Production of Sesame Oil Group 20 Golden Oil

Preston Ji, Charlotte Ntim, Emma Huynh, Maame Sarpong, Kyle Redenbach

Golden Oil Project Produce sesame oil from sesame seed Produce via mechanical pressing following by solvent extraction Project scale: 62,000 tons/year, which is 1% of sesame oil worldwide

Evidence to Support Feasibility The process removes 98-99% of oil Sesame seed contains 49.7% oil Comparison of cost Seed: $1180/t Hexane: $1690/t Oil: $2870/t Animal feed: $460/t The process is profitable with scale and time The process removes up to 98-99% of oil → count as 100% Sesame seed contains 49.7% oil → count as 50% Comparison of cost (average of multiple suppliers, Alibaba.com) Seed: $1182/t Oil: $2866/t → slightly more than twice of the seed Hexane: $1688/t → do not need much Animal feed: $458/t → some extra bonus The process is profitable with scale and time

Important Resources Research Faculty advisor Industrial mentor ZFS Tour Research (library and database) Faculty advisor → Professor Jeremy VanAntwerp ZFS Tour → Soybean oil company, scheduled Tuesday, December 5th Industrial mentor → Phil Bronsma, PhD Industrial Chemist

Design Norms Transparency Make known information that will affect the consumer or producer Toxicity of solvent Stewardship Waste Processing Solid organic waste: animal feed Purge gas: burn to avoid pollution Toxicity of the solvent: Hexane is an occupational hazard if the vapor is breathed in, but there is lack of evidence on hexane poisoning for a trace amount in food. Hexane is widely used for edible oil process and is approved by proper authorities Solid Waste: Rich in protein and sugar Purge Gas: CO2 is better; does not release a lot of CO2 since most (95%) of the material is recycled

Engineering Analysis General process Material balance Energy balance (the energy intensive steps that are evaluated) Cost Estimate (report a preliminary breakeven price) Market Research (part of cost estimate) Explain those with the PFD on the next slide.

Process Flow Diagram General Process 1. Walk the audience through the overall process 2. Two oil storages Material Balance: 1. Hexane to seed ratio: 2.5:1, based on soybean oil extraction example in textbook, scaled up according to oil content 2. Hexane recycle ratio: 20:1 3. Extracted Amount: 98% (allowing 1% loss in the animal feed and 1% loss in the purge) Energy Balance: energy intensive steps, using heat of vaporization, use steam as our utility 1. Roaster 2. Evaporator 3. Distillation

Cost Estimate Item Cost, USD Capital cost $36,300,000 Annual Equivalent* $5,800,000/yr Utility $507,000/yr Labor $730,000/yr Maintenance $206,000/yr Material $7,240,000/yr Rate of Return (i): 15% Payback period (n): 20 years Cost Estimate: The study estimate, +/- 35% Purchase Cost: Identify key equipment, estimate their capacity, estimate cost using correlations Capital Cost: scale up for shipping, accessories (pumps, pipes, valves, etc), and plant set up Utility: Steam Labor: 15 people running the plant Maintenance: 3% of purchase cost Material: Based on material balance and market price

Cost Estimate Breakeven oil price: $2,580/t Market oil price: $2,870/t (BEP is 10% lower than market price) → GREAT! There is room for profit. Acknowledge that many assumptions used in the current cost estimate are not verified. That need to be done in the future.

Major Design Decisions Plant location: Present case: located in industrialized world (the US) Reason: Availability of data and good correlation for design. Solvent selection: hexane Inexpensive, works well (solubility) * Research of various solvents has shown that alternative solvents for the extraction of oil can be used more effectively than n-hexane. However, n-hexane is much cheaper, $0.21 per pound, versus another quality solvent like isopropyl alcohol, $0.65 per pound, according to icis.com.

Summary of Current Progress Market Research (production and prices) General Process Mass Balance Energy Balance General Cost Estimate Feasibility Study What has been done so far

Future Work Design major pieces of equipment: type, dimension (size), operating conditions, cost Consider seeds of different origin and oil of different type Update material and energy balance based on detailed design Update capital and operating cost based on detailed design Additional case (potentially): plant located in South Sudan, 20% ~ 100% of the country’s output (depending on profitability) Key equipment include: 1. Grinder 2. Leaching Tank 3. Distillation Tower(s) → multiple ones may be needed 4. Roaster/Evaporator Additional case: Note: 20% of South Sudan’s output is our current scale since the country produces about 5% of the world output.

Questions