Abstract

GUERRA RODRIGUEZ, Luis E.; PEREZ SANCHEZ, Amaury  and  ZAYAS ZAYAS, Luis M.. Economic profitability and sensitivity analysis of a citric acid production plant from sugarcane bagasse. Rev. cienc. tecnol. [online]. 2019, n.31, pp.1-10. ISSN 1851-7587.

The simulation of 5.000 Ton/year citric acid production plant using sugarcane bagasse as the main feedstock was carried out. The SuperPro Designer® v.8.5 process simulator was used, with the main objective of determine the economic profitability of the project. A sensitivity study comprising 15 runs was performed to evaluate the influence of 6 input variables by 3 economic indicators: Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Payback Period (PP) by means of a Response Surface-type statistical design. The obtained results in the sensitivity study were then optimized. A capital investment of about US $ 29 million would be needed to construct the plant. The project would have US $ 6 million of net annual profits, an IRR value of 16,48%, a PP of 4,69 years and a NPV of $ 2.429.000.

Keywords : Citric acid; Sugarcane bagasse; SuperPro Designer®; Sensitivity analysis; Optimization..

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