ABE production from corn: A recent economic evaluation

This article details an economic assessment of butanol production from corn using the newly developed hyperbutanol-producing strain of Clostridium beijerinckii BA101. Butanol is produced in batch reactors and recovered by distillation. For a plant with 153,000 metric tons of acetone, butanol, and ethanol (ABE) production capacity, the production equipment cost and total working capital cost is US$33.47 × 10⁶ and US$110.46 × 10⁶, respectively. Based on a corn price (C_p) of US$79.23 ton^-1 (US$2.01 bushel^-1), an ABE yield of 0.42 (g ABE/g glucose) butanol price is projected to be US$0.34 kg^-1. An improved yield of 0.50 will reduce this price to US$0.29 kg^-1. Assumptions, such as by-product credit for gases and complete conversion of corn steep liquor (CSL) to fermentation by-products, have been taken into consideration. An increased price of corn to US$197.10 ton^-1 would result in a butanol price of US$0.47 kg^-1. A grass-rooted plant would result in a butanol price of US$0.73 kg^-1 (C_p US$79.23 ton^-1). In a worst case scenario, the price of butanol would increase to US$1.07 kg^-1 (C^p 197.10 ton^-1 for a grass-rooted plant and assuming no credit for gases). This is based on the assumption that corn price would not increase to more than US$197.10 ton^-1.