The depletion of natural resources, especially oil and gas, worries humanity. Since the 20th century, mineral fuel resources have been declining, and its cost has been growing as explored deposits are developed. Therefore, in the 21st century, business areas related to the production of environmentally friendly renewable biofuels are very promising. Beginning entrepreneurs should think about how to open the production of biofuels now.
Currently, there are two most researched generations of biofuels that are already being applied on an industrial scale.
The first generation includes biofuels, which are created from agricultural products, for example, from vegetable oil or grain alcohol. One of the real production options is the process of obtaining biofuels from rapeseed oil. The high oil yield of this crop allows the production of inexpensive automotive fuel, so-called biodiesel, even in small private installations. However, at the same time, large areas of land have to be occupied for sowing rapeseed, to the detriment of food.
In this regard, most experts recognize first-generation biofuels as unpromising.
Second generation biofuels are produced from biological components that are not associated with food. Most types of second generation biofuels have a rather complex technology that can only be implemented by large corporations. Basically, ethanol is used as such fuel. However, there is a niche that entrepreneurs can already occupy today.
We are talking about the production of environmentally friendly biofuels from waste containing cellulose, the so-called pellets or fuel pellets.
For the production of pellets, as well as fuel briquettes, almost any food residues are used — sunflower husks, sawdust, straw, peat, etc. We also note that for the production of pellets, third-generation biofuels can also be used — algae, which multiply rapidly and are capable of producing huge biomass in a short time.
The technology for the production of biogranules or briquettes is quite simple. The raw material is loaded into a crusher and crushed into flour. After that, the resulting flour is dried, or vice versa, moistened, and then enters the press granulator, which forms granules or briquettes. The usual size of fuel pellets is 20 to 50 millimeters in length and 4 to 12 millimeters in diameter. Plants for the production of pellets have a fairly high yield of finished products: one tonne of pellets is obtained from 3-5 cubic meters of wood waste. Fuel pellets or briquettes have a very high calorific value, in fact, 2 kg of pellets corresponds to one liter of diesel fuel.
To create your own business for the production of this type of biofuel, you must first of all conduct a marketing research to find out the level of demand and prices for the products offered.
As biofuel technologies are just beginning to develop, it is difficult to expect that many large industrial enterprises will be ready to switch to a new type of fuel. This requires additional costs, changes in existing technologies. However, biofuels, in the form of pellets or briquettes, are readily used by many boiler houses and even power plants, since such fuels are often cheaper than coal and can produce more energy.
Having determined the level of demand and possible volumes of production of environmentally friendly biofuels with the help of marketing research, it is possible to proceed to the organization of its production.
To accommodate a small workshop for the production of pellets, a room with an area of 150 to 200 square meters will be required, in which it will be possible to place both a production workshop and warehouses for finished products and raw materials. Since the production of fuel pellets uses a fairly large equipment, the height of the ceilings of the production workshop should be at least 10 meters. It should also be taken into account that a sufficiently large power of the electric cable is required, about 400 kilowatts. It is convenient to use hangars to accommodate the production of pellets, in which it is easy to mount all the necessary equipment.
Technological equipment can be purchased as separate modules, but it is better to purchase a ready-made line that performs all technological operations in a single cycle. Investments for the purchase and installation of equipment can amount to about $ 7,000,000.
In addition, certain funds for the purchase of raw materials, as well as for obtaining various permits and registering an enterprise, must be included in the initial costs.
Operating costs will mainly consist of electricity costs, transportation costs and wages.
For the organization of 1-shift work of such an enterprise, only 6 people will be required. If you organize work in three shifts, you will need a staff of about 15 people. In case of a shortage of funds, you can buy a small pellet machine for about 500 thousand dollars, but the production volumes will be small, and it will be more difficult to find a consumer for such small volumes. In this case, it is easier to focus on the sale of fuel pellets or briquettes to individuals who have coal-fired boilers or stove heating.
The income of the biofuel production shop can be from one and a half to two thousand dollars a month, which will ensure a profitability of about 10-12%. Such a biofuel business will pay off within one and a half to two years. If you have a source of cheap raw materials, for example, organize the production of biofuel at a woodworking enterprise or a sawmill, then investments in production will pay off within six months.
On our website, you can order a detailed and reasonable business plan for organizing the production of biofuels, with the help of which you can create an effective and profitable business in a short time.