Evaluation of pharmaceutical cream production debottlenecking schemes

The main objective of this work is to model and debottleneck a pharmaceutical production of an anti-allergic cream. The base case process has a minimum cycle time of 29 hours which is equivalent to 66 batches/year. Four schemes were proposed for process debottlenecking due to the anticipated increase of the product demand of 150% in the market. By carrying out throughput analysis study, schemes that fulfil the debottlenecking objective were determined. Out of the four debottlenecking schemes, Scheme 4 was chosen, which proposed a new blending tank and intermediate tank, showed a production increase of over 150%

Techno-economic evaluation of a chromic wastewater treatment plant proposal

As estações de tratamento de águas residuais são sistemas que, se operados corretamente, podem ajudar a saúde da indústria e do meio ambiente. No presente trabalho, foi realizada a avaliação técnico-econômica de uma proposta de estação de tratamento de efluentes de cromo com capacidade de processamento de 9 t de efluente por lote, a fim de determinar seus principais parâmetros de rentabilidade, utilizando o simulador SuperPro Designer® v. 10. Cerca de 6.959,90 L/lote de água tratada são gerados, enquanto um investimento de capital total de US $3.549 milhões e um capital fixo direto de US$ 3.222 milhões são necessários. O item que mais influencia nos custos operacionais anuais é o dos custos dependentes da instalação (US $345.000/ano) enquanto o reagente que mais influencia nos custos anuais de consumo de materiais é o cloreto férrico (US$ 56.805/ano). Houve um custo unitário de processamento de US $0,22/kg, um lucro líquido anual de US$ 486.000 e um retorno sobre o investimento de 22,16%. Os valores obtidos a partir dos indicadores Valor Presente Líquido (US $3.361.000), Taxa Interna de Retorno (29,61$ 3,549 millones y un capital fijo directo de USD $3,222 millones. La partida que más influencia presenta en los costos anuales de operación es la de costos dependientes de la instalación (USD$ 345 000/año) mientras que el reactivo que más influye en los costos anuales por concepto de consumo de materiales es el cloruro férrico (USD $56 805/año). Se obtuvo un costo unitario de procesamiento de USD$ 0,22/kg, unas ganancias netas anuales de USD $486 000 y un Retorno de la Inversión de 22,16$ 3 361 000), Tasa Interna de Retorno (29,61 %) y Periodo de Recuperación de la Inversión (4,51 años) permiten establecer que la propuesta es rentable bajo las condiciones económicas actuales de Cuba.Wastewater treatment plants are systems that, if properly operated, can help the health of industry and the environment. In the present work, the techno-economic evaluation of a proposed chromic wastewater treatment plant with a processing capacity of 9 t of wastewater per batch was carried out, in order to determine its main profitability parameters, using SuperPro Designer® simulator v. 10. Around 6,959.90 L/batch of treated water are generated, while a total capital investment of USD $3,549 million and a direct fixed capital of USD$ 3,222 million are required. The item that most influences the annual operating costs is the facility-dependent costs (USD $345,000/year) while the reagent that most influences the material consumption annual costs is ferric chloride (USD$ 56,805/year). It was obtained a unit processing cost of USD $0.22/kg, an annual net profit of USD$ 486,000 and a return on investment of 22.16%. The values ​​obtained for the indicators Net Present Value (USD $ 3,361,000), Internal Rate of Return (29.61%) and Payback Time (4.51 years) allow establishing that the proposal is profitable under the current economic conditions of Cuba

Optimization of Process Flowsheets through Metaheuristic Techniques

This book presents a multi-objective optimization framework for optimizing chemical processes. The proposed framework implements a link between process simulators and metaheuristic techniques. The proposed approach is general, and there can be used any process simulator and any metaheuristic technique. This book shows how to implement links between different process simulators such as Aspen Plus®, HYSYS®, SuperPro Designer®, and others, linked to metaheuristic techniques implemented in Matlab®, Excel®, C++, or other programs. This way, the proposed framework allows optimizing any process flowsheet implemented in the process simulator and using the metaheuristic technique, and this way the numerical complications through the optimization process can be eliminated. Furthermore, the proposed framework allows using the thermodynamic, design, and constitutive equations implemented in the process simulator to implement any process

Evaluación técnico-económica de un proceso de producción de leche descremada en polvo

Milk powder is a highly demanded food that is used in various ways, both in the industrial area and in everyday life. In the present work, an innovative and unprecedented techno-economic evaluation of a technological proposal for a skimmed milk powder production plant with an annual capacity of 700 tons was carried out through the use of the SuperPro Designer® simulator, in order to know its main economic and profitability indicators under the current economic conditions in Cuba. For economic performance evaluation, the total capital investment, unit production cost, internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV) and project payback time (PT) among other indicators, were determined. A sensitivity study was also accomplished, to determine from what value of the fluid milk unit cost the proposed skimmed milk powder plant begins to be unprofitable. A total capital investment of USD 22 744 000, an annual operating cost of USD 9 884 000, a working capital of USD 647 000 and a unit production cost of USD 352.95 per 25 kg bag were obtained. From the techno-economic results obtained, it can be concluded that the evaluated skimmed milk powder production plant is profitable and feasible due to the values of NPV (USD 14 475 000), IRR (18.98 %) and PT (4.46 years) obtained. The proposed production plant becomes unprofitable from a value of the fluid milk unit cost of USD 1.32/L.La leche en polvo es un alimento muy demandado que es utilizado de diversas formas, tanto en el área industrial como en la vida cotidiana. En el presente trabajo se efectuó la evaluación técnico-económica novedosa y sin precedente de una propuesta tecnológica de planta de producción de leche descremada en polvo con una capacidad anual de 700 toneladas, mediante el empleo del simulador SuperPro Designer®, con el fin de conocer sus principales indicadores económicos y de rentabilidad bajo las condiciones económicas actuales de Cuba. Para la evaluación del rendimiento económico se determinaron la inversión total de capital, costo unitario de producción, tasa interna de retorno (TIR), valor actual neto (VAN) y período de recuperación de la inversión (PRI) del proyecto, entre otros indicadores. Se llevó a cabo, también, un estudio de sensibilidad con el que se buscó determinar a partir de cuál valor del costo unitario de la leche fluida, la planta de leche descremada en polvo propuesta comienza a ser no rentable. Se obtuvo una inversión total de capital de USD 22 744 000, un costo de operación anual de USD 9 884 000, un capital de trabajo de USD 647 000 y un costo unitario de producción de USD 352.95 por bolsa de 25 kg. A partir de los resultados técnico-económicos obtenidos, se puede concluir que la planta de producción de leche descremada en polvo propuesta es rentable y factible debido a los valores de valor actual neto (USD 14 475 000), tasa interna de retorno (18.98 %) y período de recuperación de la inversión (4.46 años) obtenidos. La planta de producción propuesta comienza a ser no rentable a partir de un valor del costo unitario de la leche fluida de USD 1.32/L

Techno-economic Implications of Fed-batch Enzymatic Hydrolysis

As ethanol production continues to increase in the United States, cellulosic ethanol continues to gain traction as a viable option for meeting ethanol demands. In this work, a literature review of techno-economic analyses for cellulosic ethanol was conducted. It was found that pretreatment methods greatly affect the ethanol production costs. There is a lack of techno-economic data comparing a batch enzymatic hydrolysis to a fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis for a separate hydrolysis and fermentation production process. Consequently, a techno-economic analysis comparing cellulosic ethanol production using batch versus fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis was conducted. SuperPro Designer software (Intelligen, Scotch Plains, New Jersey), a process simulation tool, was used to simulate ethanol production. The simulation revealed that the biggest difference between batch and fed-batch hydrolysis was facilities costs, which decreased by 41% when using fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis. A sensitivity analysis revealed that our ethanol production costs were most sensitive to the cost of the corn stover biomass. In general our results support the idea that fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis does improve the techno-economics of cellulosic ethanol production, even if the improvements came in process steps we did not expect. Advisor: Deepak R. Keshwan

Feasibility assessment of a bioethanol plant in the northern Netherlands

Due to the exhaustion and increased pressure regarding the environmental and political aspects of fossil fuels, the industrial focus has switched towards renewable energy resources. Lignocellulosic biowaste can come from several sources, such as industrial waste, agricultural waste, forestry waste, and bioenergy crops and processed into bioethanol via a biochemical pathway. Although much research has been done on the ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass, the economic viability of a bioethanol plant in the Northern Netherlands is yet unknown, and therefore, examined. In this thesis, the feasibility study of a bioethanol plant treating sugar beet pulp, cow manure, and grass straw is conducted using the simulation software SuperPro Designer. Results show that it is not economically viable to treat the tested lignocellulosic biomass for the production of bioethanol, since all three original cases result in a negative net present value (NPV). An alternative would be to exclude the pretreatment step from the process. Although this results in a lower production of bioethanol per year, the plant treating sugar beet pulp (SBP) and grass straw (GS) becomes economically viable since the costs have significantly decreased

Evaluación técnico-económica de una propuesta de planta de producción de helado de fresa en Cuba

Ice cream is a solidified dairy product produced by freezing a pasteurized mixture by stirring to incorporate air and guarantee a uniform consistency. This product is in high demand among people of all ages. In the present work, we used the SuperPro Designer® tool to simulate an industrial-scale strawberry ice-cream production plant located in Cuba with an annual production capacity of approximately 830 ice-cream 10 L containers per batch (1 201 770 L per year). Through simulation, the mass and energy balances were determined, as well as the main economic and profitability indicators of the proposed production process. The unit production cost was USD $7.04/container, while the annual net profit was USD$ 980 000. The Net Present Value, Internal Rate of Return, and Payback period were USD $2 860 000, 24.29$ 7.04/envase, mientras que la ganancia neta anual fue de USD $980 000. El Valor Actual Neto, Tasa Interna de Retorno y Período de Recuperación de la Inversión tuvieron valores de USD$ 2 860 000, 24.29 % y 3.94 años, respectivamente, lo cual indica que la planta de producción de helado de fresa propuesta es factible desde el punto de vista técnico-económico bajo las condiciones económicas actuales de Cuba

From soil remediation to biofuel. Process simulation of bioethanol production from Arundo donax

A range of energy crops can be grown on marginal land (i.e. land that is not suitable for food crop production or contaminated site) to provide feedstocks for bioenergy, non-food products and biofuels. The food versus fuel debate had a significant negative impact in Europe on first generation biofuels production from food crops (i.e. wheat, rapeseed, etc). A new approach involving the use of marginal land for the production of lignocellulosic species for the production of bioethanol is now pursued in Italy and in many other countries, where the demand for high quality water resources, arable land, food and fossil fuels is rapidly growing. With an emerging “feed versus fuel debate” there is a pressing need to find options for the use of marginal lands and wastewaters or saline ground waters to produce second generation biofuel or bio paper crops. Arundo donax was selected as a potential crop for use in these areas, since it produces more cellulosic biomass and sequesters more contaminants, using less land and pesticides than any other alternative crops reported in the literature. The objective of this paper is to evaluate economically a simplified process for the production of second generation bioethanol from A. donax. Process calculations and economic analyses are performed using the software SuperPro Designer®

Economic Analysis of Cellulase Production by Clostridium thermocellum in Solid State and Submerged Fermentation

Replaced with revised version of paper 09/24/04.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,