Cost versus production scale

Figure 19 Relative plant cost versus production capacity of small-scale LNG plants relative to state-of-the-art base-load LNG plants.

With a tight production timeline, we chose to move forward with Silicycle Thiourea, which offered good Pd removal and filterability, albeit at a higher cost. In subsequent process development work the progress of Pd removal versus time was evaluated at both room temperature and 65°C. Results are shown in Figure 5.3 for 3 g scale reactions with 30% w/w Silicycle Thiourea. Pd removal was not only faster at elevated temperature but also more Pd was removed. 

Manual versus Automatic Control Dryers can be controlled either manually or automatically. Generally lab-, pilot-, and small-scale production units are controlled manually. These operations are usualy batch systems, and manual operation provides lower cost and greater flexibility. The preferred mode for large-scale, continuous dryers is automatic. 

The practical advantages of the biocatalytic versus the classical procedure at large-scale consist of a) a reduced number of steps in the biocatalytic reaction (1 step) versus the classical organic resolution (5 steps), b) reduced production costs compared with the resolution with brucine, c) a reduced reactor volume of only 20%, d) improved environmental, health and safety conditions, because no toxic agent is involved, and e) expanded volume capacity, because no investment in additional equipment is necessary with a 5-fold scale-up. 

Another consideration for the scale of a process is batch versus continuous. Batch processes limit production to the size and number of batches that can be produced in a given amount of time. Continuous production allows for uninterrupted operation, with the production rate controlled by the throughput of the equipment. The atomization and coextrusion technologies are the most common continuous encapsulation processes. Spray-coating processes are available as both batch and continuous. The emulsion-based processes are limited to batch processing, which is the basis for their increased operating costs over most of the physical processes. 

Oil and oil fractions, phenols, tocopherols and peptides are all of interest to the canola/oilseed rape processing industry for their potential use in functional food products and nutraceuticals. The successful use of ultrasound-assisted extraction of these components in various plant or tissue systems demonstrates that ultrasound-assisted extraction is a viable alternative for the canola/oilseed rape industry for the recovery of value-added products from whole seeds, hulls and press cakes. However, due to limited research on pilot-scale application, it is difficult to model cost advantages of ultrasound-assisted extraction versus conventional solvent extraction when applied to commodity oilseed processing. 

---