Feedstock costs

Chemical Marketing Reporter 252, No.26, 29th Dee. 1997, p.1/8 DEPOLYMERISATION GETS THE NOD AS ROUTE TO LOW-COST FEEDSTOCK Brand T... 

Production this way is thus complex and time consuming, therefore generating an extremely expensive material. Even if new and low-cost feedstocks are applied successfully in future, fermentative synthesis will remain high priced due to this work-up process, which cannot compete with a simple poly(olefin) production (Fig. 9). 

The choice by a company for a sustainable or a petrochemical source of an ingredient will depend on various aspects, but cost will be the primary driving force. Availability of a low-cost feedstock is crucial, but also the available and appropriate technology in the company will have a large influence on this decision. 

Although the direct oxidation of ethane to acetic acid is of increasing interest as an alternative route to acetic acid synthesis because of low-cost feedstock, this process has not been commercialized because state-of-the-art catalyst systems do not have sufficient activity and/or selectivity to acetic acid. A two-week high-throughput scoping effort (primary screening only) was run on this chemistry. The workflow for this effort consisted of a wafer-based automated evaporative synthesis station and parallel microfluidic reactor primary screen. If this were to be continued further, secondary scale hardware, an evaporative synthesis workflow as described above and a 48-channel fixed-bed reactor for screening, would be used. 

Commodity chemical companies should use this approach to evaluate their prospects. Those with high cost positions that will become vulnerable should consider their exit options. However, due to limited supply of low-cost feedstocks for many chemicals in the short-to-medium term, many high-cost producers in traditional producing regions should continue to see returns - if evaluated across multiple cycles - that are satisfactory. 

Producers also need to look out for ways to take advantage of new technology developments that will enable them to access low-cost feedstock. As mentioned above, these include MTO technology using "stranded natural gas, the revived interest in coal-based production, and bioprocessing. 

Early introductions of bio-based products have shown that few customers are willing to pay a high green premium. For broad-based adoption, new products must be competitive with existing offerings. In this context, the use of alternative low-cost feedstock could give industrial biotech another boost. 

The use of biomass as an alternative low-cost feedstock is still in its infancy, but could boost industrial biotech much further, and change the landscape of chemical and fuel production. To make biorefmeries work, however, industry players and governments will need to invest and collaborate to create an entirely new value chain. 

Ethanol can also be produced from "non-food" materials, such as garbage or wastewater sludge, which are "negative-cost" feedstocks. If all American wastes (industrial and municipal) were converted to biofuels, not only would some 50 to 100 million gallons of fuel be obtained, but the emission of methane from landfills and other wastes would also be eliminated. Plasma gasification, a commercially available process, can also simultaneously increase the fuel supply and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

In the future, developing nations are expected to continue to account for most of the increases in ammonia and urea capacity. Ammonia capacity is expected to increase by about 20 million tonnes and urea capacity by about 12 million tonnes of nitrogen between 1996 and 2002. The availability of relatively low-cost feedstock (usually natural gas) will be a major determinant as to where this new capacity is installed. Ammonium nitrate and ammonium phosphate capacity are also expected to rise35. The following tables summarize anticipated world capacity for nitrogen products by year (Table 3.1) and by major regions or countries (Table 3.2)148. 

The process can accept a wide range of low-cost feedstocks, such as ethylene, chlorinated C2 hydrocarbons, and by-product streams from VCM chloromethanes, methyl chloroform, and EDC plants. The product ratio of trichloroethylene to perchloroethylene can be adjusted over a wide range. 

Progress in fermentation processes and identification of lower cost feedstock for manufacture of PHA products to provide lower material costs. 

PHB producers expect continued progress in fermentation processes and identification of lower cost feedstock to provide more reasonable material costs for niche markets. Longer term, crop-based production has potential to drive PHB costs to more competitive levels from improved productivity. P G for example, is investigating the manufacture of Nodax by plant-grown methods. The supplier states that this method could reduce Nodax prices to between 1.0-2.0 per kg. 

Another opportunity for advancement in ethylbenzene synthesis is in the development of liquid phase processes that can handle low cost feedstocks, including dilute ethylene such as ethane/ethylene mixtures. The use of dilute ethylene has become increasingly attractive since it has the potential to debottleneck ethylene crackers. Currently higher temperature, vapor phase technologies can tolerate contaminants that enter with the dilute ethylene feed from FCC units. However, these same contaminants can accelerate catalyst aging in lower temperature, liquid phase operations because they are more strongly adsorbed at the lower temperatures. Acid catalysts that tolerate elevated levels of contaminants would facilitate the development of dilute ethylene-based processes. These same catalysts could be useful in applications where lower cost or lower quality benzene feeds are all that are available. 

Sugar Beet Syrup and Molasses as Low-cost Feedstock for Fructooligosaccharide Synthesis... 

As a result of the need for acid-resistant alloys and other equipment required for acid esterification, the process is typically more capital intensive than base trans-esterification. The higher capital costs associated with the use of acidic catalysts are usually offset by the ability of the process to accept lower cost feedstocks (1). Acidic catalysts may be used to recover soap byproducts of alkali-catalyst based tra i-esterification processes (3, 71). In these processes, acid is used to convert soap to free fatty acids and then to esters (see below). 

Variable operating cost Feedstock Electricity Catalyst Sludge disposal Fuel cost Total ... 

Because the conventional EB dehydrogenation technologies are relatively mature, there is little room for significant additional reduction in production costs. This situation has motivated a lot of research toward using alternative, lower cost feedstocks for styrene production. One area that has been examined involves a two-step process to convert butadiene to styrene. 

According to the open literature, other solid acid alkylation catalysts are generally susceptible to poisoning/deactivation by water and other common feed impurities (e.g., oxygenates, sulfur compounds, dienes, etc.), thus necessitating (potentially costly) feedstock pretreatment for their removal. In some cases, this requirement is further mandated by the potential corrosion problems associated with the use of halogens in the catalyst system. 

Two projects were awarded under the EECP solicitation. The first one was with WMPI (Waste Management Processors, Inc.) and the other with Texaco Energy Systems LLC. Both projects are aimed at coproducing CTL fuels and electric power from coal and low-cost feedstocks using proprietary iron catalysts. They are to be sited adjacent to existing infrastructures to help reduce the capital costs. Highlights of these two projects are discussed below. 

Control of reactivity by catalysis provides the capability to shift to lower cost feedstocks. In the twentieth century, advances in catalysis have allowed the substitution of acetylene with olefins and subsequently with synthesis gas as primary feedstocks. For example, production of acrylic acid, traditionally produced by the Reppe process from acetylene and CO, has now been replaced by catalytic oxidation of propylene. The emergence of paraffins, the hydrocarbon feedstock of the future, will depend on development of catalysts for selective alkane C-H activation (2). 

Tmp grease" was also evaluated as a low-cost feedstock for hydrogen production, via catalytic steam reforming. The suitable process conditions are similar to those for natural gas reforming. At 850°C,... 

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