The economic analysis was performed using the Aspen Economic
Analyzer (Aspen Technology, Inc., USA) package. This software
estimates the capital costs of process units as well as the
operating costs, among other valuable data, utilizing the design
information provided by Aspen Plus and the data introduced by
the user for specific conditions such as project location among others.
This analysis was estimated in US dollars for a 10-year period
at an annual interest rate of 16%, considering the straight-line
depreciation method and a 33% income tax. The cost of crude glycerol
was USD$ 0.1/l