Processing cost, reducing

In 1987, Toray Industries, Inc., announced the development of a new process for making aromatic nitriles which reportedly halved the production cost, reduced waste treatment requirements, and reduced production time by more than two-thirds, compared with the vapor-phase process used by most producers. The process iavolves the reaction of ben2oic acid (or substituted ben2oic acid) with urea at 220—240°C ia the presence of a metallic catalyst (78). 

Solvent extraction removes chlorophyll and other pigments to give a light-colored product but increases processing costs. Furthermore, solvent extraction removes p-carotene and reduces vitamin A activity (89) (see Terpenoids Vitamins). Supercritical CO2 extraction at 30 and 70 MPa (4,350 and 10,150 psi) and 40°C removed 90 and 70% carotene and lutein, respectively, from alfalfa LPC (96). This process avoids organic solvent residues and recovers valuable by-products. 

Distillation processes typically reduce the IDS concentration to levels weU below the required specifications. Because the product water from the two processes is combined, the RO process can produce water at higher I DS concentrations and stiU meet the potable water specifications. In addition, the power produced from the MSF process can be used in the RO process, cutting energy costs. 

Economic evaluations of waste-reduction options should involve a comparison of operating costs to illustrate where cost savings would accrue. For example, a waste-reduction measure that reduces the amount of raw material lost down the drain during the process will reduce raw-material costs. Raw-material substitution or process changes may reduce the amount of solid waste that must be transported offsite, reducing the transport costs for waste disposal. 

Strong elongational deformation and use of matrix polymers whose viscosity is higher than that of TLCP phase are better to ensure uniform and fine fibril formation. But application of compatibilizing techniques to in situ composite preparation can be useful to get the most desirable products. These can reduce the high costs of the liquid crystalline polymers and expensive special engineering plastics used for the in situ composite preparation and reduce the processing cost, whereas they can increase the performance of produced in situ composites, hence, their applications, too. 

For instance, in 1996, 3M company announced a breakthrough in the process for making medical adhesive tapes, a process that reduces energy consumption by 77 percent. The new process also cuts solvent use by 2.4 million pounds, lowers manufacturing costs, and cuts mannfacturing cycle time by 25 percent. The proprietary process took researchers nine years from conception through final implementation. 

Costs of downstream processing for bioprocesses are increased by 1) low concentrations of products, 2) numerous impurities at low concentration and 3) intracellular materials (if cell disruption is necessary). However, the high specificity of biocatalysts is a benefit to downstream processing since products closely related to the desired product are less likely to be present Waste products of bioprocesses are likely to be less environmentally damaging, which also reduces downstream processing costs. 

TCM uses an approach to cost estimating in which each of the elements that contribute to the total cost is estimated individually. These individual estimates are derived from basic principles and the manufacturing process. This reduces the complex problem of cost analysis to a series of simpler estimating problems and brings processing expertise rather than intuition to bear on solving these problems. 

In the preceding chapters some of the main chemical developments that can help reduce waste, lower harmful emissions, improve process efficiency and generally aid development of more sustainable products and processes were discussed. In this and the following chapter the focus will be more on those aspects of technology that can lead to improved process and energy efficiency as well as process cost reduction. 

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