II. Economic assessment for first generation green biorefinery (GBR): Scenarios for an Irish GBR blueprint 5 S. O’Keeffe a,b, *, R.P.O. Schulte a , J.P.M. Sanders b , P.C. Struik b a Teagasc, Johnstown Castle, Wexford, Ireland b Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands article info Article history: Received 30 May 2011 Received in revised form 5 November 2011 Accepted 25 November 2011 Available online 21 March 2012 Keywords: Green biorefinery Biogas Grasslands Bioenergy Bioeconomy abstract Green biorefinery (GBR) is an alternative use of grassland biomass. GBR involves applying technology to chemically and physically fractionate (split) biomass such as grass and grass silage to produce marketable products. Three GBR system models were developed in a companion paper to determine, using scenario analysis, the most technically feasible scenario for the development of a blueprint Irish GBR system. The three GBR system models were a combination of feedstock system and biorefinery technology: Grass/silage e basic technology (GS), Silage e basic technology (S) and Silage e advanced technology (AT). The models were then assessed at different input volumes. The focus of this paper is on the development of the economic modelling component of the three GBR system models in order to identify which of the previously selected GBR scenarios is the most technically and economically viable to develop a blueprint for a first generation GBR. Six scenarios were assessed in this paper. The GS, S and AT GBR systems, at two input volume rates: medium volume and low volume. Additional scenario analyses were also carried out to investigate two possible production scenarios "No Prot" (fibre product only), and "Prot" (includes proteinaceous secondary product). Both the economic and technical scenario analyses of this paper and its companion paper suggest the most appropriate GBR systems for a first generation Irish blueprint are the combination of Silage feedstock e basic biorefinery technology (S), at the medium input volume and both "Prot" and "No Prot" systems. ª 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction 1.1. Alternative use of grassland biomass Grasslands play an important role in global agriculture, covering about 69% of the world’s agricultural area [1]. Interest in alternative uses of grasslands has been gaining momentum over the last decade or so, particularly in Europe [2]. Green biorefinery (GBR) is such an alternative use of grassland biomass. GBR involves applying technology to chemically and physically fractionate (split) biomass such as grass and grass silage [3] into two streams, press cake (the solid fibre fraction) and press juice (the liquid fraction). The press cake can be utilised for products such as insulation materials for building [4]. From the press juice the proteina- ceous fraction (proteins, peptides, amino acids) can be extracted for applications such as animal feed or cosmetics. There is also great potential for extracting high value 5 This article was originally to be published along with “I. Technical Assessment For First Generation Green Biorefinery (GBR) Using Mass And Energy Balances: Scenarios For An Irish GBR Blueprint”. * Corresponding author. Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands. E-mail addresses: sineadmokeeffe@yahoo.co.uk, sinead.okeeffe@wur.nl (S. O’Keeffe), paul.struik@wur.nl (P.C. Struik). Available online at www.sciencedirect.com http://www.elsevier.com/locate/biombioe biomass and bioenergy 41 (2012) 1 e13 0961-9534/$ e see front matter ª 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.biombioe.2011.11.018