Techno-economic and life-cycle assessment of volatile oil extracted from Aquilaria sinensis using supercritical carbon dioxide

Yiin, Chung Loong and Yong, Ling Gwee and Suzana, Binti Yusup and Raymond, R. Tan (2020) Techno-economic and life-cycle assessment of volatile oil extracted from Aquilaria sinensis using supercritical carbon dioxide. Journal of CO2 Utilization, 38. pp. 158-167. ISSN 2212-9820

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Abstract

Extracts of Aquilaria sinensis possess pharmacological activity that has been widely used in traditional medicines since ancient times. In this study, techno-economic assessment was conducted for extraction of volatile oil from abundant biomass (lignified ring) and resin of A. sinensis to evaluate their respective economic feasibility using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction in Malaysia. The assessment revealed that for a production capacity of 5280 kg/y volatile oil, the total capital investment (TCI) was $ 7.11 million from summation of fixed capital cost and working capital. In terms of operating expenditure (OPEX), the volatile oil extracted from resin and lignified ring of A. sinensis required $ 81.96 million and $ 52.39 million, respectively. The selling price of volatile oil from resin and lignified ring were estimated to be $ 0.025 million/kg and $ 0.0125 million/kg, respectively. Both volatile oil extracted from resin and lignified ring showed a positive net profit which indicated their profitability. In addition, a cradle-to-gate analysis of life-cycle assessment (LCA) was performed, whereby the extraction process contributed the highest impact towards the environment due to its high energy consumption. Nevertheless, this study estimated that the process might reduce the environmental impacts by approximately 90% when the technology readiness levels (TRLs) reach the level of 9–10. These findings are beneficial in providing preliminary insights in terms of economic and environmental aspects for volatile oil extraction using SC-CO2 technology.

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