Glycerol is a valuable feedstock, produced in biorefineries as a byproduct of biodiesel production. Esterification of glycerol with acetic acid yields a mixture of mono-, di-, and triacetins. The acetins are commercially important value-added products with a wide range of industrial applications as fuel additives and fine chemicals. Esterification of glycerol to acetins substantially increases the environmental sustainability and economic viability of the biorefinery concept. Among the acetins, diacetin (DA) and triacetin (TA) are considered high-energy-density fuel additives. Herein, we have studied the economic feasibility of a facility producing DA and TA by a two-stage process using 100,000 tons of glycerol per year using Aspen Plus. The capital costs were estimated by Aspen Process Economic Analyzer software. The analysis indicates that the capital costs are 71 M$, while the operating costs are 303 M$/year. The gross profit is 60.5 M$/year, while the NPV of the project is 235 M$ with a payback period of 1.7 years. Sensitivity analysis has indicated that the product price has the most impact on the NPV.

中文翻译：

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甘油酯化对生物燃料添加剂增值的技术经济评估和敏感性分析

甘油是一种有价值的原料，在生物精炼厂中作为生物柴油生产的副产品生产。甘油与乙酸的酯化产生单醋精、二醋精和三醋精的混合物。醋精是商业上重要的增值产品，具有广泛的工业应用，如燃料添加剂和精细化学品。甘油酯化为醋精显着提高了生物精炼概念的环境可持续性和经济可行性。在醋精中，二醋精（DA）和三醋精（TA）被认为是高能量密度燃料添加剂。在此，我们研究了使用 Aspen Plus 通过两阶段工艺每年使用 100,000 吨甘油生产 DA 和 TA 的设施的经济可行性。资本成本由 Aspen Process Economic Analyzer 软件估算。分析表明，资本成本为 71 M$，而运营成本为 303 M$/年。毛利润为6050万美元/年，项目净现值2.35亿美元，投资回收期为1.7年。敏感性分析表明，产品价格对净现值影响最大。