TABLE V
D
ETAIL AND SPECIFICATION OF PROCESSING UNIT
Detail
2 t/h Unit
1 t/h Unit
100 kg/h Unit
Shredder
50 hp 380
Volts
30 hp 380
Volts
3 hp 220 Volts
Screw
Conveyor
3 hp 380 Volts
6 in. wide
6 m long
2 hp 380 Volts
6 in. wide
6 m long
Pelleting
Machine
147 hp 380
Volts
60 hp 380
Volts
10 hp 220 Volts
Size of
Bio-
pellet
Diameter 6-10
mm
10-30 mm long
Diameter 6-10
mm
10-30 mm long
Diameter 6-10
mm
10-30 mm long
Belt
Conveyor
3 hp 380 Volts
50 cm wide
6 m long
3 hp 380 Volts
50 cm wide
6 m long
Transportation of bio-pellet: The bio-pellets from corn
residue can easily be transported for a long distance to be
used as feedstock for heating or power generation by
direct combustion, co-firing or gasification technology.
The bio-pellet can be transport by truck. Due to the high
density of bio-pellet, one full-truck can transport 15 ton
of pellet.
D. Cost Estimation of Bio-pellet
Feedstock cost: Because corn trash/skin/stem is left
over on-field as waste and it is not used for any other
purpose, the cost of feedstock itself is zero.
Collection cost: The collection cost was performed
with manual collection. In this study, the collection cost
of corn trash/skin/stem is accounted for 0.5985 Baht per
kilogram of dry trash/skin/stem. Table VI shows the
estimation of collection cost.
TABLE VI
C
OLLECTION COST OF CORN TRASH
/
SKIN
/
STEM
Item
Cost
Labor cost
300 Baht per day
Amount of labor
1 person
Collection area
0.5 Rai per day
Time for collection 1 Rai
2 days
Collection amount (dry basis)
1,002.56 kg
Collection cost
0.5985 Baht per kg
Transportation cost: Transportation cost can be
separated into transportation of corn trash/skin/stem to
processing unit for centralized unit and transportation of
bio-pellet to industry. The cost of transportation was
calculated base on the normal price of hiring truck in
Thailand. Table VII shows the normal price of hiring
truck and Table VIII shows the detail calculation of
transportation cost of corn trash/skin/stem and bio-pellet.
The transportation cost of corn trash/skin/stem to
processing unit for centralized unit is estimated to be 150
Baht per ton for the short distance of 20 km, while the
transportation of bio-pellet to industrial plants is 200 Baht
per ton for the long distance of 100 km.
TABLE VII
C
OLLECTION COST OF CORN TRASH
/
SKIN
/
STEM
Item
Cost
Labor cost (Driver)
500 Baht per day
Diesel cost
12 Baht per km
Depreciation cost
13 Baht per km
Average transportation cost
30 Baht per km
TABLE VIII
T
RANSPORTATION COST OF CORN TRASH
/
SKIN
/
STEM AND
B
IO
-
PELLET
Item
Transportation of corn
trash/skin/stem to
processing unit for
centralized unit
transportation of
bio-pellet to
industrial plants
Distance (km)
20
100
Capacity (ton)
4
15
Transportation cost
(Baht per ton per km)
7.5
2
Transportation cost
(Baht per ton)
150
200
Processing cost: Three model process units, as
described above, were used for calculation. Table IX
gives the assumptions for the calculation including
investment cost, electricity cost, maintenance cost and
labor cost.
TABLE
IX
P
ROCESSING COST
Capacity of processing unit
100 kg/h
1 t/h
2 t/h
Investment cost
(Baht)
220,000
2,700,000 4,600,000
Lifetime (year)
10
10
10
Operating hour (hour per day)
8
8
8
Operating day (day per month)
20
20
20
Electricity cost (Baht per unit)
3
3
3
Maintenance cost
2,000
Baht per
month
4,000
Baht per
500 hour
8,000
Baht per
500 hour
Labor cost (Baht per day)
300
300
300
Processing cost (Baht per kg)
0.9056
0.5740
0.5324
From Table IX, the large processing unit can produce
cheaper bio-pellet than the small processing unit. The
processing cost ranges from 0.5324 Baht per ton for 2 t/h
processing unit to 0.9056 Baht per ton for 100 kg/h
processing unit.
Production cost of bio-pellet from corn trash/skin/
stem: The production cost covers all cost mentioned
above. From this study the production cost can be
categorized in three scenarios, as shown in more detail in
Table X.
TABLE X
T
OTAL
P
RODUCTION COST
Scenario
1:
Decentralized
2:
Centralized
3:
Centralized
Capacity of processing
unit
100 kg/h
1 t/h
2 t/h
Distance from field to
processing unit (km)
0
20
20
Feedstock cost (Baht)
0
0
0
Collection cost
(Baht per kg)
0.5985
0.5985
0.5985
Transportation cost from
field to processing unit
(Baht per kg)
0
0.15
0.15
Processing cost
(Baht per kg)
0.9056
0.5740
0.5324
Transportation cost from
processing unit to
industrial plant
(Baht per kg)
0.20
0.20
0.20
Total production cost
(Baht per kg)
1.704
1.523
1.481
The total production cost of bio-pellet from corn
trash/skin/stem depends on the scenarios. For scenario 1
where the 100 kg/h processing unit is located on-field
2013 International Conference on Alternative Energy in Developing Countries and Emerging Economies
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