The economic feasibility of microalga to produce commercial biodiesel and reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Malaysia

Abstract

Malaysia signed the Paris Agreement and agreed to lower its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by finding sustainable, renewable energy sources. One potential candidate is biodiesel made from the microalga, Chlorella vulgaris. Accordingly, this paper examines the economic feasibility of Malaysian agriculture to supply algal biodiesel and mitigate GHG emissions in Malaysia. The Malaysian Agriculture and Plantation Greenhouse Gas Model are employed for this purpose. The model contains the major agricultural commodities of Malaysia and forecasts market prices and quantities between 2024 and 2064. The simulation results indicate that the algal farms must sell algal biodiesel for a minimum price of USD0.66 per liter. The Malaysian government would pay a subsidy of USD0.14 per liter. The algal farms could supply 227.72 million liters in 2024 which grows to 277.37 million liters by 2064. The algal farms also dry the leftover slurry and sell it to the animal feed markets. The dried slurry contains protein and would help Malaysia reduce animal feed imports. Furthermore, Malaysia also produces biodiesel from palm oil and yellow grease. The algal, palm, and yellow grease biodiesel could reduce diesel tailpipe emissions by 0.11 million metric tonnes in 2024, which grows to 0.25 million tonnes by 2064. In addition, alga consumes the flue gas from coal and electric power plants and further reduces CO2 emissions by 1.06 million tonnes in 2024, which grows to 1.29 million tonnes in 2064. At last, an expanding biodiesel industry raises agricultural prices slightly and boosts agricultural employment.