Economic Analysis of the Pressure Shockwave Disintegration Process

Abstract

This article describes the current stage in development of the phytomass disintegration apparatus based on the pressure shockwaves. Previous findings confirmed that the batch system provides disintegration to larger extents. However, the time delays connected with filling and discharging of the batch pressure vessel would naturally burden its commercialization. New generation of the continuous prototype that enables to interference the pressure shockwaves was designed. Robust analysis on the biodegradability, microporosity, and the oil yield was carried out. The data shows that this development step outperforms the original batch system. Closer examination of the process economics was conducted. Admittedly, the financial analysis shows that the pilot still apparatus can not compete with the established commercial scale prices. However, under certain assumptions, an assumption that the commercial version will be profitable can be formulated.

Keywords:

• Pretreatment
• Disintegration
• Shockwaves
• Interference
• Financial analysis

Acknowledgments

The award of FY2011 Japanese Society for Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship for Foreign Researches is acknowledged.