A comprehensive analysis of the process, economics, and business model of converting used cooking oil to biodiesel in the Northeastern United States

Fossil fuels are depended on globally, contributing to harmful emissions. The United States has the highest consumption per capita, creating a need for alternative, sustainable fuels. Here, a comprehensive technoeconomic analysis for biodiesel production from used cooking oil (UCO) via transesterification within the Northeastern United States is presented. The optimum choice of feedstock and catalytic upgrading process was made by comparing existing biomass-to-biofuel sources and biomass-upgrading processes, with the selection for UCO transesterification made based on availability, ease of conversion, and creating a use for an existing waste. The designed UCO upgrading process required pretreatment to remove solids and water, transesterification to convert UCO-to-biodiesel and by-products, and purification for product isolation. The optimized process produces 109.98 kg/h of 99.99% pure methyl oleate (biodiesel), with separation efficiencies of 94.97% for methanol and 99.99% for glycerol. The energy return on investment for this process is 6.71, exceeding the 3.0 minimum needed for renewable fuel viability. This process is predicted to have a 1.1% return on investment with a payback period of 10.81 years, accounting for existing tax subsidies in the region. Without such tax subsidies, biodiesel production in the Northeastern United States is shown to be unprofitable. Overall, the high process efficiency and favorable plant economics revealed here demonstrate the feasibility of biodiesel production in the Northeastern United States.