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Techno-economic analysis of integrated cassava biorefinery for fungal protein and microalgal fish feed

Year : 2026

Publisher : Elsevier Ltd

Source Title : Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments

Document Type :

Abstract

The valorization of agricultural residues is essential for advancing the circular bioeconomy; however, their recalcitrant nature limits industrial-scale profitability. This study presents techno-economic analysis of cassava biorefinery pathways transitioning from conventional waste management to high-value bioproduct production. Using SuperPro Designer(V12), five scenarios were simulated for cassava starch processing plant with capacity of 75 MT roots/day, including BAU and four alternative valorization pathways. In BAU, thippi waste is dried to low-value animal feed, while wastewater undergoes anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, generating digested wastewater as by-product, and peel waste remains underutilized. In S1, peel waste is converted into animal feed; S2 utilizes thippi waste for fungal protein production; and S3 converts digested wastewater into algal fishfeed. S4 represents integrated pathway that valorizes all waste streams. The economic feasibility followed order S4 ‘ S2 ‘ S1 ‘ S3 ‘ BAU. S4 emerged as most economically viable option, achieving NPV of 32.79 MUSD and ROI of 33%. Despite requiring the highest capital investment of 16.42 MUSD, it achieved the shortest payback period of 3.05 years. Sensitivity analysis showed S4 maintained an NPV of 35.46 MUSD under a 25% cost increase, while Monte Carlo simulations varying cassava, electricity, and mycelium prices by ± 25% confirmed stability with NPV ranging from 12 to 42 MUSD.