Industrial-Scale Activated Carbon Production from Agricultural Pea Waste: A Techno-Economic and Feasibility Study

Zein, Sharif H; Antony, Ansu

Abstract

This paper examines a novel approach to activated carbon (AC)
production that uses pea waste (PW) and to what extent it is
economically competitive with current production methods.
Additionally, the outcome is to provide a detailed economic
analysis to understand whether this process is viable. The focus
of this production route and the economic analysis will be on a
United Kingdom (UK) basis. The plant will be located within
the north UK to minimise storage and transportation costs. It
also has extensive links to other clusters of nearby industries that
would produce from this process in air pollution control or
wastewater treatments. The overall production process is
detailed, and detailed equipment specifications, including the
sizing of equipment and utility requirements, were also given.
Material balance calculations are carried out to assess the
performance and improve process design. An economic
analysis is performed to study the potential of biomass-to-AC
conversion costs and commercialisation viability. The project’s
investment is about £100 million. The cost of the plant can be
recovered from year 3 (mid) for the 20-year life of the plant.
The Net Present Value (NPV) is based on cumulative cash flow.
The NPV is calculated as GBP 4,476,137,297.79 for 2020, and
the associated internal rate of return (IRR) and the return on
investment (ROI) for the project are 55% and 52%, respectively.

Citation

Zein, S. H., & Antony, A. (2022). Industrial-Scale Activated Carbon Production from Agricultural Pea Waste: A Techno-Economic and Feasibility Study. In R. Pullabhotla (Ed.), Prime Archives in Chemistry. (2nd ed.). Vide Leaf. https://doi.org/10.37247/pachem2ed.2.22.27

• Online Publication Date: Apr 7, 2022
• Publication Date: Apr 7, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jan 13, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 17, 2023
• Edition: 2nd ed.
• Book Title: Prime Archives in Chemistry
• ISBN: 9789392117466 ; 9788195304752
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.37247/pachem2ed.2.22.27
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4175706