*3.5. Manufacturing and Equivalent Costs*

The manufacturing costs of biodiesel and bioethanol are calculated by considering the operating cost for all scenarios, and the breakdown is shown in Figure 8. The manufacturing costs of biodiesel for scenarios 1 and 2 are 0.328 and 0.271 USD/L, respectively. The final price of biodiesel is 0.336 and 0.279 USD/L, respectively. In spite of more biodiesel production in scenario 1, the final price is higher than that in scenario 2, which is due to the higher operating and total investment costs. The final price of biodiesel in the two scenarios is lower than the diesel fuel price (Table 4). The diesel equivalent prices of biodiesel, as the main product in each scenario, are presented Table 4. This parameter in scenario 2 is lower than the diesel price; thus, this process is more economically feasible and can compete with fossil-fuel-based diesel.


**Table 4.** The manufacturing cost and final price of biofuels.

\* The price of fossil fuels is based on the price offered by Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for the Middle East region on December 2016.

The manufacturing cost, final price, and gasoline-equivalent price were calculated for bioethanol in each scenario (Table 4). In the two scenarios, the gasoline equivalent price of bioethanol is more than the gasoline price. Therefore, bioethanol in Iran could not be an appropriate substitute for gasoline. The amount of ethanol produced in scenario 2 is higher than that in scenario 2.
