7.

1 Software simulation

Ethanol production processes using the methods of the present study were

simulated in the SuperPro Designer 5.5 software which is commonly used in

pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Process simulation software was used

to estimate data for the large scale economic analysis.

7.1.1 Simulation data input

7.1.1.1 Operation modes

The software offers two operation modes for production simulations: batch

mode and continuous mode. The characteristics describing these two modes are

identified in the corresponding dialog box shown in Figure 7.1.

The operations for enzyme production using SmF method was set as “batch”

modes instead of “continuous” within the software simulation. Meanwhile, as shown

in the Figure 7.1, the annual operating time is set as 7,920 hours by default, which

corresponds to 330 working days per year. However, the operating mode and the

annual operating time can be changed at any time by using the “Task: Set Mode of

Operation” option from the main menu.

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 Figure 7.1 Dialog box for selecting operation mode

7.1.1.2 Material registration

Materials are divided into two groups--components and mixtures--in the software.

Mixtures are the mixed materials consisting of a list of ingredients (components). In

contrast, components are pure raw elements, for simulation purposes. All materials

used was specified within the software. In this thesis, the mixtures used to efficiently

utilize the sugarcane bagasse for enzyme, ethanol and ruminant feed production

include air (component ingredients: nitrogen and oxygen) and cellulase (CMCase,

Cellobiase and FPase). Other components beyond the ones specified as ingredients of

mixtures are as below:

 Acetic Acid
 Biomass
 Calcium Chloride

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 Calcium Oxide
 Carbon (Charcoal)
 Ethyl Alcohol
 Potassium Chloride
 Potassium Di-hydrogen Phosphate
 Magnesium Sulfate
 Sodium Hydroxide
 Trichoderma longibrachiatum
 Urea
 Yeast
 Yeast Extract

Some of the mixtures and components are provided by the databank within the

SuperPro Designer 5.5 software but for some components the user must create the

relevant components at the beginning of the computer simulation process. Figure 7.2

gives an example dialog box for registering a new component (cellulose).

Figure 7.2. Example dialog box for registering new components

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7.1.2 Building simulation flowsheets

Based on the experiments performed in this thesis, the first step in building a

simulation flowsheet is to add equipment (procedures). For the current study, the

required equipment includes: three blending tank, one belt filter, two mixer, two

stirred reactor, two air filter, one microfilter, one centrifuge, one freeze dryer, one

heat exchanger, one distillation coloumn and one receiver tank.

The second step in building a simulation flowsheet is to add material streams, which

represent inputs, intermediate products and outputs throughout the production

process. Three kinds of steams--feed streams (inputs), intermediate streams and

product streams (outputs), are used in this computer simulation. Connecting an

unoccupied area with an inlet port of destination equipment creates feed streams.

Connecting an outlet port of source equipment with an inlet port of destination

equipment creates intermediate streams. Connecting an outlet port of source

equipment with an unoccupied area creates product streams. The information on the

streams contained in the Table 7.1 corresponds directly to the flowsheets in Figures

7.11.

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 Table 7.1 Stream specifications in the processes

Stream Name Source Destination

S – 101 INPUT* P1/V-101
S – 102 INPUT P1/V-101
S – 142 INPUT P1/V-101
S – 103 OUTPUT** OUTPUT
S – 105 P1/V-101 P3/BF-101
S – 104 INPUT P3/BF-101
S – 143 OUTPUT OUTPUT
S – 106 P3/BF-101 P4/MX-101
S – 107 INPUT P4/MX-101
S – 108 P4/MX-101 P2/V-102
S – 109 INPUT P2/V-102
S – 110 INPUT P2/V-102
S – 111 P2/V-102 P10/AF-101
S – 112 P10/AF-101 OUTPUT
S – 113 P2/V-102 P5/V-103
S – 117 P5/V-103 P20/V-108
S – 118 P5/V-103 P6/MF-101
S – 119 P6/MF-101 OUTPUT
S – 127 P6/MF-101 P7/DS-101
S – 121 P7/DS-101 OUTPUT
S – 120 P7/DS-101 P9/V-104
S – 123 P9/V-104 P8/FDR-101
S – 124 P8/FDR-101 OUTPUT
S – 125 P8/FDR-101 OUTPUT
S – 114 P2/V-102 P11/MX-102
S – 115 INPUT P11/MX-102

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S – 116 P11/MX-102 P20/V-108
S – 126 INPUT P20/V-108
S – 128 INPUT P20/V-108
S – 129 P20/V-108 P17/V-107
S – 130 P20/V-108 P13/HX-101
S – 131 P14/C-101 P13/HX-101
S – 132 P13/HX-101 P14/C-101
S – 133 P13/HX-101 OUTPUT
S – 134 P14/C-101 OUTPUT
S – 135 P17/V-107 OUTPUT
S – 139 P17/V-107 P18/AF-102
S – 147 P18/AF-102 OUTPUT

*INPUT in the source column implies this stream is a feed stream;

**OUTPUT in the destination column implies the stream is a product stream;

Otherwise, the remaining streams are intermediate stream

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7.1.3 Procedural operations

Within the SuperPro Designer 5.5 software, the first step toward initialization

of the equipment blending tank is to add corresponding operations (Figure 7.3).

Figure 7.3 Dialog box of adding operations to equipment (Blending Tank)

According to the present study, relevant procedural operations were selected

from the left “Available Operations” column and specified in the right column. The

next step was to initialize all the selected operations that have been added to the

equipment. Two operations out of the six-- “CHARGE - SCB” and “AGITATE - 1”-

- are given as examples to illustrate the process to initialize operations. These two

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examples are chosen because the first one is the typical operation dealing with a feed

stream (inputs) and the second one is one of the key operations for initialization of

the simulation.

Figure 7.4 Menu of initializing operations for equipment

Figure 7.5 Dialog box for charging of medium into equipment

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 After selecting “Operation Data: CHARGE-SCB” from the menu as shown in

the Figure 7.4, the dialog box will come up and is shown in Figure 7.5. The dialog

box shown in Figure 7.5 allows the user to specify the operating conditions, emission

data, labour, description and scheduling, etc. for the operation. To initialize the

Operating Conditions tab for the first charge operation in this example, the source of

the material must be specified in the software. Click on the “Composition” button to

access the stream data information for this feed stream (see Figure 7.6).

Figure 7.6 Dialog box for the stream Charge SCB

To add medium to the stream, double-click its name in the Registered

Ingredients list on the left side of the above figure. For example, the amount 100

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kilograms (kg) per batch in the “Total Flowrates” category can be specified as a

starting point for SCB.

After specifying the charge amount of mixture medium, click “OK” to return

to the dialog box for the “Charge-water” (see Figure 7.7). Equipment setup time is

set as 12 h by default. Equipment processing time is automatically calculated and

equals 0.17 hrs based on a flowrate 100 kilograms per hour (kg/h) by default. There

are several other tabs for the dialog box, including “Volumes,” “Emissions,”

“Labour, etc,” “Description” and “Scheduling.” These tabs are all self-explanatory

and worth visiting to adjust default parameters if necessary, before software

simulations begin.

Figure 7.7 Dialog box for the stream Charge SCB

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7.1.4 Simulation process

All the data specified as per the procedure mentioned above provide a starting

point for software simulation. Given simulation inputs specified as above, the

SuperPro Designer 5.5 software is capable of conducting this simulation by using

the “Tasks: Solve M&E Balance” option from the main menu. This will cause the

program to calculate the mass and energy balances for the entire flowsheet, estimate

the equipment sizes, and model the equipment scheduling.

However, for economic analysis purposes, it is of interest to increase or

decrease the annual outputs to determine the influence of the production scale on the

product unit costs, for example. In order to do that, the SuperPro Designer 5.5

software offers the option to change all the stream flowrates and equipment sizes in

one step by selecting the “Tasks: Adjust Throughput” option from the main menu

(Figure 7.8).

In the dialog box shown in Figure 7.8, scale up (or down) could be realized

based on either a factor or target output (per batch or per year). By choosing the scale

up (or down) criteria and clicking “OK” in the dialog box in Figure 7.8, the software

will simulate the new production process by solving new mass and energy balances

for the entire flowsheet, estimating the new equipment sizes and remodel the

equipment scheduling.

176
 Figure 7.8 Dialog box for “Process Throughput Adjustment”

All the data specified above provide a starting point for simulation of

proposed study. Given simulation inputs specified above, the SuperPro Designer 5.5

software is capable of conducting this simulation by using the “Tasks: Solve M&E

Balance” option from the main menu. This will cause the program to calculate the

mass and energy balances for the entire flowsheet, estimate the equipment sizes, and

model the equipment scheduling.

In the dialog box shown in Figure 7.9, scale up (or down) could be realized

based on either a factor or target output (per batch or per year). By choosing the scale

up (or down) criteria and clicking “OK” in the dialog box in Figure 7.9, the software

will simulate the new production process by solving new mass and energy balances

for the entire flowsheet, estimating the new equipment sizes and remodel the

equipment scheduling.

177
 Figure 7.9 Dialog box for “Process Throughput Adjustment”

The present study could be divided into two major parts (i) enzyme

production and (ii) ethanol production. As a starting point, the cellulase enzyme

production scale from the main fermentor is assumed to be 1 kilograms (kg) per

batch. Zhang and Lynd (2003) reported that the cellulase enzyme represented 20% of

the mass of cellulolytic microorganism, which implies 5 kg of T. longibrachiatum (5

=1 ÷20%) will be produced. Based on information obtained from Strobel et al.,

(2004), the cellulose-microbe mass transfer coefficient is assumed to be 10:1, which

implies in order to produce 1 kg of cellulase, 5 kg of microbe, 50 kg of cellulose

must be consumed. Every 50 kg of cellulose corresponds to 125 kg of SCB (40%

cellulose). Thus, for every 125 kg of SCB consumed, the final product will be 5 kg

178
of new T. longibrachiatum. Following equation represents this simplified

fermentation process and provides a basis for economic analysis in this thesis.

T.
SCB Cellulase Enzyme FEP
longibrachiatum + +
(125 kg) (1 kg) (119 kg)
(5 kg)

The FEP was further used for the ethanol production. Thus, for production of

ethanol, the feedstock available, after enzyme production and detoxification of FEP,

is 119 kg. As per our study, 6.14% ethanol production could be achieved at

optimized conditions: pH – 5.0, incubation period – 72 h, inoculums size – 10 ml/l,

and substrate concentration – 40 g/100 ml. The size of inoculum in ethanol

fermentation is of great importance in completing the fermentation process. Further

increase in inoculums size did not result in the considerable enhancement of ethanol

production. In order to achieve maximum ethanol production, 2.975 kg of yeast

would be required. Following equation is simplified representation of the ethanol

fermentation process

SCB Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ethanol FEP

+ +
(119 kg) (2.975 kg) (18.30 L) (97.73 kg)

The whole fermentation end product of the equation is considered as animal

feed. Thus, at final stage 97.73 kg of ruminant protein could be produced. The

equipment occupancy chart also exhibits that the process is completed in two

different stages (Figure 7.10)

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 V-101

BF-101

MX-101

V-102

V-103

MF-101
Equipment

MX-102

V-108

HX-101

DS-101

V-104

FDR-101

Figure 7.10 Equipment occupancy chart

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Figure 7.11 Flowsheet of the proposed study

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7.2 Economic evaluation

Economic analyses are conducted to examine the unit costs of the present

experimental plant, as measured by dollars per kilogram ($/kg) and the profitability,

as measured by two profitability indicators: payback period and net present value

(NPV) at 7%.

These two objectives are realized by identifying equipment costs and economic

parameters used as input into the simulation software. Economic items (such as

direct fixed capital costs, operating costs and annual net cash flows) are calculated

based on these inputs. For objective one, unit costs are specified by the software

simulation output. For objective two, two profitability indicators--payback period

and net present value are calculated, using the data for both production costs and sale

revenues.

7.2.1 Data sources

In order to conduct economic analysis, input data must be specified. As

discussed, five groups of input data are of interest in this thesis: (1) properties of

components and mixtures and their corresponding economic data; (2) feed stream

data; (3) equipment cost data; (4) data for economic parameters such as project life

and discount rates; and (5) data for other technical parameters, including setup time,

processing time, temperatures, flowrates, among others. The data is either obtained

from the procedural operation descriptions or obtained directly from the default

values in the simulation software.

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7.2.1.1 Estimation of Equipment Costs

Assuming new equipment is similar to a base item where cost data (C0 ) is

available, SuperPro Designer 5.5 software predicts equipment purchase costs (EPC)

by using a power relationship for equipment capacities. Equation 5.1 explains the

equipment cost estimation process, where Q and Qo are the new and base equipment

capacities, respectively, and a is the exponent of the power law function given by the

software or specified by the user. By default, this exponent is set as 0.6 for

estimating new equipment cost (Peters et al., 2003).

(Q)a
EPC = C0-----------
Q0

Within the SuperPro Designer 5.5 software, in order to estimate equipment

costs based on its capacity ( Q ), the user can either choose a “built-in model,” where

data are provided by the software, or choose a “User defined-model,” where base

equipment data ( C0 , Qo and a) must be entered into the software by the user.

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Table 7.2 : Major equipment specification and FOB cost (2015 prices)
Quantity/ Description Unit Cost Cost
Stand-by ($) ($)
V-101 Blending Tank 167000 167000
Volume = 105.82 L
Diameter = 0.36 m
BF-101 Belt Filter 282000 282000
Belt Width = 0.06 m
MX-101 Mixer 500 500
Rated Throughput = 710.51 kg/h
V-103 Blending Tank 229000 229000
Volume = 1447.31 L
Diameter = 0.85 m
MF-101 Microfilter 51000 51000
Membrane Area = 13.03 m^2
DS-101 Disk-Stack Centrifuge 124000 124000
Sigma Factor = 5533.94 m^2
FDR-101 Freeze Dryer 114000 114000
Tray Area = 0.12 m2
Capacity = 4.59 kg H2O/cycle
V-104 Blending Tank 167000 167000
Volume = 7.24 L
Diameter = 0.15 m
AF-101 Air Filter 21000 21000
Rated Throughput = 0.00 m^3/s
MX-101 Mixer 500 500
Rated Throughput = 2240.50 kg/h
HX-101 Heat Exchanger 1000 1000
Area = 0.00 m^2

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C-101 Distillation Column 19000 19000
Number of Stages = 14
V-107 Stirred Reactor 340000 340000
Volume = 458.76 L
Diameter = 0.62 m
V-102 Stirred Reactor 445000 445000
Volume = 3349.89 L
Diameter = 1.19 m
AF-102 Air Filter 8000 8000
Rated Throughput = 0.00 m^3/s
V-108 Fermentor 555000 555000
Volume = 77.86 L
Diameter = 0.32 m
All Listed Equipment 2524000 2524000
Unlisted Equipment (0.25×All Listed Equipment) 631000 631000
Total equipment purchase cost 3155000 3155000

7.2.1.2 Economic parameters

Three groups of economic parameters was specified: (1) economic

parameters for the entire project (Figure 7.12); (2) capital cost parameters and (3)

operating cost parameters. All economic parameters are chosen by the default data

within the software.

The specification process is realized by choosing the “Economic Evaluation

Parameters” from edit button of the main menu in the simulation software. The

dialog box for the “Time Valuation” tab is shown in Figure 7.12. In this thesis, all

parameter values are specified by their default values within the simulation software.

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 Figure 7.12 Dialog box: economic parameters for entire project

7.2.2 Unit cost analysis

In order to calculate unit costs, direct fixed capital (DFC) and operating costs

was calculated.

7.2.2.1 Direct fixed capital cost calculation

The direct fixed capital costs calculation is the basis for further economic

analyses such as the operating cost analysis (used to determine the unit costs) and

cash flow analysis (used to determine the profitability). Based on the specification of

major equipment costs, direct fixed capital (DFC) costs are estimated in Table 7.3.

Following equation was used to calculate the DFC costs, which consist of Total plant

direct costs (TPDC), Total plant indirect costs (TPIC) and other costs (OC):

DFC =TPDC +TPIC +OC

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Table 7.3. Direct fixed capital costs estimates (2015 price in $)

Sl. No. Item Cost ($)

A. Total plant direct cost (TPDC) 10836000

1. Equipment Purchase Cost 3155000

2. Installation 1753000

3. Process Piping 1104000

4. Instrumentation 1261000

5. Insulation 95000

6. Electricals 315000

7. Buildings 1419000

8. Yard Improvement 473000

9. Auxiliary Facilities 1261000

B Total plant indirect cost (TPIC) 6501000

10. Engineering 2709000

11. Construction 3792000

C. Other costs (OC) 2601000

12. Contractor's fee 867000

13. Contingency 1734000

DIRECT FIXED CAPITAL (DFC) 19938000

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7.2.2.2 Annual operating cost calculation

Annual operating costs were calculated and equal the sum of the following

items as specified within the software: (1) Raw materials; (2) Labour-Dependent; (3)

Facility- Dependent; (4) Laboratory/QC/QA (QC=Quality Control; QA=Quality

Analysis); (5) Waste treatment disposal; and (6) Utilities. The cost of consumables

was negligible hence it was not considered during the calculations.

Eight different raw materials are examined in the process for this thesis and

economic evaluation purposes. Two different utilities were examined in the

production process viz., electricity and heat transfer agents such as steam, cooling

water, and chilled water. The electricity costs were calculated as $7780 per year. The

cost of heat transfer agents viz., steam ($4.2 / 1000kg), cooling water ($0.1/1000kg)

and chilled water ($0.4/1000kg) was calculated to be $69, $173 and $15173,

respectively.

The total labour cost (TLC) is calculated as the sum of the labour demand per

type (LDT) multiplied by the labour rate per type (LRT). That is:

TLC =∑LDT ×LRT

In this software, the default single labour rate is set as $69.00 per hour. The

total labour hours required is calculated and equals 20373 hours annually. So, the

total annual labour cost is $1406000.

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 The facility-dependent costs (FDC) accounts for depreciation (DEP) of direct

fixed capital (DFC) costs, equipment maintenance (MAI), insurance (INS), local

taxes (LT), and the possibly other overhead-type of factory expenses (FE). Equation

5.4 is used to calculate the FDC.

FDC =DEP +MAI +INS + LT + FE

The depreciation (DEP) item is calculated using a straight-line depreciation

method, considering a salvage value fraction (f) of the direct fixed capital (DFC),

which is assumed 5% in this analysis by default. The depreciation period (n) is set to

ten years by default. Equation 5.5 is used to calculate depreciation:

DFC (1-f)
DEC = ----------------
n

The factor method is used in the estimation of the equipment maintenance

(MAI), insurance (INS), local taxes (LT), and other overhead-type of factory expenses

(FE) respectively, based on the direct fixed capital (DFC).

Laboratory/QC/QA accounts for the costs of off-line analysis and quality

control costs. In this thesis, it is estimated by default as 15% of total labour costs.

The waste generated during the process is divided in solid and liquid waste

materials. The default calculation of the waste material resulted as $19000 for solid

waste treatment and $2000 for liquid waste treatment.

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 Once the above cost components were calculated, then total operating costs

were derived as listed in Table 7.4. The annual operating cost was found to be

$5395000.

Table 7.4 Total operating cost

Cost item Cost ($)

Raw Materials 2000

Labour-Dependent 1406000

Facility-Dependent 3741000

Laboratory/QC/QA 211000

Waste Treatment/Disposal 20000

Utilities 15000

Total 5395000

7.2.3 Profitability analysis

Reduced unit costs information is valuable for economists, engineers and

researchers because they are concerned with the long-run industry sustainability.

However, potential may be more concerned with the profitability of their investment.

Profitability is typically measured by such indicators as payback period, net

present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR).

The payback period is a simple indicator measuring how long it takes to

190
recover the initial investment in the simulated production plants. The projects with

the quickest payback are considered as potential investment opportunities. The

payback period is calculated as the quotient of the total capital investment divided by

the net profit as shown in following equation:

Total capital investment

Payback period = ------------------------------------
Net profit

Shown in the Table 7.5, the payback period is calculated and equals 8.13

years, which implies that it takes more than eight years to recover the initial

investment for the enzyme, ethanol and animal feed production plant using the

current study. This number can be compared with corresponding payback period

values of alternative projects facing potential investors. The gross margin of the

project was 15.61% at 1231% return on investment.

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 Table 7.5 Cash flow and profitability indicators ($1000)

Year Capital Sales Operating Gross Depreciation Taxable Taxes

Investment Revenues Cost Profit Income
1 -5981 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 -7975 0 0 0 0 0 0
3 -6113 3197 5271 -2074 1894 0 0
4 0 6394 5396 998 1894 0 0
5 0 6394 5396 998 1894 0 0
6 0 6394 5396 998 1894 0 0
7 0 6394 5396 998 1894 0 0
8 0 6394 5396 998 1894 0 0
9 0 6394 5396 998 1894 0 0
10 0 6394 5396 998 1894 0 0
11 0 6394 5396 998 1894 0 0
12 0 6394 5396 998 1894 0 0
13 0 6394 5396 998 0 998 299
14 0 6394 5396 998 0 998 299
15 1129 6394 5396 998 0 998 299
Pay Back Period 8.13 years
Gross Margin 15.61%
Return on investment 12.31%
Depreciation Method Straight-Line
DFC Salvage Fraction 0.050

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