Process Simulation and Techno-Economic Analysis of the Production of Sodium Methoxide

Abstract

The worldwide increase in biodiesel production has created a major market for sodium methoxide, as a catalyst in the transesterification of vegetable oils. This work evaluates different methods for the manufacture of sodium methoxide, diluted in methanol. Alternative process designs are reviewed, and the most promising solutions are modeled in Aspen Plus, including their phase and chemical equilibria. Economic indicators are incorporated in a comparative profitability analysis that includes a risk evaluation with Monte Carlo simulations. The results show that the methods of manufacturing sodium methoxide from sodium metal (process II) and from sodium hydroxide (process III) are the most competitive alternatives, although each can be preferred in different contexts. Process III has a better chance of profitability (41%) than process II (34%), where the latter can be affected by higher raw-material costs and the first is more sensitive to variations in the utility and capital costs.

Combined Flue Gas Cleanup Process for Simultaneous Removal of SOx, NOx, and CO2—A Techno-Economic Analysis

“…The reference equipment cost was adjusted to the price level of 2015 using the chemical engineering plant cost index (CEPCI) with the value of 547.4 compared to 382 in 1996 . It should also be noted here that the capital cost estimations were based on the assumption of construction of a new plant (grassroots design) which can be broken into the following contributions: Total bare module cost (∑ i C BM,i ), which is the sum of the capital and installation costs of main equipment items. The contingency costs ( C C ), which include unexpected expenses related to data cost uncertainty and flowsheet completeness and estimated at 15% of the total bare module cost ( C C = 0.15∑ i C BM,i ). , The auxiliary facility costs ( C AF ), which take into account structures, services, and equipment not directly involved in the process . Such complementary items include land purchase, utility systems, off-sites, and site development. , There are two main classifications of auxiliaries, utilities, and services.…”

“…The contingency costs ( C C ), which include unexpected expenses related to data cost uncertainty and flowsheet completeness and estimated at 15% of the total bare module cost ( C C = 0.15∑ i C BM,i ). , …”

Estimation of Reaction Rates of Transesterification Pathways

“…Four consecutive and reversible reactions are likely to occur, diglycerides (DG) and monoglycerides (MG) are intermediates formed in these reactions (Noureddini and Zhu, 1997;Silitonga et al, 2020;Mendecka et al, 2020). One of most used reacting paths is transesterification of triglycerides with methanol in presence of sodium hydroxide; the former two react to form sodium methoxide, and then this inorganic mixture is added to the triglyceride (Sharma et al, 2008;Granjo and Oliveira, 2015). Some advantages of this reacting path are moderate reaction conditions, fast and high conversion of triglycerides (around 99% at 50 min) (Marchetti et al, 2007;Vicente et al, 2004) and limited number of intermediate steps; among disadvantages is the purification of alkaline water obtained after washing the FAME produced (Betiku and Adepoju, 2013;Rincón et al, 2014;Kanna et al, 2018).…”

Synthesis of Ti Powder from the Reduction of TiCl4 with Metal Hydrides in the H2 Atmosphere: Thermodynamic and Techno-Economic Analyses

“…In the process industry, various technoeconomic works have been reported with the use of process simulation tools. For instance, Granjo et al [29] made use of Aspen Plus and Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate different manufacturing methods of sodium methoxide. More recent works on technoeconomic analysis based on Aspen Plus simulation have been reported for supercritical CO 2 extraction of Eucalyptus globulus bark [30], chitin nanomaterials production [31], and anaerobic digestion of sugarcane vinasses for biogas production [32].…”