Techno-economic assessment of whey protein-based plastic production from a co-polymerization process

Bio-based plastics, produced from natural and renewable sources, have been found to be good replacers to petroleum-based plastics. However, economic analyses have not been carried out for most of them, specifically those from whey. In this study, a techno-economic assessment of the industrial-scale...

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Main Authors: Chalermthai, Bushra, Ashraf, Muhammad Tahir, Bastidas-Oyanedel, Juan-Rodrigo, Olsen, Bradley D., Schmidt, Jens Ejbye, Taher, Hanifa
Other Authors: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Format: Article
Published: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2020
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125048
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author Chalermthai, Bushra
Ashraf, Muhammad Tahir
Bastidas-Oyanedel, Juan-Rodrigo
Olsen, Bradley D.
Schmidt, Jens Ejbye
Taher, Hanifa
author2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
author_facet Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
Chalermthai, Bushra
Ashraf, Muhammad Tahir
Bastidas-Oyanedel, Juan-Rodrigo
Olsen, Bradley D.
Schmidt, Jens Ejbye
Taher, Hanifa
author_sort Chalermthai, Bushra
collection MIT
description Bio-based plastics, produced from natural and renewable sources, have been found to be good replacers to petroleum-based plastics. However, economic analyses have not been carried out for most of them, specifically those from whey. In this study, a techno-economic assessment of the industrial-scale production of plastics from whey protein is carried out considering two different scenarios: (1) low-cost dairy waste whey (DWP) and (2) purchased whey protein concentrate (WPC), as feedstocks, using SuperPro Designer software. Key economic indicators such as operating cost, capital investment, annual revenue, payback time, and return-on-investment (ROI), were analyzed. Sensitivity analyses of different parameters were performed to account for market fluctuations and other uncertainties, using Scenario 2 as the base case. Results showed that both scenarios have the capacity of producing over 3200 metric tons/year (t/yr) (or 5.5 t/batch) of plastic. With the unit selling price of plastic set at $7,000/t, both the scenarios showed profitable outcomes with the plant’s payback time of 3.7 and 2.4 years, and ROI of 27.1% and 42.2%, for Scenario 1 and Scenario 2, respectively. Sensitivity analyses showed that the unit plastic selling price was the most sensitive parameter, followed by the amount of feedstock WPC, and the number of batches. ©2020
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spelling mit-1721.1/1250482022-09-30T08:29:58Z Techno-economic assessment of whey protein-based plastic production from a co-polymerization process Chalermthai, Bushra Ashraf, Muhammad Tahir Bastidas-Oyanedel, Juan-Rodrigo Olsen, Bradley D. Schmidt, Jens Ejbye Taher, Hanifa Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering Bio-based plastics, produced from natural and renewable sources, have been found to be good replacers to petroleum-based plastics. However, economic analyses have not been carried out for most of them, specifically those from whey. In this study, a techno-economic assessment of the industrial-scale production of plastics from whey protein is carried out considering two different scenarios: (1) low-cost dairy waste whey (DWP) and (2) purchased whey protein concentrate (WPC), as feedstocks, using SuperPro Designer software. Key economic indicators such as operating cost, capital investment, annual revenue, payback time, and return-on-investment (ROI), were analyzed. Sensitivity analyses of different parameters were performed to account for market fluctuations and other uncertainties, using Scenario 2 as the base case. Results showed that both scenarios have the capacity of producing over 3200 metric tons/year (t/yr) (or 5.5 t/batch) of plastic. With the unit selling price of plastic set at $7,000/t, both the scenarios showed profitable outcomes with the plant’s payback time of 3.7 and 2.4 years, and ROI of 27.1% and 42.2%, for Scenario 1 and Scenario 2, respectively. Sensitivity analyses showed that the unit plastic selling price was the most sensitive parameter, followed by the amount of feedstock WPC, and the number of batches. ©2020 2020-05-06T15:15:24Z 2020-05-06T15:15:24Z 2020-04-07 2020-02 2020-04-15T13:35:11Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 2073-4360 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125048 Chalermthai, Bushra, et al., "Techno-economic assessment of whey protein-based plastic production from a co-polymerization process." Polymers 12, 4 (Apr. 2020): no. 847 doi 10.3390/polym12040847 ©2020 Author(s) http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym12040847 Polymers Creative Commons Attribution https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ application/pdf Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
spellingShingle Chalermthai, Bushra
Ashraf, Muhammad Tahir
Bastidas-Oyanedel, Juan-Rodrigo
Olsen, Bradley D.
Schmidt, Jens Ejbye
Taher, Hanifa
Techno-economic assessment of whey protein-based plastic production from a co-polymerization process
title Techno-economic assessment of whey protein-based plastic production from a co-polymerization process
title_full Techno-economic assessment of whey protein-based plastic production from a co-polymerization process
title_fullStr Techno-economic assessment of whey protein-based plastic production from a co-polymerization process
title_full_unstemmed Techno-economic assessment of whey protein-based plastic production from a co-polymerization process
title_short Techno-economic assessment of whey protein-based plastic production from a co-polymerization process
title_sort techno economic assessment of whey protein based plastic production from a co polymerization process
url https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125048
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