Análisis tecno-económico y ambiental de la obtención de biofertilizantes bajo el concepto de biorefinería a partir de residuos cítricos

Abstract

High costs of inorganic fertilizers in Colombia have caused serious economic problems for the agrarian class, because these agricultural supplies are indispensable to obtain high production yields. Therefore, it is required to considerate alternatives in order reduce the costs associated with the agricultural activity in the country. This paper presents an economic and environmental analysis of the production of biofertilizers from citrus waste through anaerobic digestion. Two scenarios are studied: (1) the first one evaluates the production of limonene and pectin from orange peel, and (2) in the second one, in addition to the mentioned products in the first scenario, biofertilizers are obtained from the solid waste resulting from limonene and pectin production processes. In the first scenario, profit margins of 93% and 57% for pectin and limonene are obtained, respectively. For the second scenario, profit margins of 94%, 48% and 61% for pectin, limonene and bio-fertilizers were obtained, respectively. These results demonstrate that the second scenario is the best from the economic point of view. It is also shown that scenario two generates lower potential environmental impact, being the most environmentally friendly.