초록
Recovery and purification of organic acids produced in fermentation constitutes a significant fraction of total production cost. In this paper, the design and economic analysis of a process to recover succinic acid (SA) via dissolution and acidification of succinate salts in ethanol, followed by reactive distillation to form succinate esters, is presented. Process simulation was performed for a range of plant capacities (13-55million kg/yr SA) and SA fermentation titers (50-100kg/m<SUP>3</SUP>). Economics were evaluated for a recovery system installed within an existing fermentation facility producing succinate salts at a cost of $0.66/kg SA. For a SA processing capacity of 54.9millionkg/yr and a titer of 100kg/m<SUP>3</SUP> SA, the model predicts a capital investment of $75 million and a net processing cost of $1.85 per kg SA. Required selling price of diethyl succinate for a 30% annual return on investment is $1.57 per kg.