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The Biofine process was developed by BioMetrics.Inc with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). It is a relatively high temperature, dilute acid-catalyzed rapid
The Biofine process was developed by BioMetrics.Inc with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). It is a relatively high temperature, dilute acid-catalyzed rapid hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. The process refines the biomass feed into three products: levulinic acid, formic acid, and furfural. The process is flexible enough to utilize a wide range of feedstocks - from wood and agricultural residues to paper sludge and municipal wastes. In the literature, it is claimed that this process is economically viable. In fact, a commercial plant was built in Caserta, Italy in 2005. It processes 50 dry tonnes of feedstock per day. [One tonne is 1000 kg or 2,204.62 lb.] Estimated costs for a plant processing 1000 dry tonnes of feedstock per day and producing ethyl levulinate as a final product are presented in the table below. The plant will produce 15,833 kg/h of ethyl levulinate. Assume the plant operates 24 hrs/day and 350 days/year. Consider a MACRS depreciation of 7 years, a tax rate of 42%, and an interest rate of i = 10% over a project period of 20 years. Calculate the breakeven ethyl levulinate selling price per tonne. The use of a spreadsheet is recommended. If the following variations occurred, build a 'spider graph' by plotting PW as a function of % deviation from the most likely estimate. Your graph will look similar to the one shown on Example 8.5 on your textbook (page 220)
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