Economic Feasibility of Corn Stover Torrefaction for Distributed Processing Systems

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan R. Almberg ◽  
Michael P. Twedt ◽  
Christina Gerometta ◽  
Stephen P. Gent
Keyword(s):  
Corn Stover ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Distributed Processing ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Product Price ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Wide Range

This study investigated the economic feasibility of distributed or decentralized torrefaction bio-refining using corn stover feedstock to generate value added products. Distributed bio-refining systems would be able to operate on private farm and commercial scales, eliminating the need for large capital investment for large processing facilities and decreasing logistical concerns for harvesting and marketing corn stover. A techno-economic model was developed to analyze the economics of harvesting techniques, logistics, processing requirements, and end product utilization. With the model, a base case analysis was established to analyze average values and to create a basis in which to compare a variety of economic scenarios. A sensitivity analysis was also completed to investigate outcomes based on variability of crop yields and product price, as well as costs associated with harvesting stover, input for operating the torrefaction system, and capital costs of equipment. Results of the analyses were quantified with respect to input costs required to generate torrefied products, potential profit of processed products, and the payback period of the production and conversion system. Preliminary results indicated that processing corn stover feedstock within a distribution torrefaction bio-refining system had high potential, in terms of economic feasibility, over a wide range of scenarios. Results indicated that payback periods as low as five years were possible under a wide variety of applications and operating costs. In addition to operating economically, it was also shown that end products could have increasing profit potential as a value added product.

scholarly journals Forecasting the economic effect from state stimulation of internal demand for automobiles

2020 ◽  
pp. 28-31
Author(s):  
Inna SHEVCHENKO
Keyword(s):  
Capital Investment ◽  
Effective Interaction ◽  
Economic Effect ◽  
Production Capacity ◽  
Value Added ◽  
The State ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Value Added Tax ◽  
State Budget ◽  
Stimulation Of

Effective interaction of the state with automobile manufacturers should be based on mutually beneficial conditions, and the result of such cooperation should have a concrete economic effect. Today Ukrainian automakers need the state support for stimulating the domestic demand for their products. The purpose of the paper is to forecaste the economic effect of state stimulation of internal demand for domestic automobiles. Results. The article tested the methodological tools for forecasting the economic effect of state stimulation of internal demand for domestic automobiles. Ukraine is characterized by a situation where the initial demand and the demand expected due to the state stimulation is less than the production capacity of automotive enterprises. This situation does not require additional capital investment in extensive expansion of production, but may require investment in the revitalization of fixed assets. The economic effect of the state stimulation of internal demand for domestic automobiles has been determined for the period 2020-2024, as for the automotive enterprises (PrAT “Promavtoinvest”, сorporation “Bogdan”, PrAT “Ievrokar”, PrAT “AvtoKrAZ”, PrAT “BAZ”, PrAT “Chasivoiarski avtobusy”, PrAT “Chernihivskyi avtozavod”, PAT “Cherkaskyi avtobus”) in the form of net profit, as well as for the state in the form of replenishment of the State budget as a result of payment by the automakers of the value added tax and the enterprises profit tax. In case of state stimulation of internal demand for domestic automobiles Ukrainian automotive enterprises will receive a total economic effect of 137.47 million UAH in the period 2020-2024. As a result of the state stimulation of internal demand for domestic automobiles in the period 2020-2024 automakers will be paid to the State budget 15613.60 million UAH, including 13618.31 million UAH in the form of value added tax and 1995.29 million UAH in the form of enterprises profit tax. Conclusion. The results of the research confirmed the economic feasibility of the state stimulation of internal demand for domestic automobiles in Ukraine.

Impact of Operating Regime on Economic Performamnce of Combined Cycle Power Plants

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mircea Fetescu
Keyword(s):  
Economic Performance ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Operating Regime ◽  
Combined Cycle ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Base Load

It is accepted that CCPP has the highest fuel conversion efficiency among fossil fuel fired generation technologies. The extensive installed base of CCPP worldwide is justified by additional advantages: low capital investment, short construction time, low environmental impact and high operating flexibility. The operating flexibility, with fast loading and deloading and short start-up and shutdown durations, allows CCPPs to fulfill a wide range of operating duties, such cycling, intermediate load to base load, grid frequency or voltage control and part load operation; mostly on a competitively generated cost basis. The traditional approach to CCPP development is to design an optimised plant, taking into consideration the technical and economic boundary conditions of a specific project. This includes assumptions for operating regime: base load, intermediate load or cycling with daily start-up and shutdown. In a deregulated environment, plants are dispatched on merit. The assumptions related to operating regime and used for optimising the configuration of a particular CCPP, often deviate significantly during commercial operation. The objective of this work is to evaluate the impact of the operating regime on CCPP economic performance. During the economic feasibility evaluation of a power project it is frequently considered that the main factors affecting the electricity generation cost, are capital cost and fuel cost. As far as the operating regime is concerned, a number for yearly operating hours is then assumed and eventually sensitivity is considered. The content of this work is an investigation on how the capital, fuel and O&M costs, components of the generation costs, are affected by the utilisation factor, by operating modes and loads, frequency and duration of start-up and shudown [s&s] of the plant. The conclusion of the paper is that both, operating regime and operating procedure have an important impact on economic performance of combined cycle plants. Annual operating hours and the number of s&s influence the factors which contribute to the profitability and competitiveness of the plant, such as EOH, availability, performance degradation, O&M costs and directly the average plant output and efficiency. Finally the economic performance of combined cycle plants can be significantly improved by re-visiting the conceptual design and the operating concept.

scholarly journals Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) Production: A Feasible Economic Option for the Treatment of Sewage Sludge in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants?

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dafne Crutchik ◽  
Oscar Franchi ◽  
Luis Caminos ◽  
David Jeison ◽  
Marisol Belmonte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Anaerobic Sludge ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

Sludge is a by-product of municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and its management contributes significantly to the operating costs. Large WWTPs usually have anaerobic sludge digesters to valorize sludge as methane and to reduce its mass. However, the low methane market price opens the possibility for generating other high value-added products from the organic matter in sludge, such as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). In this work, the economic feasibility of retrofitting two types of WWTPs to convert them into biofactories of crude PHAs was studied. Two cases were analyzed: (a) a large WWTP with anaerobic sludge digestion; and (b) a small WWTP where sludge is only dewatered. In a two-stage PHA-production system (biomass enrichment plus PHAs accumulation), the minimum PHAs cost would be 1.26 and 2.26 US$/kg PHA-crude for the large and small WWTPs, respectively. In a single-stage process, where a fraction of the secondary sludge (25%) is directly used to accumulate PHAs, the production costs would decrease by around 15.9% (small WWTPs) and 19.0% (large WWTPs), since capital costs associated with bioreactors decrease. Sensitivity analysis showed that the PHA/COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand) yield is the most crucial parameter affecting the production costs. The energy, methane, and sludge management prices also have an essential effect on the production costs, and their effect depends on the WWTP’s size.

A Fair Comparison Between Five Co2 Capture Technologies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amélie Cécile Martin ◽  
François Lacouture ◽  
Philip Llewellyn ◽  
Laurent Mariac
Keyword(s):  
Global Warming ◽  
Co2 Capture ◽  
Flue Gas ◽  
Carbon Capture ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Case Scenario ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
And Storage

Abstract To curtail the global warming increase to less than 2°C by 2050, the IPCC highlights Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) as a vital approach. TotalEnergies, following its ambition to become a responsible energy major, invests 10% of its R&D budget in CCUS to reduce the global process cost and help decarbonize our activities. TotalEnergies is both working to decarbonize its own assets and developing a transport and storage infrastructure in Europe, with notably Northern Lights an example of note. It is equally of interest how this transport/storage infrastructure can be of use for other sectors and as such how various full CCUS chains may emerge. This explains the interest to develop techno-economic tools to evaluate CO2 capture processes applied to a wide range of industries. CO2 that is an integral part of the manufacturing process, is particularly difficult to abate in any future scenario, and one particular industry, which is facing such a challenge is the cement sector. CCUS has been identified as a potential solution to help with this issue. The present paper outlines the outcomes of a techno-economic study evaluating CO2 capture technologies based on cement factory retrofitting. A literature review aimed at identifying the main characteristics of a typical European cement plant (capacity, process mode, pollutant composition in the flue gas…) was carried out. In this paper, a base case scenario of 90% absorption-based CO2 capture with monoethanolamine (MEA) is compared with four alternative CO2 capture approaches: –An absorption technology based on non-amine solvent.–An adsorption technology based on a Concentration Swing Adsorption process.–An oxyfuel technology derived from the R&D works performed during the CEMCAP project (European CO2 capture project).–A Calcium Looping technology with tail-end process configuration. For each of these approaches, the whole carbon capture chain has been considered: this includes flue gas pretreatment, CO2 conditioning (including compression), steam generation, and utilities. Using process simulations, engineering studies have been carried out and have provided Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) such as Capital Costs, Operation Costs and Global Warming Potential (primary energy consumption per ton of CO2 avoided). It enabled mapping the technologies with regards to the cost and volume of CO2 avoided, as well as providing for each of the technologies the break-even point for an eventual CO2 tax. Based on these KPIs, several facts have been highlighted: –The need to consider the whole process (including utilities, compression…) and not only the capture unit.–The development of new materials for adsorption and contactor design is already driving down costs.–The availability of waste heat can be a game-changer to implement a CO2 capture technology.–Technology comparisons are location and site-specific and cannot be taken as a basis for concept selection. TotalEnergies approach to CCUS is collaborative. With these full-scale techno-economical assessments, generated via quotations from industrial equipment providers and using Engineering, Procurement and Construction standards, this not only gives a basis for comparison, but also assists our discussions with partners to identify key technological development pathways.

scholarly journals Piggyback as an element of the agricultural products supply to the world market

2019 ◽  
pp. 74-79
Author(s):  
T. Larina ◽  
A. Litvinov ◽  
O. Potyshnyak
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chains ◽  
Value Added ◽  
World Market ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Agricultural Products ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The World ◽  
Agricultural Supply

The purpose of the presented research is to analyze the prospects of piggyback in improving the efficiency of or-ganization of agricultural supply chains to the world market. Ukraine is characterized by a high level of logistical com-ponent in transportation of agricultural products, which actualizes the issue of managed transformations in this field. The arguments and counterarguments on the viability of the strategy of using piggyback in the practice of build-ing a supply chain in the context of the agrarian market are analyzed. The basis of the formation of the author's vision is based on the criterion of economic feasibility. Attention was paid to the potential of piggyback in mitigating the situa-tion in the organization of agricultural supply chains by reducing: the need for storage capacities, expanding the range of exporting entities, smoothing the situation of shortages of hopper wagons. At the same time, the actual updating of the piggyback mechanism is connected with the change of the structure of Ukrainian agro-export, in the transition from the practice of raw material appendage to the strategy of creation of production chains with high added value. It is noted that the key feature of agro-logistics is the objective need to form highly specialized segments within it. Each group of a wide range of agricultural products requires an individual, non-uniform approach in the logistics of intermodal trans-portation. Piggyback is recognized as a promising direction for the development of the logistics services market in Ukraine. However, their implementation in the practice of organizing agricultural supply chains has objective limita-tions. The segment agricultural group where piggyback is economically viable includes high-value elite agricultural products with a small average export batch, as well as high value-added agro-industrial products. Key words: world market, piggyback, supply chains, international logistics, agricultural products, exports.

scholarly journals Environmental and Economic Assessment of Portable Systems: Production of Wood-Briquettes and Torrefied-Briquettes to Generate Heat and Electricity

Fuels ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-366
Author(s):  
Kamalakanta Sahoo ◽  
Sevda Alanya-Rosenbaum ◽  
Richard Bergman ◽  
Dalia Abbas ◽  
E. M. (Ted) Bilek
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Economic Assessment ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Electricity Production ◽  
Base Case ◽  
Forest Residues ◽  
Total Cost ◽  
Capital Costs

This study assessed the environmental impacts and economic feasibility of generating heat using wood-briquettes (WBs), and heat and electricity using torrefied-wood-briquettes (TWBs). WBs and TWBs were manufactured from forest residues using portable systems and delivered to either residential consumers or power plants in the United States. An integrated cradle-to-grave life-cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) approach was used to quantify environmental impacts and minimum-selling prices (MSPs) of heat and electricity, respectively. Results illustrated that 82% and 59% of the cradle-to-grave global warming (GW) impact of producing heat resulted from the feedstock preparation in WBs and torrefaction in TWBs, respectively. About 46–54% of total cost in the production of heat were from labor and capital costs only. The GW impact of electricity production with TWBs was dominated by the torrefaction process (48% contribution). Capital cost (50%) was a major contributor to the total cost of electricity production using TWBs. The GW impacts of producing heat were 7–37 gCO₂eq/MJ for WBs, and 14–51 gCO₂eq/MJ for TWBs, whereas producing electricity using TWBs was 146–443 gCO₂eq/kWhe. MSPs of generating heat from WBs and TWBs were €1.09–€1.73 and €1.60–€2.26/MJ, respectively, whereas the MSP of electricity from TWBs was €20–€25/kWhe. Considering carbon and pile-burn credits, MSPs of heat and electricity were reduced by 60–90% compared to the base-case.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT OF BIO-ECONOMY IN THE FOOD AND TOURISM INDUSTRY

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 1681-1684
Author(s):  
Georgi Toskov ◽  
Ana Yaneva ◽  
Stanko Stankov ◽  
Hafize Fidan
Keyword(s):  
National Level ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Small Companies ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Strategic Development ◽  
Innovation Potential ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Foreign Brands ◽  
Value Added Products

The European Commission defines the bioeconomy as "the production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of these resources and waste streams into value added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products and bioenergy. Its sectors and industries have strong innovation potential due to their use of a wide range of sciences, enabling and industrial technologies, along with local and implied knowledge." The Bulgarian food industry faces a lot of challenges on the local and national level, which have direct influence on the structure of the production companies. Most of the enterprises from the food sector produce under foreign brands in order to be flexible partners to the large Bulgarian retail chains. The small companies from the food sector are not able to develop as an independent competitive producer on the territory of their local markets. This kind of companies rarely has a working strategy for positioning on new markets. In order to consolidate their already built positions for long period of time, the producers are trying to optimize their operations in a short term. However, the unclear vision of the companies for the business segment does not allow them to fully develop. Tourism in Bulgaria is a significant contributor to the country's economy.

Assessment of the Role of Different Soil Properties on Crust Strength by Linear Regression Models

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (04) ◽  
Author(s):  
MINAKSHI SERAWAT ◽  
V K PHOGAT ◽  
ANIL Abdul KAPOOR ◽  
VIJAY KANT SINGH ◽  
ASHA SERAWAT
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Crop Yields ◽  
Modulus Of Rupture ◽  
Silty Clay ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Dispersion Ratio ◽  
Crust Strength

Soil crust strength influences seedling emergence, penetration and morphology of plant roots, and, consequently, crop yields. A study was carried out to assess the role of different soil properties on crust strength atHisar, Haryana, India. The soil samples from 0-5 and 5-15 cm depths were collected from 21 locations from farmer’s fields, having a wide range of texture.Soil propertieswere evaluated in the laboratory and theirinfluence on the modulus of rupture (MOR), which is the measure of crust strength, was evaluated.The MOR of texturally different soils was significantly correlated with saturated hydraulic conductivity at both the depths. Dispersion ratio was found to decrease with an increase in fineness of the texture of soil and the lowest value was recorded in silty clay loam soil,which decreased with depth. The modulus of rupture was significantly negatively correlative with the dispersion ratio.There was no role of calcium carbonate in influencing the values of MOR of soils. Similarly,the influence of pH, EC and SAR of soil solution on MOR was non-significant.A perusal of thevalues of the correlations between MOR and different soil properties showed that the MOR of soils of Haryana are positively correlated with silt + clay (r = 0.805) followed by water-stable aggregates (r = 0.774), organic carbon (r = 0.738), silt (r = 0.711), mean weight diameter (r = 0.608) and clay (r = 0.593) while negatively correlated with dispersion ratio (r = - 0.872), sand (r = -0.801) and hydraulic conductivity (r = -0.752) of soils.

scholarly journals Effects of a Twin-Screw Extruder Equipped with a Molten Resin Reservoir on the Mechanical Properties and Microstructure of Recycled Waste Plastic Polyethylene Pellet Moldings

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 1058
Author(s):  
Hikaru Okubo ◽  
Haruka Kaneyasu ◽  
Tetsuya Kimura ◽  
Patchiya Phanthong ◽  
Shigeru Yao
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Mechanical Performance ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Industrial Applications ◽  
Twin Screw Extruder ◽  
Screw Extruder ◽  
Polymer Properties ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Twin Screw ◽  
Recycled Plastics

Each year, increasing amounts of plastic waste are generated, causing environmental pollution and resource loss. Recycling is a solution, but recycled plastics often have inferior mechanical properties to virgin plastics. However, studies have shown that holding polymers in the melt state before extrusion can restore the mechanical properties; thus, we propose a twin-screw extruder with a molten resin reservoir (MSR), a cavity between the screw zone and twin-screw extruder discharge, which retains molten polymer after mixing in the twin-screw zone, thus influencing the polymer properties. Re-extruded recycled polyethylene (RPE) pellets were produced, and the tensile properties and microstructure of virgin polyethylene (PE), unextruded RPE, and re-extruded RPE moldings prepared with and without the MSR were evaluated. Crucially, the elongation at break of the MSR-extruded RPE molding was seven times higher than that of the original RPE molding, and the Young’s modulus of the MSR-extruded RPE molding was comparable to that of the virgin PE molding. Both the MSR-extruded RPE and virgin PE moldings contained similar striped lamellae. Thus, MSR re-extrusion improved the mechanical performance of recycled polymers by optimizing the microstructure. The use of MSRs will facilitate the reuse of waste plastics as value-added materials having a wide range of industrial applications.

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