Entrainer pricing

The annual cost of this stream is not only related to its flowrate but also related to the entrainer pricing. Ethyl acetate is the cheapest and isobutyl acetate is the most expensive entrainer. With the knowledge of the entrainer pricing and the calculation of the makeup flowrates for the three systems, the entrainer cost can be estimated as seen in Table 9.13, even without any rigorous simulation. 

Produced from Co l. Estimates of the cost of producing methanol from coal have been made by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (12,17) and they are more uncertain than those using natural gas. Experience in coal-to-methanol faciUties of the type and size that would offer the most competitive product is limited. The projected costs of coal-derived methanol are considerably higher than those of methanol produced from natural gas. The cost of the production faciUty accounts for most of the increase (11). Coal-derived methanol is not expected to compete with gasoline unless oil prices exceed 0.31/L ( 50/bbl). Successful development of lower cost entrained gasification technologies could reduce the cost so as to make coal-derived methanol competitive at oil prices as low as 0.25/L ( 40/bbl) (17) (see Coal conversion processes). 

A change in the supply situation of Vinsol resin with a commensurate price increase as well as the more widespread use of supplementary materials led almost all admixture companies to reformulate their air-entraining agents using synthetic or alternative natural products such as tall oil or rosins. In a period of about 2 years, a product that had been in dominant use for 40 years was relegated to a lesser role in the industry. 

The cost of the production facility accounts for most of the increase (11). Coal-derived methanol is not expected to compete with gasoline unless oil prices exceed 0.31/L ( 50/bbl). Successful development of lower cost entrained gasification technologies could reduce the cost so as to make coal-derived methanol competitive at oil prices as low as 0.25/L ( 40/bbl) (17) (see Coal conversion processes). 

The Great Plains Gasification Project—located in Beulah, ND, and now owned by Basin Electric, headquartered in Bismarck, ND—employs 14 Lurgi coal gasifiers in a 2.2 billion (1984 prices) project that has been in operation for nearly twenty years (Fig. 6-2). More advanced entrained-flow gasifiers dominate today s market, so this facility is not state of the art. 

It is worth mentioning that, apart from the important factors above relating to the phase equilibrium behavior, other factors such as thermally stable, nontoxic, low price, and other physical properties should also be considered in the entrainer selection. A good paper by Gmehling and Mollmann used four examples to demonstrate the entrainer selection procedure for extractive and azeotropic distillation. 

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