1. Process Design and Technoeconomic Analysis for the
Downstream Recovery and Purification of Diethyl Malonate
Team 7
Chris Bilham
Brian Coventry
Mark Kelsic
Yekaterina Pokhilchuk
Dan Sriratanasathavorn
Matthew Lipscomb, PhD.
CEO & Founder
DMC Limited

2. ❖ Agenda
• Introduction
• Project Goals
• Purification Method 1
• Purification Method 2
• Environmental
• Economics
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
diethyl malonate
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http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich
/d97754?lang=en&region=US

3. http://www.directindustry.com/prod/solaris-biotechnology/product-54387-443440.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malonic_acid
http://culmotrialattorneys.com/bpa-may-alter-gene-regulation/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuous_stirred-tank_reactor
Uses
● pharmaceuticals
● fragrances
● dyes
● adhesives
❖ Diethyl Malonate (DEM)

4. ❖ Project Goal Statement
Two methods for purification of diethyl malonate (DEM)
from a fermentation reactor are to be designed and
economically analyzed.
Deliverables
● Economical, environmental, and safety analysis
DEM production specifications
● 10,000,000 kg/year
● >99% purity
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http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/aldrich/d
97754?lang=en&region=US

5. ❖ Experimental Data and Solvent Selection
Models:
● Decanter
● LLE & distillation
Solvent Selection:
● Separation factor
● Boiling point
● Cost
Solvent of choice - Pentane
K = 2.64 (DEM in petane-
water solution)

6. ❖ Method 1 - Decant
Assumptions:
● No salts entrain with the water to the
evaporator
● No salts entrain with the DEM product
● All salts leave with waste stream

7. ❖ Method 1 - Decant

8. ❖ Method 2 - Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE)
Assumptions:
● Salts do not enter pentane phase
● Water does not enter pentane phase
● Pentane does not enter water phase

9. ❖ Method 2 - Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE)

10. ❖ Series Process - Decanting followed by LLE

11. ❖ Environmental and Safety
Hazardous Waste
● Listed by the EPA
● Ignitability
● Corrosivity
● Reactivity
● Toxicity
Safety
● 12 M HCl is extremely corrosive
● 1 M NaOH
Image from: http://rapidwasteenviro.com/wp-
content/uploads/2014/12/hazardous-waste-types.png

12. ❖ Wastewater
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content/uploads/2013/01/bouldercityzipcodemap.jp
g
Industrial Wastewater for Boulder
● Permit $7,050 per year
● Publicly owned treatment works
(POTW)
● Specific pollutant limitation
● pH 5.5- 10
● $70 per 1000 gallons

13. ❖ Operating expense sensitivity analysis parameters
Parameters that were investigated:
● Feed DEM production price
● Feed stream DEM %
● LLE column stages
● LLE column solvent to feed ratio
● Decanter pH
● Decanter temperature
Note: The following slides to not take into account waste
disposal fees which did not vary during sensitivity analysis

14. ❖ Sensitivity to feed composition and price
• Series Process is cheapest at
every condition
• Solid line shows low DEM
production price ($1.90/kg)
• Dotted line shows high DEM
production price ($3.10/kg)

15. ❖ Operating cost breakdown
Series Process Only LLE Only Decant
99.95% DEM recovery 99.96% DEM recovery 94.76% DEM recovery
• Distillation represents the biggest operational expense
• DEM sent to waste considered an operational expense

16. ❖ Liquid-Liquid Extraction sensitivity
• Careful balance between
losing DEM and distillation
costs
• Increasing LLE stages lowers
operating costs but increases
capital costs
• Series Process most
economical at 99.1%
recovery in LLE unit
Increasing DEM recovery
Increasing distillation costs
Series Process

17. ❖ Decanter sensitivity
• Most economical to not
change temperature of feed
• Decreasing pH lowers DEM
solubility in water
• Process economics may
continue to improve at lower
pH
Series Process

18. ❖ Effect of wastewater treatment
• Boulder has very expensive wastewater prices
• Wastewater increases the unit operating cost by a constant
amount for each process
Series Process Only LLE Only Decant
+$0.11/kg+$0.11/kg +$0.14/kg

19. ❖ Economics
• Lowest initial capital investment is
for LLE only process.
• Lowest operational cost is for the
Series process
Adding in capital costs for equipment
and installation...

20. ❖ Economics
• Fastest return on investment is always the LLE only,
when considering all associated costs.

21. ❖ Conclusion
• Decanting alone is a poor choice.
• Series and LLE have similar operational costs
• Our model suggests that LLE is the best option including all
costs.
• Plant should be considered somewhere with lower waste
disposal costs.
• Capital costs should be further investigated to determine
tradeoff of long term operation against initial investment
• Further investigation into salting and pH effects on the
solubility of DEM is warranted.

22. ❖ Acknowledgements
● Professor Thomas Belval - University of Colorado Boulder
● Dr. Mathew Lipscomb - DMC Limited
● Professor Rainer Volkamer - CU
● Dr. Molly Larsen - CU
● Zachary Finewax - CU
● Theodore Koenig - CU

23. ❖ References
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24. ❖ References
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