Scientific Achievement
The cost of anthraquinone disulfonic acid (AQDS) production from anthracene feedstock is estimated based on a proposed series of process steps using three standard algorithms for process cost estimation.
Significance and Impact
The cost of production of AQDS from any of the three algorithms employed indicate that AQDS can reach the $5 kg-1 cost target from past JCESR techno-economic modeling, and adding validation to past claims that many organic active materials can likely also reach these cost targets.
Research Details
- The proposed process considers five sequential process steps: 1) feedstock preheating and mixing, 2) oxidation, 3) separation, 4) sulfonation, and 5) separation.
- AQDS cost target was met at moderate production scales comparable to pharmaceutical chemical production.
- Estimates employed Bridgwater process cost estimation, use of manual equipment list sizing, and Aspen Plus equipment sizing.
- The range of anthracene feedstock cost was estimated to be 0.84 – 5 $ kg-1, with $2 kg-1 being the most likely case.
