Agricultural & Environmental Biotechnology Group, Department of Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Odisha 769008, India.
Agricultural & Environmental Biotechnology Group, Department of Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Rourkela, Odisha 769008, India. Electronic address: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3821-5029.
Bioresour Technol. 2022 Feb;346:126659. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126659. Epub 2021 Dec 30.
Bacterial cellulose produced during Kombucha fermentation has recently received lots of attention owing to its desirable mechanical and physicochemical properties and is exploited for different food, textiles and environmental applications. However, lack of information on process feasibility often hinders large-scale manufacturing of Kombucha-based cellulose. Therefore, the current study assesses techno-economic feasibility of a 60-ton annual capacity Kombucha-based cellulose production facility using SuperPro designer. Economic feasibility analysis showed an estimation of 13.72 million US$ as total investment and 3.8 million US$ as operating costs with 89% expenses associated with facility dependent and labour costs. The process feasibility is revealed with a payback time of 4.23 years, 23.64% return on investment and 16.48% internal rate of return. Sensitivity analysis presented that increased volume of fermentation units and automating the process can significantly reduce input costs. Such research is necessary to aid policymakers in facilitating the commercialization of Kombucha-based cellulose at field scale.
康普茶发酵过程中产生的细菌纤维素，由于其理想的机械和物理化学性质，最近受到了广泛关注，并被用于不同的食品、纺织品和环境应用。然而，由于缺乏有关工艺可行性的信息，常常阻碍了基于康普茶的纤维素的大规模生产。因此，本研究使用 SuperPro Designer 评估了年产 60 吨基于康普茶的纤维素生产设施的技术经济可行性。经济可行性分析显示，总投资估计为 1372 万美元，运营成本为 380 万美元，其中 89%的费用与设施相关和劳动力成本有关。该工艺的可行性表明，投资回收期为 4.23 年，投资回报率为 23.64%，内部收益率为 16.48%。敏感性分析表明，增加发酵单元的体积和自动化生产过程可以显著降低投入成本。此类研究对于帮助政策制定者促进基于康普茶的纤维素在现场规模的商业化是必要的。
