Steam continued costs

In addition to the fixed capital investment needed to purchase and install process equipment and auxiliaries, there is a continuous expenditure referred to as operating cost, which is needed to operate the process. The operating cost (or manufacturing cost or production cost) includes raw materials, mass-separating agents, utilities (fuel, electricity, steam, water, refrigerants, air, etc.), catalysts, additives, labor, and maintenance. The total annualized cost of a process is defined as follows ... 

The centrifugal compressor is well established for the compression of gases and vapors. It has proven its economy and uniqueness in many applications, particularly in which large volumes are handled at medium pressures. This compressor is particularly adaptable to steam turbine or other continuous speed change drives, as the two principles of operation and control are quite compatible. It is also adaptable to the electric motor, gas engine, and gas turbine with each installation being specific to a particular problem or process. Installation as well as operating costs can be quite reasonable. 

Further savings can be made by the use of a suitable blowdown (BD) water flash steam and heat recovery (FSHR) system. Such systems are standard equipment on large power boilers but are less common on smaller plant. However, the FS component (and often the HR component as well) can usually be justified for smaller systems because the capital cost payback of such equipment generally is less than 12 months and such systems continue to save fuel and high-quality water year after year. 

The main distillation types include atmospheric, vacuum, steam, azeotropic, extractive, and pressure distillation [45]. AU of these distillation methods can be carried out in a batch or continuous marmer with the exception of extractive distillation, which is solely continuous by nature. Gomplex solvent systems often require the use of multiple distillation columns in series to purify certain solvents that are not easily separated. The energy consumption in distillation columns can therefore be quite large because of the continuous operation of condensers and reboilers over extended periods of time. In order to cut down on these costs, both vacuum and steam distillation can be employed ]45]. 

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