Simulation and Economics of Biodiesel Production From Microbial Lipids

In this work, production of lipid from Lypomyces starkeyi on soluble sweet potato starch was simulated in Aspen Plus simulation. A kinetic model based on experimental results of medium optimization and high density cultivation was used for cell growth and lipid production. The simulation encompasses the entire production process, from raw feedstock to final product.  Sensitivity analysis, heat integration and optimization were done to analyze the various cost factors on the production process. An Economic analysis will also be presented.