Alternative Feedstocks Program

SOURCE U.S. Department of Energy, Alternative Feedstocks Program Assessment, July 1993... 

Alternative Feedstocks Program Technical and Economic Assessment,... 

Bozell, J. J. Landucci, R. eds.. Alternative Feedstocks Program Technical and Economic Assessment Thermal/Chemical and Bioprocessing Components, available from the author at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1993. 

Bozell, J.J. Landucci, R. Alternative Feedstocks Program Techtdcal and Economic Assessment, ThermaUChemical and Bioprocessing Components. U.S. Department of Energy Washington, D.C., 1993. 

Production costs per tonne of base oil are calculated by dividing the total annual costs by the total annual production of base oils. Net feedstock cost can be calculated in several ways, but it will not necessarily be identical to the cost of crude oil. As the base oil plant in a sense competes with fuel production units for feedstock, the basic feedstock cost to the lubricant base oil complex should be determined by the alternative value of that feedstock if it were used to make mainstream fuels products. The by-products of base oil manufacture also have values for blending into fuel streams or in some cases for direct sale as speciality products, such as waxes and bitumen. Credit must be given for these products so that the net value of the hydrocarbon content of the base oil can be calculated. Refineries use sophisticated linear programming computer models to optimise refinery operations based on different crude oil input, process yields, market prices, production targets, etc. 

In the recent past, there have been intense efforts aimed at developing alternatives to oil-based chemicals and polymers to reduce reliance on petroleum and namral gas (Stewart 2007). Biomass is the feedstock of the biobased economy, and, in practice, this means the use of com and soybeans (for polyurethanes), although the hope is to eventually utilize agricultural and forest residues. Enzymes or microbial action are employed to convert biomass into useful chemicals and plastics. All the major plastic companies have initiated research programs in this area (Reisch 2002). 

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