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.     

Technical new feature

A continuous process for the commercial production of isopropenyl stearate (IPS) from triple pressed stearic acid and a stabilized form of propyne has been developed. Cost estimates, including capital costs, operating costs, and profitability, for commercial scale plant production which show the process to be economically feasible are presented. This potentially profitable process offers the advantages of reliable raw material sources, minimal external thermal requirements, and usable process waste streams. For a plant producing 5 million pounds of IPS per year, the selling price range is 80 to 107 cents/lb IPS, corresponding to a raw material cost range of 27 to 54 cents/lb of IPS. For a 20 million pound per year plant, the selling price range is 58 to 85 cents/lb IPS. The selling prices include a 20% annual return on fixed capital investment. Fixed capital requirement ranges from 2.7 to 10.9 million dollars (3rd quarter, 1975) for plants ranging in size from 5 to 50 million pounds of IPS per year, respectively.     

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.     

Cost of producing linoleic acid from safflower oil

Linoleic acid of 97% purity can be made from safflower oil by liquid-liquid extraction at a “cost to make” of about 21 cents a 1b. Calculations for the cost estimate were based on pilot-plant investigations. Fixed capital investment for a plant with an annual capacity of 20 million 1b has been estimated at approximately $1,800,000. Such a plant could be converted readily to the production of a variety of other fatty acids. A laboratory of the No. Utiliz. Res. & Dev. Div. ARS, U.S.D.A.     

Optimized design of wastewater treatment systems: Application to the mechanical pulp and paper industry: I. Design and cost relationships

Four different end-of-pipe waste-treatment processes applicable to mechanical pulp and paper manufacture were modelled. Calculated costs for an average mill were capital $34–$44 million, operating cost $3.5–$6 million/year and discounted (10 years) $60–$85 million. Compared with mill reported values, capital and operating costs of activated sludge treatment (AST) were higher by 17 and 29%, respectively; those for aerated stabilization basin (ASB) were higher by 27 and 180%. Major variables affecting the costs were BOD and TSS levels and the wastewater-to-pulp ratio. It was concluded that ASB is more economical than AST and that anaerobic treatment plus AST could be advantageous at high BOD levels.     

Economic aspects of membrane processes

Care must be exercised, in predicting operating costs for membrane desalination systems for electricity, labor, chemicals, etc. The assumptions made in establishing unit costs can greatly affect the predicted operating cost and hence the ultimate investment decision. The use of data estimating the quantities of chemicals, power, etc., expected to be used per unit of production can assist in predicting costs, as then site-specific cost data can be used. The fact that 0.2 pounds of acid per kgal of permeate is required in a Florida RO plant is more useful for predicting operating costs of an RO plant on the Island of Anegata than is the fact that acid costs at the Florida plant are $0.03/kgal of water produced. Data based on units rather than costs are presented for seven RO facilities and one ED facility in this paper for use in this type of analysis.     

纤维素燃料乙醇技术经济分析

考察了以玉米秸秆为原料生产燃料乙醇的工艺流程,对年产5万t燃料乙醇的生产工艺进行了技术经济和敏感性分析. 蒸馏能耗分析表明,当发酵醪中乙醇浓度高于4%(w)时蒸馏的能耗比较低. 年产5万t燃料乙醇的直接固定成本约1.37亿元,乙醇的最低成本为8425 ￥/t. 该工艺能副产3.75万t CO2和215 t杂醇油,可带来额外收益2386万元. 经济敏感性分析表明,纤维素酶价格对生产成本的影响较显著,副产物CO2的回收利用可明显增加收益.     

Production of gossypol from cottonseed gums. Preliminary cost study

Summary Based on operations of a hypothetical gossypol-extraction plant, it is estimated that crude gossypol-acetic acid can be produced at a cost of $2.64 per pound at an annual production of 113,500 lbs.; that pure gossypol-acetic acid can be produced at a cost of $3.80 per pound at an annual production of 100,200 lbs; and that pure gossypol will cost $5.55 per pound at an annual production of 81,000 lbs. By marketing the phosphatides instead of returning them to the gums, the cost of producing pure gossypol will be $3.91 per pound at an annual production of 81,000 lbs. These costs were estimated by assuming that Phase I of the process would be accomplished simultaneously with oil mill-extraction operations, and Phases II and III during remainder of the season. It is readily apparent that gossypol or gossypol-acetic acid as produced are not inexpensive chemicals and would probably have to be produced for specialized uses, such as pharmaceuticals and the like, where the cost of these chemicals would not be prohibitive. Should product evaluation research now under way establish specific uses for gossypol and its intermediates, a demand for sizeable quantities of these materials might result. One of the laboratories of the Southern Utilization Research and Development Division, Agricultural Research Service, United States 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.     

Lipase‐catalysed biodiesel production from Jatropha curcas oil

Biodiesel as fatty acid alkylesters has become attractive because of its environmental benefits. A non‐edible oil as starting material for biodiesel production appears desirable and does not compromise the edible oils used mainly for food and feed. The present article discusses the enzymatic alcoholysis of crude Jatropha curcas oil in solvent free medium for the production of valuable fatty acid alkyl esters for use as biodiesel. Among various microbial lipases commonly tested in the literature, the highest initial rate (>18 μmol h^–1 mg^–1) with different alcohols was observed with immobilized lipase from Pseudomonas cepacia, but the activity depends on the amount of water. The best conversion (93%) to produce ethyl esters was achieved with lipase immobilized on the polypropylene carrier Accurel 1282 after 16 h at low enzyme concentration (3% w/w). Moreover, the transesterification could be conducted for at least 160 h during 10 batch runs without significant loss of activity. This reduces the costs for immobilized lipase and can thus make the enzymatic biodiesel production commercially more viable, especially starting from a non‐edible plant oil.     

Biotransformation of glycerol into 1,3‐propanediol

Today, glycerol is mainly a by‐product of fat splitting and biodiesel production. Further growth of the biodiesel market would result in a fall in the price of glycerol. Particularly glycerol‐water from rapeseed oil methyl ester production, for example, would be an interesting raw material if it could be utilised in fermentation without further pretreatment. Under anaerobic conditions, bacteria can transform glycerol into 1,3‐propanediol (PDO), which can be used as a monomer in the chemical industry. PDO can be produced biotechnologically from glycerol with the aid of bacteria. Another way would be the utilization of glucose instead of glycerol, which would provide independence from the fluctuating glycerol market. However, under certain conditions, the classic technique based on glycerol can be quite interesting with regard to technical and economic aspects: A concerted, extensive search for new microorganisms (screening) and improved process design (fed‐batch with pH‐controlled substrate dosage) allowed the product concentrations, which were relatively low at a maximum of 70–80 g/L as a result of product inhibition, to be raised to more than 100 g/L. An additional advantage of the new technique and the newly isolated strains is the utilisation of low‐priced crude glycerol or glycerol‐water. This is a factor which should not be underestimated and has a direct effect on the product costs. Further on, the use of immobilised cells compared to freely suspended cells enables an increase of productivity from about 2 up to 30 g /Lh.     

Dual purpose power/water plants utilizing both distillation and reverse osmosis

The energy consumption of several alternate dual purpose plants are compared for application in the range of 10–50MW with 1 to 20 MGD water production. This shows that the combined gas turbine-steam turbine system is considerably more energy efficient than a steam only system. Single stage R.O., used in conjunction with this combined cycle offers the minimum overall energy consumption but has the disadvantage of producing product water with high TDS. By utilizing both R.O. and distillation, energy consumption lower than with distillation alone is achieved and product water purity is acceptable. p]A specific design of a combined dual purpose plant is presented. This plant would have a net electrical output of 29,050 kw and 3.25 MGD of 440 ppm TDS, requiring 297.1 BTU/hr. The total capital costs of this combined plant is estimated at $41,150,000 and annual operating costs at $15,087,000. The unit production costs with fuel at $2.50/MM BTU would be 4.08¢/kw-hr and $2.44 per 1000 gal. This represents an annual savings of $1,961,000 over single purpose production or 44.5% reduction in water production costs with the same electrical production costs. p]It is concluded that the combined dual purpose plant presented is the most efficient, economical and flexible method of producing power and water in the range of 10 to 50 MW and 1 to 20 MGD.     

Energy production at the Dead Sea by pressure-retarded osmosis: challenge or chimera?

In recent years two types of very large-scale plants have been proposed for handling seawater brought to the Dead Sea, both processes taking advantage of the 400 m drop to Dead Sea level and both sized to replenish the 3,000,000 m³/d evaporation rate of the Dead Sea. Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO), the process discussed herein, would use the replenishment stream to produce an appreciable amount of benign and renewable electric power. If the seawater plant prior to PRO would be reverse osmosis (RO), handling 5,000,000 m³/d to produce 2,000,000 m³/d of fresh water, PRO could produce 48,000 kW from the RO-concentrated seawater feed at a capital cost for power of about $4,000 per kilowatt and a PRO plant cost of $190,000,000. The electrical energy would be produced at a cost of about $0.07/kWh. The PRO plant would use a DuPont B-9 type or similar hollow fiber modified to have 110 and 320 micron internal and outer diameters (instead of 40 and 90). Osmotic permeation of half of the 3,000,000 m³/d RO reject brine into Dead Sea brine would produce 35 atmospheres of hydrostatic pressure relieved by passage of an equivalent volumetric rate of diluted Dead Sea brine through a hydroturbine/generator set. The second type of plant prior to PRO would use 3,000,000 m³/d of seawater to produce hydropower, estimated at about 130,000 kW. The permeation rate in PRO could then be 2,000,000 m³/d enabling power production in PRO of 70,000 kW at a capital cost for power of $3,300 per kilowatt and a PRO plant cost of $230,000,000. The cost of produced energy in PRO would be $0.058/kWh. It is believed that the Great Salt Lake should also be examined as a site for PRO.     

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.     

Modeling,optimization, and cost analysis of an IGCC plant with a membrane reactor for carbon capture

This article presents a theoretical study on the integration of a membrane reactor (MR) for carbon capture into an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. First‐principles, simplified systems‐level models for the individual IGCC units and the MR are introduced for their subsequent plantwide integration. The integrated plant model is then used for simulation studies that assume different MR characteristics. Using this model, an optimization problem is formulated to analyze the MR effects when adding it to the IGCC plant, while satisfying all of the process constraints in streams and performance variables. The solution of this optimization problem indicates improvements in the original case studies, including capital cost savings as high as $18 million for the optimal case under nominal process conditions. To determine the cost implications of inserting the MR into the IGCC plant, a differential cost analysis is performed taking into account major plant capital and operating costs. This analysis considers the same amount of coal and power generation for cases with and without the MR. The results of this analysis based on a present value of annuity calculation show break even costs for the MR within the feasible range for membrane fabrication, even for short membrane lifetimes. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 1568–1580, 2016     

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     

玉米燃料乙醇低能耗工业生产新工艺

本团队研发的玉米燃料乙醇低能耗生产新工艺,采用了低温液化、浓醪同步糖化间歇发酵、三塔压差精馏与分子筛脱水工艺和全厂各工段的废热进行余热回收技术,目前已经成功应用于多家燃料乙醇生产企业.以黑龙江鸿展生物科技股份有限公司已经投产的30万吨级燃料乙醇工程项目为例,对比分析了新工艺与传统工艺在技术特点、能耗、产品质量等方面的差...     

Sedimentation and electro-osmotic dewatering of coal-washery slimes

Dewatering of three samples of fine-tailings from two Australian coal washeries, where the clay content of the tailings is predominantly either the swelling or the non-swelling type, is examined on the laboratory scale. Thixotropic slurries of ≈ 55 wt% solids are achieved by sedimentation of the crude or prethickened tailings. Electro-osmotic treatment of these slurries yields a moist but load-bearing material ≈ 67 wt% solids up to a relatively dry, hard, and compact cake ≈ 80 wt% solids, at a power consumption equivalent to 5–8 and 40–50 kWh, respectively, per tonne of the 55 wt% slurries. The corresponding cost per tonne of particulate matter present, at 2.2 cents kWh^?1, is 20–32 cents for 67 wt% solids and $1.60–$2.00 for 80 wt% solids. (To express these costs per tonne of moisture removed, multiply by 5.6 and 3.2 respectively). The only mechanical process currently used at Australian coal washeries is centrifugal dewatering of thickener underflow after conditioning with polyelectrolyte. A wet, non-load bearing product (37 wt% solids in the one sample tested) is obtained at a cost in the range $1–$2 per tonne of particulate matter present. If an efficiency similar to that for the laboratory electro-osmotic treatment can be realised on the industrial scale, then the comparison favours the electro-osmotic treatment, particularly considering that the drier product could be saleable as a fuel.     

Process synthesis and economics of combined biomethanol and CHP energy production derived from biomass wastes

BACKGROUND: This paper reports on process synthesis and economics of combined methanol and CHP (combined heat and power) energy production from crude biooil, waste glycerol produced in biodiesel factories and biomass wastes using integrated reactor design for hydrogen rich syngas. This new process consists of three process steps: (a) pyrolysis of organic waste material to produce biooil, char and pyrogas; (b) steam assisted hydrogasification of the crude glycerol wastes, biooil mixed with pyrogas for hydrogen rich gas; and (c) a low temperature methanol synthesis process. The H₂‐rich gas remaining after methanol synthesis is recycled back to the pyrolysis reactor, the catalytic hydro‐gasification process and the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). RESULTS: The breakeven price of the Hbiomethanol process yields positive net financial NPV and IRR above 600 USD per tonne. The total capital cost for a small‐scale methanol plant of capacity 2 tonne h^?1 combined with a cogeneration plant of capacity 2 MWe power is estimated to be 170.5 million USD. CONCLUSION: Recycling gas allows the methanol synthesis reactor to perform at a relatively lower pressure than conventionally while the plant still maintains a high methanol yield. The integrated hydrogasification reactor and energy recovery design process minimizes heat loss and increases the process thermal efficiency. The Hbiomethanol process can convert any condensed carbonaceous material and liquid wastes, to produce methanol and CHP. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Large-scale power production by pressure-retarded osmosis, using river water and sea water passing through spiral modules

In principle a very large quantity of electric power could be produced by the worldwide application of pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) to the osmotic pair, river water/sea water. The utility of the process depends on the economics, i.e., whether the produced energy cost, dollars per kilowatt hour, and the plant capital cost, dollars per kilowatt, can be adequately low. The study was limited to spiral modules, i.e., originally flat sheet membranes. A very important cost item was the “Yuma” specific plant capital cost of 1000 dollars per daily cubic meter of permeate. This value was derived from consideration of the world's largest RO plant, that in Yuma, Arizona, and was used in PRO calculations with modification as required for differences in flux and for economy-of-scale effects. Within these limitations, the key parameters were found to be twofold: First was the K term in PRO. This is the resistance to salt diffusion in the porous substructure and support fabric region of the membrane and must be as low as possible because an increase in K decreases permeate flux virtually exponentially. Second was the size of the PRO plant, characterized by the flow rate of the river utilized. The larger the PRO plant, the more important the economy-of-scale factor becomes in minimizing the energy and power costs mentioned above. A key assumption in the comparative plant cost calculations was that half of such costs would be independent of changes in plant flux and the other half proportional to it. Based on previous PRO tests and some optimism, K terms of 10 and zero were considered. A “moderate” river flow rate of 3 million m³/d flow rate was considered as well as a “large” river size, that of the Mississippi, 1,500 million m³/d flow rate. The following was found: A “moderate” flow rate PRO plant with an optimistically low K term of 10 d/m (permeate flux 0.29 m³/m²d) would give unacceptably high energy and power costs as would a moderate plant with K = 0 (flux 0.725 m³/m²d). A Mississippi river plant with K = 10 would produce marginal energy and power costs, i.e., higher than expected from conventional existing power plants and perhaps acceptable under certain circumstances but with a K value of zero would produce adequately low energy and power costs. If the specific plant capital cost estimate could be reduced from 1000 to 500 dollars per daily cubic meter of permeate, as reported by some RO investigators, all PRO costs would be reduced by about half, thus rendering the moderate flow rate PRO plant with K = 0 marginally acceptable and both Mississippi PRO plants acceptable in terms of low energy and power cost. In view of these possibilities and the tremendous amount of benign and renewable energy and power potentially available, it is believed that river water/sea water PRO should be seriously investigated.