Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

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

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dc.contributor Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Chemical Engineering
dc.creator Chalermthai, Bushra
dc.creator Ashraf, Muhammad Tahir
dc.creator Bastidas-Oyanedel, Juan-Rodrigo
dc.creator Olsen, Bradley D.
dc.creator Schmidt, Jens Ejbye
dc.creator Taher, Hanifa
dc.date 2020-05-06T15:15:24Z
dc.date 2020-05-06T15:15:24Z
dc.date 2020-04-07
dc.date 2020-02
dc.date 2020-04-15T13:35:11Z
dc.date.accessioned 2023-03-01T18:06:24Z
dc.date.available 2023-03-01T18:06:24Z
dc.identifier 2073-4360
dc.identifier https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/125048
dc.identifier 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)
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/278769
dc.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
dc.format application/pdf
dc.publisher Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
dc.relation http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/polym12040847
dc.relation Polymers
dc.rights Creative Commons Attribution
dc.rights https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.source Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute
dc.title Techno-economic assessment of whey protein-based plastic production from a co-polymerization process
dc.type Article
dc.type http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle


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