process simulation and techno‐economic analysis (TEA) of 95 wt % protein concentrate (water‐soluble peptides and free amino acids) from microalgae was performed using SuperPro Designer v9.0. The analysis includes processes such as microalgae cultivation, harvesting, protein extraction, and spray drying. The subcritical water‐based Flash Hydrolysis (FH) process was used in generating bench‐scale continuous flow reactor experimental data on protein extraction from microalgae slurry. The TEA is conducted for a baseline capacity of 153 metric tonnes per day (MT/day) protein concentrate production requiring a throughput of 336 MT/day dry algae assuming 54 wt % protein content. Sensitivity analysis reveals the following baseline economic figures. Fixed capital investment (FCI): $286 million; annual operating cost (AOC): $146 million; annualized cost: $185 million/year at 10% discount rate for 15 yr; unit cost of production: $2.99/kg protein depending on the algae slurry density; minimum selling price: $4.31/kg protein. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 37: 881–890, 2018