scholarly journals Transforming biorefinery designs with ‘Plug-In Processes of Lignin’ to enable economic waste valorization

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhi-Hua Liu ◽  
Naijia Hao ◽  
Yun-Yan Wang ◽  
Chang Dou ◽  
Furong Lin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cellulosic Ethanol ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Substantial Improvement ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Waste Valorization ◽  
Lignin Valorization ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Carbon Efficiency ◽  
Synergistic Enhancement ◽  
Total Capital

AbstractBiological lignin valorization has emerged as a major solution for sustainable and cost-effective biorefineries. However, current biorefineries yield lignin with inadequate fractionation for bioconversion, yet substantial changes of these biorefinery designs to focus on lignin could jeopardize carbohydrate efficiency and increase capital costs. We resolve the dilemma by designing ‘plug-in processes of lignin’ with the integration of leading pretreatment technologies. Substantial improvement of lignin bioconversion and synergistic enhancement of carbohydrate processing are achieved by solubilizing lignin via lowering molecular weight and increasing hydrophilic groups, addressing the dilemma of lignin- or carbohydrate-first scenarios. The plug-in processes of lignin could enable minimum polyhydroxyalkanoate selling price at as low as $6.18/kg. The results highlight the potential to achieve commercial production of polyhydroxyalkanoates as a co-product of cellulosic ethanol. Here, we show that the plug-in processes of lignin could transform biorefinery design toward sustainability by promoting carbon efficiency and optimizing the total capital cost.

Using digital data collection tools to improve overall cost-efficiency and provide timely analysis for decision making during invasive species eradication campaigns

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 499 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Will ◽  
Karl J. Campbell ◽  
Nick D. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Cost Efficiency ◽  
Relational Databases ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Digital Data ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Project Costs ◽  
Time Required ◽  
Data Collection Effort

Context Worldwide, invasive vertebrate eradication campaigns are increasing in scale and complexity, requiring improved decision making tools to achieve and validate success. For managers of these campaigns, gaining access to timely summaries of field data can increase cost-efficiency and the likelihood of success, particularly for successive control-event style eradications. Conventional data collection techniques can be time intensive and burdensome to process. Recent advances in digital tools can reduce the time required to collect and process field information. Through timely analysis, efficiently collected data can inform decision making for managers both tactically, such as where to prioritise search effort, and strategically, such as when to transition from the eradication phase to confirmation monitoring. Aims We highlighted the advantages of using digital data collection tools, particularly the potential for reduced project costs through a decrease in effort and the ability to increase eradication efficiency by enabling explicit data-informed decision making. Methods We designed and utilised digital data collection tools, relational databases and a suite of analyses during two different eradication campaigns to inform management decisions: a feral cat eradication utilising trapping, and a rodent eradication using bait stations. Key results By using digital data collection during a 2-year long cat eradication, we experienced an 89% reduction in data collection effort and an estimated USD42 845 reduction in total costs compared with conventional paper methods. During a 2-month rodent bait station eradication, we experienced an 84% reduction in data collection effort and an estimated USD4525 increase in total costs. Conclusions Despite high initial capital costs, digital data collection systems provide increasing economics as the duration and scale of the campaign increases. Initial investments can be recouped by reusing equipment and software on subsequent projects, making digital data collection more cost-effective for programs contemplating multiple eradications. Implications With proper pre-planning, digital data collection systems can be integrated with quantitative models that generate timely forecasts of the effort required to remove all target animals and estimate the probability that eradication has been achieved to a desired level of confidence, thus improving decision making power and further reducing total project costs.

scholarly journals Key aspects and feasibility assessment of a proposed wind farm in Jordan

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Al-Addous ◽  
Motasem Saidan ◽  
Mathhar Bdour ◽  
Zakariya Dalala ◽  
Aiman Albatayneh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wind Energy ◽  
Transmission Lines ◽  
Wind Farm ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Energy Potential ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
Feasibility Assessment ◽  
The Interest Rate

Abstract To tackle climate change and secure energy supplies, many countries invest heavily on wind energy as it is a clean source and is becoming more cost effective with the technological advancement and increased capacity per unit installed. The investigation of the availability of wind resources is an essential step of any feasibility study of a wind farm project and is vital for securing financial resources. With this intent, the main aspects for designing a wind farm at Ajloun (north of Jordan) is investigated and wind energy potential is determined based on available wind data. Based on the site characteristic, the required infrastructure is highlighted, including the turbine array layout and the pattern of connections with the external transmission lines. The investigation of the feasibility of the project includes an appraisal of social and environmental consequences of constructing the wind farm project. The results show that the selected location for the wind farm is encouraging and has a promising profit potential. The findings estimate the annual electricity generation of the wind farm at 379659.51 MWh, with a breakeven selling point of around $30.03/MWh, at a highly competitive price. However, with an estimated selling price of $36.65/MWh on average, it will settle the interest rate demanded by the banks that have an internal rate of return of 7%. No major issues with geotechnical and environmental issues were identified with respect to the project.

scholarly journals Expert Consensus on Screening and Assessment of Cognition in Psychiatry

CNS Spectrums ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 154-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger S. McIntyre ◽  
Nicole Anderson ◽  
Bernhard T. Baune ◽  
Elisa Brietzke ◽  
Katherine Burdick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Deficits ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Burden Of Illness ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Multiple Modalities ◽  
Risk Factor Modification ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Medical Disorders ◽  
Patient Reported

During the past two decades, it has been amply documented that neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs) disproportionately account for burden of illness attributable to chronic non-communicable medical disorders globally. It is also likely that human capital costs attributable to NPDs will disproportionately increase as a consequence of population aging and beneficial risk factor modification of other common and chronic medical disorders (e.g., cardiovascular disease). Notwithstanding the availability of multiple modalities of antidepressant treatment, relatively few studies in psychiatry have primarily sought to determine whether improving cognitive function in MDD improves patient reported outcomes (PROs) and/or is cost effective. The mediational relevance of cognition in MDD potentially extrapolates to all NPDs, indicating that screening for, measuring, preventing, and treating cognitive deficits in psychiatry is not only a primary therapeutic target, but also should be conceptualized as a transdiagnostic domain to be considered regardless of patient age and/or differential diagnosis.

scholarly journals Analysis of Pavement Condition Survey Data for Effective Implementation of a Network Level Pavement Management Program for Kazakhstan

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Pantuso ◽  
Giuseppe Loprencipe ◽  
Guido Bonin ◽  
Bagdat Burkhanbaiuly Teltayev
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
Transportation Systems ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Pavement Management ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Pavement Maintenance ◽  
Capital Costs

Pavement roads and transportation systems are crucial assets for promoting political stability, as well as economic and sustainable growth in developing countries. However, pavement maintenance backlogs and the high capital costs of road rehabilitation require the use of pavement evaluation tools to assure the best value of the investment. This research presents a methodology for analyzing the collected pavement data for the implementation of a network level pavement management program in Kazakhstan. This methodology, which could also be suitable in other developing countries’ road networks, focuses on the survey data processing to determine cost-effective maintenance treatments for each road section. The proposed methodology aims to support a decision-making process for the application of a strategic level business planning analysis, by extracting information from the survey data.

scholarly journals Global View of Biofuel Butanol and Economics of Its Production by Fermentation from Sweet Sorghum Bagasse, Food Waste, and Yellow Top Presscake: Application of Novel Technologies

Fermentation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
N. Qureshi ◽  
X. Lin ◽  
S. Liu ◽  
B. C. Saha ◽  
A. P. Mariano ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Waste ◽  
Sweet Sorghum ◽  
The United States ◽  
Product Recovery ◽  
Selling Price ◽  
Sweet Sorghum Bagasse ◽  
Capital Investments ◽  
Butanol Production ◽  
Total Capital ◽  
Sorghum Bagasse

Worldwide, there are various feedstocks such as straws, corn stover, sugarcane bagasse, sweet sorghum bagasse (SSB), grasses, leaves, whey permeate, household organic waste, and food waste (FW) that can be converted to valuable biofuels such as butanol. For the present studies, an economic analysis was performed to compare butanol production from three feedstocks (SSB; FW; and yellow top presscake, YTP or YT) using a standard process and an advanced integrated process design. The total plant capacity was set at 170,000–171,000 metric tons of total acetone butanol ethanol (ABE) per year (99,300 tons of just butanol per year). Butanol production from SSB typically requires pretreatment, separate hydrolysis, fermentation, and product recovery (SHFR). An advanced process was developed in which the last three steps were combined into a single unit operation for simultaneous saccharification, fermentation, and recovery (SSFR). For the SHFR and SSFR plants, the total capital investments were estimated as $213.72 × 106 and $198.16 × 106, respectively. It was further estimated that the minimum butanol selling price (using SSB as a feedstock) for the two processes were $1.14/kg and $1.05/kg. Therefore, SSFR lowered the production cost markedly compared to that of the base case. Butanol made using FW had an estimated minimum selling price of only $0.42/kg. This low selling price is because the FW to butanol process does not require pretreatment, hydrolysis, and cellulolytic enzymes. For this plant, the total capital investment was projected to be $107.26 × 106. The butanol selling price using YTP as a feedstock was at $0.73/kg and $0.79/kg with total capital investments for SSFR and SHFR of $122.58 × 106 and $132.21 × 106, respectively. In the Results and Discussion section, the availability of different feedstocks in various countries such as Brazil, the European Union, New Zealand, Denmark, and the United States are discussed. Additionally, the use of various microbial strains and product recovery technologies are also discussed.

scholarly journals Techno-Economic Implications of Fed-Batch Enzymatic Hydrolysis

Processes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 847 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellen Argo ◽  
Deepak R. Keshwani
Keyword(s):  
Enzymatic Hydrolysis ◽  
Ethanol Production ◽  
Process Simulation ◽  
Cellulosic Ethanol ◽  
Production Cost ◽  
Simulation Software ◽  
Labor Costs ◽  
Fed Batch ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Plant Capacity

Fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis has the potential to improve the overall process of converting cellulosic biomass into ethanol. This paper utilizes a process simulation approach to identify and quantify techno-economic differences between batch and fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis in cellulosic ethanol production. The entire process of converting corn stover into ethanol was simulated using SuperPro Designer simulation software. The analysis was conducted for a plant capacity of 2000 metric tons of dry biomass per day. A literature review was used to identify baseline parameters for the process. The sensitivity of the ethanol production cost to changes in sugar conversion efficiency, plant capacity, biomass cost, power cost, labor cost, and enzyme cost was evaluated using the process simulation. For the base scenario, the ethanol unit production cost was approximately $0.10/gallon lower for fed-batch hydrolysis. The greatest differences were seen in facilities costs, labor costs, and capital costs. Using a fed-batch operation decreased facilities costs by 41%, labor costs by 21%, and capital costs by 15%. The sensitivity analysis found that cost of biomass had the greatest effect on ethanol production cost, and in general, the results support the proposition that fed-batch enzymatic hydrolysis does improve the techno-economics of cellulosic ethanol production.

CANADA SHIPPING ACT PLANNING GUIDELINES: EQUIPMENT FOR A 2500-TON RESPONSE CAPABILITY

1997 ◽  
Vol 1997 (1) ◽  
pp. 439-442
Author(s):  
Todd Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Oil Spill ◽  
Case History ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Geographical Region ◽  
End User ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Practical Standpoint ◽  
Oil Spill Response ◽  
Equipment Component ◽  
Response Capability

ABSTRACT This paper presents a discussion of oil spill equipment selection from a practical standpoint. The specification of effective oil spill equipment is often a difficult task because of the wide array of commercially produced goods available to the end user. In addition, in various countries there exists little or no framework legislation that quantifies the equipment component in practical terms. This paper attests to the usefulness of the new Canada Shipping Act guidelines for the purposes of planning the equipment requirements for a predetermined potential spill quantity. Through the elaboration of a case history, it presents the development of an integrated 2500-ton oil spill response capability. Since response organizations under the new Canada Shipping Act regime are in effect commercial ventures rather than simply oil spill cooperatives, innovative and cost-effective solutions are necessary to maintain capital costs at a minimum. Although the equipment in the case history was commissioned directly as a response to the new Canadian standards, the important planning principles can be applied to any geographical region.

A cost-effective integrated process to convert solid-state fermented sweet sorghum bagasse into cellulosic ethanol

2014 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 331-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Menghui Yu ◽  
Jihong Li ◽  
Shizhong Li ◽  
Ran Du ◽  
Yan Jiang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Solid State ◽  
Cellulosic Ethanol ◽  
Sweet Sorghum ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Sweet Sorghum Bagasse ◽  
Integrated Process ◽  
Sorghum Bagasse

Synthesis and Properties of Al-Based Amorphous and Microcrystalline Thin Films

2001 ◽  
Vol 672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Ettl ◽  
Lothar Berger ◽  
Joachim W. Mrosk ◽  
Hans-Jörg Fecht
Keyword(s):  
Aluminum Alloys ◽  
High Vacuum ◽  
High Strength ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Electron Beam Evaporation ◽  
Substantial Improvement ◽  
Ultra High Vacuum ◽  
Metal Alloys ◽  
Alloy Thin Film ◽  
Polycrystalline Aluminum

ABSTRACTAmorphous metal alloys are ideally suited for interconnects in micro-electromechanical sys- tems (MEMS) because of their resistance against stress- and electromigration, and their stability in chemically aggressive environments, which should both lead to a substantial improvement of lifetime and reliability of robust sensors. While amorphous refractory metal alloys and amor- phous silicides are excellent interconnect materials for devices operating at elevated tempera- tures, these systems lack the cost-effective and easy interconnect processing of the prevalent polycrystalline aluminum alloy metallizations. Amorphous aluminum alloys are applicable to devices operating at up to 200°C, and their stressmigration resistance and chemical stability is far superior to conventional polycrystalline aluminum alloys. These new metallizations are very promising for processing interconnects, in particular because of their high strength and ductility, though having low density, and their relatively low electrical resistivity compared to other amor- phous metal alloys. Therefore these metallizations are especially suited for surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors, where the interconnects are exposed to considerable mechanical strains. In this work amorphous Aluminum Yttrium alloy thin film metallizations deposited on appropriate sub- strates at room temperature (R.T.) by ultra-high vacuum (UHV) electron beam evaporation will be presented, and their mechanical and electronic properties together with their temperature sta- bility will be investigated.

A Model for the Economic Evaluation of Plantation Biomass Production for Co-firing with Coal in Electricity Production

1999 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Nienow ◽  
Kevin T. McNamara ◽  
Andrew R. Gillespie ◽  
Paul V. Preckel
Keyword(s):  
Power Plant ◽  
Biomass Production ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Woody Biomass ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Variable Cost ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Fuel Blending ◽  
Ash Disposal

Public and private electric utilities are considering co-firing biomass with coal as a strategy to reduce the levels of CO2, SO2 and NOx in stack emissions, as well as a response to state legislative mandates requiring the use of renewable fuels. This analysis examines the conditions under which biomass co-firing is economically feasible for utilities and woody biomass producers and describes additional environmental and community benefits associated with biomass use. This paper presents a case study of woody biomass production and co-firing at the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) Michigan City Unit No. 12 power plant. A Salix (willow) production budget was created to assess the feasibility of plantation tree production to supply biomass to the utility for fuel blending. A GAMS model was developed to examine the optimal co-firing blend of coal and biomass while minimizing variable cost, including the cost of ash disposal and material procurement costs. The model is constrained by the levels of pollution produced. This model is used to examine situations where coal is the primary fuel and waste wood, willow trees, or both are available for fuel blending. Capital costs for co-firing were estimated outside of the model and are incorporated into the total cost of co-firing. The results indicate that under certain circumstances it is cost-effective for the power plant to co-fire biomass. Sensitivity analysis is used to test biomass price sensitivity and explores the effects of potential public policies on co-firing.

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