Price sensitivity of bioethanol produced in New Zealand from Pinus radiata wood

This paper presents an analysis conducted of designs for industry-scale ethanol production facilities that use both hexoses and pentoses to produce 97 to 107 tonnes of anhydrous ethanol per day from 960 tonnes of Pinus radiata wood of 50% moisture content (480 oven-dried tonnes). Various process options and available technologies were considered for cost comparisons. The base case plant design was used to assess the probable importance of not fermenting thee wood pentose fraction. When pentose sugars were not fermented, the ethanol price increased from $0.71/L to $0.75/L. The influence of various economic factors on selling price is assessed.