Crude glycerol glucoside esters of cottonseed oil: Preliminary cost analysis

Glycerol glucoside esters prepared by transglycosylation of starch and glycerol, followed by interesterification with esters of cottonseed oil fatty acids, are well suited for use in the steadily growing food emulsifier market. They offer formulators and processors a wide range of compositions and physical properties for achieving more effective emulsification without increase in cost. Process flowsheets, capital costs, manufacturing costs, and general expenses are given for the production of 5.7 million pounds and 17.2 million pounds of crude glycerol glucoside esters annually in hypothetical 4-ton batch and 12-ton batch grass-roots plants, respectively. A material balance and preliminary plant layout for the 12-ton batch plant are also provided. The cost of crude esters ranges from 37.4 cents to 43.7 cents/lb, indicating that the crude esters would be competitive with many commercially available food emulsifiers. The process can be carried out in conventional batch process equipment without production of polluting byproducts. Fixed capital investment for a new 12-ton batch plant would be $2.5 million, and for a new 4-ton plant, $1.3 million.     

Edible cottonseed flour by air classification of glanded seed: Cost analysis

A new, edible, 65%-protein cottonseed flour having the characteristics of flour produced from glandless cottonseed has been prepared from milled, hexane-extracted glanded cottonseed flakes by a simple, practical, economical air classification process. The product has physical and functional characteristics that make it attractive for use in food formulation and it meets the free gossypol standards of both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Protein Advisory Group of the United Nations System. A process flowsheet and a material balance are given: capital costs, manufacturing costs, general expenses, profitability and selling prices are indicated for annual productions of up to 17.5 and 35 million lb of flour in hypothetical industrial-scale satellite plants having daily capacities of 25 and 50 tons of flour, respectively. It is estimated that fixed capital investment for a 25-ton/day plant would be $4.0 million, and for a 50-ton/day plant, $5.5 million. Production of edible flour from prime-quality cottonseed kernels would cost as little as 15.8 cents/lb and the selling price of flour, allowing for the value of coproducts, would be as low as 23.6, 18.9, and 16.5 cents/lb for payout periods of 2, 3 and 4 years, respectively. Selling price would be competitive with the price of soy protein concentrate over most of the production range studied. Presented at the AOCS Annual Meeting, 1981, New Orleans. One of the facilities of the Southern Region, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.     

Methyl esters directly from acidulated cottonseed soapstock. Preliminary cost study

A product containing from 80 to 95% of the methyl esters of cottonseed, soybean, and corn oil is produced commercially in the United States directly from the respective acidulated soapstocks of these oils, using a process developed at the Southern Utilization Research and Development Division. The product is marketed as a high-energy additive for poultry and livestock feed, and its ready acceptance indicates that it has nutritional and handling advantages over other by-product fats for this purpose, which, in 1958, represented a ready and expanding market for almost 600 million pounds of animal and vegetable fats and oils. A flow sheet for the process is given, and hypothetical plants with capacities of 15,000 and 60,000 lbs. of acidulated foots per 24 hrs. are described for the continuous production of up to 21 million pounds of methylated foots product annually. The lowest manufacturing costs are realized for each plant when operating 24 hrs. a day, 250 days annually, averaging five days per week. For these optimum operations the estimated capital investment for the small plant is $223,000, and for the large plant $410,000. Manufacturing costs range from a high of 11.2￠ per pound of product at an annual production of 11/4 million pounds to 6.5￠ at an annual production of 15.3 million pounds. The cost of the raw materials, although only 3.4￠ per pound of product and chiefly the cost of foots, is the largest single item of unit cost in producing methyl esters; and, for the higher productions covered by this study, raw material costs account for more than one-half of total unit manufacturing cost. Surplus cottonseed foots can be economically converted into a low-cost feed additive with improved nutritional and handling properties. The process is already a commercial success. Presented at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Oil Chemists' Society, Dallas, Tex., April 4–6, 1960. Development Division, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of Agriculture.     

A Process Model for Approximating the Production Costs of the Fermentative Synthesis of Sophorolipids

Sophorolipids are microbial glycolipids that possess surfactant-type properties. Sophorolipids have been tested successfully in a number of potential industrial and niche applications but are generally acknowledged to require higher production costs when compared to petroleum-based surfactants. The objective of this study was to develop a process economic model for the fermentative synthesis of sophorolipids using contemporary process simulation software and current reagent, equipment, and supply costs, following current production practices. Glucose (Glc) and either high oleic sunflower oil (HOSO) or oleic acid (OA) were used as feedstocks and the annual production capacity of the plant was set at 90.7 million kg/year with continuous operation of 24 h a day for 330 days per year. Major equipment costs were calculated to be US$17.1 million but other considerations such as capital, labor, material and utilities costs were also included. The single greatest contributor to the overall production/operating cost was raw materials, which accounted for 89 and 87 % of the total estimated production expenditures for the HOSO and OA-based fermentations, respectively. Based on this model and yields of 100 g/L, the cost of large-scale sophorolipid synthesis via fermentation from Glc:HOSO was calculated to be US$2.95/kg ($1.34/lb) and from Glc:OA to be US$2.54/kg ($1.15/lb). The model is flexible and can be adjusted to reflect changes in capital, production and feedstock costs as well as changes in the type of feedstocks used.     

Computer-aided electrochemical process design: simulation and economic analysis of an electrocatalytic soybean oil hydrogenation plant

The process flowsheet for a soybean oil electrohydrogenation plant has been devised and heat and mass balance calculations on unit operations equipment were performed using a commercially available process simulation software package (PRO/II from Simulation Sciences, Inc.). The design and anticipated performance (current efficiency and power requirements) of the electrochemical flow cells were based on a laboratory-scale radial-flow-through Raney nickel powder electrocatalytic hydrogenation reactor. A semiempirical porous electrode model, that reproduced laboratory-scale reactor data, was incorporated into the PRO/II software as a unit operations subroutine module. Operation of a 3.0×106kgy–1 electrochemical plant was simulated on a computer for different soybean oil/electrolyte feeds and reactor current densities. Based on the PRO/II results, an economic analysis of the process, including capital, installation and operating costs of all equipment was carried out. The lowest total production cost for a brush hydrogenation oil product (20% reduction in the number of double bonds) was obtained at a current density of 15mAcm–2 and a feed composition of 10wt:vol% soybean oil in solvent/supporting electrolyte (US0.13kg–1 for an assumed five year straight line depreciation of capital equipment). This cost was higher than that for a comparable-size chemical catalytic soybean oil hydrogenation plant (US0.019kg–1). When the cost of the soybean oil starting material (US0.68kg–1) was factored into the economic analysis, the production plus raw material cost of the electrocatalytic process was only 16% greater than that for the chemical catalytic plant. The production cost for the electrosynthesized hydro-oil product may be tolerable because the oil has a high nutritional value (a lower trans isomers content) which may command a higher selling price.     

Economics of sunflower oil production and use in the United States

U.S. consumption of fats and oils over the past decade increased at an annual rate of 2.8% and in 1970 reached an all-time high of 18 billion pounds. About two thirds of U.S. consumption is in food products. Salad and cooking oils, shortening, and margarine account for the major share of food oil use. Sunflower oil is well suited for these uses especially for salad and cooking oils, and margarine, owing to its stable qualities and high ratio of polyunsaturated fatty acids to saturated fatty acids. With yields averaging around 1250 lb./acre and prices at 3–4 cents/lb., sunflowers have not been competitive with established crops in the southern states during the past few years. Returns from sun-flowers in the Red River Valley, where yields have averaged around 1000 lb, appear to be more competitive with established crops than in the southern states. Some farmers in the South have achieved yields of 2000 lb. or more per acre and this seems to indicate that yields could be improved with better management. This analysis indicates that yields of 1600–2000 lb./acre, at a price of 4 cents/lb. for the seed, should permit sunflowers to compete with corn, soybeans, wheat and sorghum in a number of farming areas. As experience is gained in growing the crop and higher yielding hybrid seed is better adapted to the available region, sunflowers should become a more significant factor in the U.S. farm economy.     

Polymerization-dimer acids

Dimer acids are the commercial products resulting from clay-catalyzed, high temperature polymerization of unsaturated fatty acids, usually tall oil fatty acids. The products have been commercially available since the 1950s and now, in all forms, represent 40–50 million pounds per year sales in the United States. The products are high boiling, mobile to viscous liquids. Their most important chemical property is carboxyl multifunctionality, which allows conversion to high polymers, mostly polyamides in commercial practice. Dimer-based polyamides have sizeable application as hot-melt adhesives and as reactive components of epoxy resins. There are much smaller uses in other polymer systems. Dimer acids are relatively nontoxic, and are not flammable. In February 1979, single-distilled dimer acids sold in tankcar quantities in the range $0.45–0.55/lb. There were six producers in the business, with one almost entirely a captive consumer.     

硫基复合肥装置的技术改造

介绍硫基复合肥装置技改后,既可生产硫基复合肥又可生产粒状MAP和DAP的工艺流程及设备选型;技改后的2套硫基复合肥装置,每年在淡季时生产粒状MAP和DAP 6万t,可创经济效益1 000万元。同时介绍全部用国产白钾代替进口红钾生产硫基复合肥的技术,每年生产50万t硫基复合肥,可节约原料成本8 000万元。     

Homogeneous Catalysis: A Wedding of Theory and Experiment. The Eugene J. Houdry Award Address

Great Britaiin dominated the chemical industry, particularly the dyestuff industyr, during the last half of the nineteenth century. William Henry Perkin, who had a post at the Royal College of Chemistry in London when he was 17, but who was working at the time in his home laboratory, oxidizedaniline sulfate with k₂Cr₂O₇ and obtained the dye aniline purple or mauve. Recognizing its potential, he resigned his academic position and together with his father began commercial manufacture of the dye when he was 19 years old. Perkin retired in 1874 at the age of 36to devote ful time to research. The other important dye stuff at the time was indigo. Under Imperial Britain, India in 1890 produced 5 million pounds of indigo from the woad plant; its selling price was $3/lb. Chemists at Badische Anilin and Soda Fabrik had been trying to synthesize indigo for many years and in 1897, after 18 years of research, the company achieved the first commercial synthesis. The major stumbling block in the process had been the oxidation of naphthalene to phthalic anhydride, and the successful solution of the problem resulted from an accident. A chemist by the name of Sapper accidentally broke a thermometer while he was trying to oxidize naphthalene with sulfuric acid. HgSO₄ turned out ot be a homogeneous catalyst for the reaction, although until this day, to the best of my knowledge, the exact mechanism of the catalysis is not understood. This achievement changed forever the relative position of the chemical industry in Great Britain vis-a-vis Germany, to Germany's advantage. The tremendous economic impact and potential of catalysis was appreciated by the German chemists. In 1901 Ostwald [1] wrote:     

Fermentation of glucose and starch particles using an inexpensive medium

BACKGROUND: In North America, compared with sugar, starch is a more economical raw material to produce ethanol. Recently low temperature processing of starch granules directly to ethanol has been commercialized. With a view to minimizing process costs while maintaining a satisfactory ethanol yield, an inexpensive medium that does not require the addition of commercial α‐amylase has been developed for low temperature, direct fermentation of starch particles. RESULTS: Compared with an expensive medium that contained both yeast extract and α‐amylase, the inexpensive medium resulted in identical and 10% higher ethanol yields using glucose and starch granules as the raw substrates, respectively, but required longer processing times. Based on the different ingredient prices for expensive and inexpensive media, the operating cost to produce 10 million litres per year of ethanol utilizing simultaneous raw starch hydrolysis and fermentation is reduced over $ 2 million (Cdn) per year when using inexpensive medium. CONCLUSION: The new inexpensive medium and simultaneous raw starch hydrolysis and fermentation is considered the best strategy to produce ethanol directly from starch particles in North America. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Development of a Solvent Process for the Dyeing of Wool Sliver

The development is described of a prototype machine for dyeing wool continuously in 75 % formic acid at 50–60d?C, with recovery of the formic acid by distillation. A complete plant for treating 8000 lb of wool per day of two shifts was estimated to cost $A120,000 (£55,000). Excluding the cost of dyes and further processing, dyeing wool on this scale of operation was estimated to cost 70 cents (7-7 d.)per lb, and at 200,000 lb per day with three-shift operation 5-3 cents (5–8 d.)per lb. The very even uptake of dye obtained in formic acid would be expected to result in further savings on the cost of recombing after dyeing.     

Biomass-based chemical production using techno-economic and life cycle analysis

Furfural has been selected as one of the top 30 biomass derived platform compounds by the U.S. Department of Energy based on several indicators including the raw material used for production, estimated processing cost, technical complexity, and market potential. In this work, several high value chemicals such as butadiene, surfactants, jet-fuels, and lubricants are produced from furfural. The paper proposes the integrated flowsheet to produce those chemical and techno-economic and life cycle analysis is performed to compare the minimum selling price and environmental impacts of the integrated process. The capital and operating cost for production of lubricants and surfactants is the highest when compared with other products. Production of surfactants performs the best in terms of environmental impacts except in water depletion when compared with other processes while butadiene production performs the worst regarding the environmental effects.     

Evaluation of processing alternatives to saw delintering of cottonseed

Results are presented on economic evaluations of several alternative processes to saw delintering. Comparisons were made in terms of yields and quality of products, and processing costs. Comparisons of net monetary returns per ton of seed, and discounted cash flow rates of return showed no alternative processes to be attractive with linters selling at $0.04/lb or above. However, at a break-even linters price of $0.03/lb, hulling of undelintered seed and dilute sulfuric acid delintering were quite attractive alternatives. Hulling of undelintered seed was likewise attractive because of low processing energy requirements and low atmospheric emissions and workroom dust and noise. Presented at the AOCS meeting in New Orleans, April 24, 1976.     

最大限度降低生产成本是电石法生产PVC企业的唯一出路

分析了影响电石法PVC树脂成本的因素 ,指出电石法生产PVC树脂的企业降低生产成本的出路是降低电石、氯化氢和能源的消耗 ,并详细介绍了降低这三项消耗要采取的相应措施。实施改进措施后可使PVC生产成本降低约 2 1 2元 /t,这样可节约资金 4 2 4万元 /a(以产能为 2万t/aPVC计 ) ,经济效益显著     

Homogeneous Catalysis: A Wedding of Theory and Experiment. The Eugene J. Houdry Award Address

Great Britaiin dominated the chemical industry, particularly the dyestuff industyr, during the last half of the nineteenth century. William Henry Perkin, who had a post at the Royal College of Chemistry in London when he was 17, but who was working at the time in his home laboratory, oxidizedaniline sulfate with k₂Cr₂O₇ and obtained the dye aniline purple or mauve. Recognizing its potential, he resigned his academic position and together with his father began commercial manufacture of the dye when he was 19 years old. Perkin retired in 1874 at the age of 36to devote ful time to research. The other important dye stuff at the time was indigo. Under Imperial Britain, India in 1890 produced 5 million pounds of indigo from the woad plant; its selling price was $3/lb. Chemists at Badische Anilin and Soda Fabrik had been trying to synthesize indigo for many years and in 1897, after 18 years of research, the company achieved the first commercial synthesis. The major stumbling block in the process had been the oxidation of naphthalene to phthalic anhydride, and the successful solution of the problem resulted from an accident. A chemist by the name of Sapper accidentally broke a thermometer while he was trying to oxidize naphthalene with sulfuric acid. HgSO₄ turned out ot be a homogeneous catalyst for the reaction, although until this day, to the best of my knowledge, the exact mechanism of the catalysis is not understood. This achievement changed forever the relative position of the chemical industry in Great Britain vis-a-vis Germany, to Germany's advantage. The tremendous economic impact and potential of catalysis was appreciated by the German chemists. In 1901 Ostwald [1] wrote:     

平煤八矿选煤厂工艺改造

通过原煤筛分试验和浮沉试验对原煤性质进行了分析,发现煤质地较脆、易碎,矸石不易泥化,工艺设计中需防止原煤过粉碎,适合采用选前脱泥工艺。平煤八矿选煤厂存在入选来煤杂物多、破碎机磨损快、介耗高等问题,这主要是由不合理的入选来煤全粒级破碎工艺和原煤不脱泥入选工艺造成的,通过改进原煤准备工艺,增加原煤分级破碎、除杂、脱泥环节对选煤厂进行了改造。最后对选煤厂改造效果进行了分析,结果表明:选煤厂改造完成后,有效去除了来煤杂物,改善了破碎机工作状况;避免了原煤过粉碎,减少了-0.5 mm煤粉的产生量;原煤分选效果得到改善,精煤产率有所提高,每年可增加精煤销售收入5040万元;重介系统介耗降低了2.09 kg/t,每年可节约生产成本1091万元。     

聚氯乙烯生产中副产废酸的平衡设计及其节能减排效果

介绍了PVC生产中副产废酸的深解吸工艺,该工艺达到了废酸零排放、零销售及循环利用的目的。按新疆天业集团天辰化工公司40万t／aPVC计,每年回收废酸可产生经济效益2680万元。     

石油与煤路线制乙二醇过程的技术经济分析

传统石油制乙二醇(OtEG)路线严重依赖于石油资源且生产成本高,而我国拥有丰富的煤炭资源,使得煤制乙二醇(CtEG)技术日益受到重视。基于全流程模拟结果,对OtEG和CtEG路线进行了详细的技术经济分析。结果表明,CtEG路线单位产品的能耗比OtEG高2.62 t-ce标准煤;但CtEG具有较好的成本优势,约可节省成本802 CNY·t^-1,但其总投资约为OtEG的2.58倍。适当扩大生产规模可明显提高OtEG和CtEG工艺的经济效益,尤其是降低CtEG的总投资。通过分析原料价格波动对两条路线竞争力的影响发现,当油价低于40 USD·bbl^-1(美元/桶),且煤价高于500 CNY·t^-1时,CtEG与OtEG的生产成本比将高于1.0;当油价高于60 USD·bbl^-1,即使煤价高达850 CNY·t^-1,生产成本比也将低于1.0。此外,CtEG的CO₂排放量和水耗分别比OtEG高约5 t·t^-1和20 t·t^-1     

Design and cost optimization of a hot fuel gas desulfurization process

A high temperature gas desulfurization process is proposed that effectively uses the iron oxides in the waste ashes from coal gasifiers to react with and sorb the H₂S, COS, and CS₂, in coal-derived fuels. The process is carried out at 1033 K and 2.22 MPa in packed bed reactors. Sulfided ash sorbents may be repeatedly regenerated to produce a 30/70 molar mixture of S₂ and SO₂, suitable for complete reduction to elemental sulfur or sulfuric acid manufacture.An optimization theory predicts the use of very shallow bed reactors, packed to 0.61 meters, operating in a cyclic sequence where the onstream time is only 0.37 hours. This markedly reduces the capital and operating costs.A plant treating 1.22 MM SCMH of 0.63 mole percent H₂S ladened fuel gas is estimated to have a 1981 cost of $7.638 million and an annual operating cost of $5.229 million. A modular plant for recovery of byproduct SO₂, as H₂SO₄ is estimated to cost an additional $11.38 million but shows an annual before-tax profit of $10.46 million based upon a selling price of $80/Ton for the acid. This large profit reflects the value of the by-product SO₂.     

Optimal procurement contract selection with price optimization under uncertainty for process networks

In this work, we propose extending the production planning decisions of a chemical process network to include optimal contract selection under uncertainty with suppliers and product selling price optimization. We use three quantity-based contract models: discount after a certain purchased amount, bulk discount, and fixed duration contracts. We propose the use of general regression models to describe the relationship between selling price, demand, and possibly other predictors, such as economic indicators. For illustration purposes, we consider three demand-response models (i.e., selling price as a function of demand) that are typically encountered in the literature: linear, constant-elasticity, and logit. We develop a mixed-integer nonlinear two-stage stochastic programming that accounts for uncertainty in both supply (e.g., raw material spot market price) and demand (random nature of the residuals of the regression models) for the planning of the process network. The proposed method is illustrated with two numerical examples of chemical process networks.