Team 20: The Golden Oil

Project Proposal and Feasibility Study

Authors

Emma Huynh
Preston Ji
Charlotte Ntim
Kyle Redenbach
Maame Sarpong

ENGR 339/340 Senior Design Project

Calvin College

December 11th, 2017

© 2017, Senior Design Team 20, Emma Huynh, Pu Ji, Charlotte Ntim, Kyle Redenbach, Maame Sarpong,
Calvin College, Engineering

Executive Summary
 Our project objective is to design a plant producing sesame oil from seed via mechanical pressing
followed by solvent extraction. The extracting solvent is hexane. The target production is 62,000 metric
tons of oil per year.
We will:
1. Design the major pieces of equipment in the process;
2. Specify the operating conditions;
3. Estimate the cost of our equipment and the cost of production;
4. Determine whether it is economically advantageous to establish the designed production plant.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 5
 1.1. South Sudan Sesame Oil Case 5
1.2. Properties of Sesame Oil and Seed 6
1.2.1. Composition 6
1.2.2. Nutrients and Health Benefits 6
1.3. Current Production Methods 6
1.3.1 Expeller Pressing 7
1.3.2 Solvent Extraction 7

2. Project Management 8
2.1. Team Organization 8
2.2. Schedule 8
2.3. Budget 9
2.4. Method of approach 9

3. Sesame Oil Production System 10

3.1 Scale of Production and Plant Location 10
3.1.1. The Present 1% Case 10
3.1.2. A Potential 5% case 10
3.2. Solvent Selection 10
3.2.1. Potential Solvents 10
3.2.2. Isopropanol or Hexane 12
3.2.3. Hexane Toxicity 12
3.2.4. Safety Precautions 12
3.3. Overview of the System 13
3.4. Key Equipment in the Process 13
3.4.1. Seed Storage (B-101) 13
3.4.2. Roaster (E-101) 14
3.4.3. Grinder and Settler (G-101) 14
3.4.4. Leaching and Settler (V-202) 14
3.4.5. Distillation Column (T-101) 14
3.4.6. Evaporator (E-102) 14
3.4.7. Storage Tanks (V-101, V-103) 14
3.4.8. Animal Feed Storage (B-102) 14
3.4.9. Boiler (not shown on PFD) 14
3.4.10. Other Equipment 15
3.4.11. Sesame Oil Refinery 15

4. Business Plan 16
4.1. Market Survey 16
4.1.1. Market Scale and Distribution 16
4.1.2. Market Stability 17
4.2 Cost Estimate 17
4.2.1. Overview 17
 4.2.2. Prices of Materials and Products 17
4.2.3. Total Purchase Cost 18
4.2.3.1: Seed Storage (B-101) and Animal Feed Storage (B-102) 19
4.2.3.2. Roaster (E-101) 19
4.2.3.3. Grinder and Settler (G-101) 20
4.2.3.4. Leaching Tank and Settler (V-202) 20
4.2.3.5. Evaporator (E-102) and Distillation Tower (T-101) 20
4.2.3.6. Pressed Oil Storage (V-101), Leached Oil Storage (V-103), and Solvent Storage (V-
102) 20
4.2.3.7. Steam Boiler (F-101) 21
4.2.4. Total Capital Investment 21
4.2.5. Operating Cost 21
4.2.5.1. Utility Cost 21
4.2.5.2. Labor Cost 22
4.2.5.3. Maintenance cost 23
4.2.5.4. Material Cost and Revenue 24
4.2.6. Break Even Price 24

5. Conclusions 25

6. Acknowledgement 25

Bibliography 25

Appendices 28

1. Introduction

1.1. South Sudan Sesame Oil Case

South Sudan is known for its large production of sesame. However, as the country lacks the
industrial capacity to produce sesame oil, most of its sesame oil is made on a small scale and farm to farm
basis.[1] The current situation in South Sudan inspired our team to design an industrial chemical plant that
produces 10,750 tons of sesame oil per year. This capacity corresponds to 5.8% of the worldwide sesame
oil production.[2]
1.2. Properties of Sesame Oil and Seed

1.2.1. Composition
Compared to other seeds, such as soybeans which contain oil, sesame seeds have an exceptionally
high oil content. Sesame seed contains close to 50 wt% oil.[3] Sesame oil is composed of the following
fatty acids: linoleic acid (41%), oleic acid (39%), palmitic acid (8%), stearic acid (5%), and other
components in small amounts.[4] (Composition may vary depending on seed and oil variety.)

Table 1: Physical and chemical properties of the sesame seed and product[5].

1.2.2. Nutrients and Health Benefits

Sesame oil is a nutrient-dense food. 14.8 mL (1 tablespoon) of oil contains about 120 calories.
Sesame oil also provides 40 mg of omega-3 fatty acid per tablespoon of oil.[6] This is an essential fatty
acid that must be obtained from food. According to University of Maryland Medical Center, it helps
lower the risk of arthritis and other inflammatory disorders[7] The sesame oil contains phytosterols. This is
a plant-derived fatty compound that resembles cholesterol in its chemistry and function. It reduces
cholesterol absorption into the blood as much as 50% according to the Linus Pauling Institute.[8]
Phytosterol can also help lower the blood level of low-density lipoprotein, which is known to increase the
risk of heart disease when the blood level is too high.[9]

1.3. Current Production Methods

 1.3.1 Expeller Pressing

Figure 1: Diagram of a typical expeller press[10]

Expeller press is a screw-type machine that presses oil seeds through a caged barrel-like cavity.
Raw materials enter through the head box as shown on Figure 1 and the waste products exit the other side.
The machine uses friction and continuous pressure from the screw drivers to move and compress the seed
material. The oil seeps through small openings that do not allow solids to pass through. Afterwards, the
feed is formed into a hardened cake, which is removed from the machine[10].
Expellers can be used with almost any kind of oilseed and nuts. The process is relatively simple
and not capital-intensive ($6,000 ~ $8,000).[11] While the smallest solvent extraction plant would have a
processing capacity of 100-200 tons per day, expellers are available for much smaller capacities, starting
from a few tons per day.[12]
Because there are no solvent residues in the expeller pressed oil, such oil is considered cleaner,
purer.The process of extraction is the critical quality difference between oil brands often found in the
natural foods market as opposed to mass-market or supermarket brands.[12]
The main disadvantage of the expeller pressing method is its relatively low oil yield. Even the
most powerful presses cannot reduce the level of residual oil in the cake to below 3~5%. [12] Though such
oil residual may be acceptable in the case of oil-rich sesame, at high processing rate the size of the press
needed to accomplish such oil yield may be unrealistic. Since most of the oil in the cake can be readily
recovered by solvent extraction, a two-stage processes (pre-press followed by solvent extraction) are now
widely applied in edible oil industry.

1.3.2 Solvent Extraction

The solvent extraction process recovers oil from oil-bearing materials by using a suitable type of
volatile solvent. The chief advantages of the process are: (1) oil recovery is nearly complete; (2) proteins
are not denatured in this process. Proteins are important in this project because the waste product may be
sold as animal feed; The principal disadvantages of the solvent extraction method are: (1) fire hazard is
very high because the solvent involved is volatile and flammable; (2) more sophisticated technical control
is necessary; and (3) equipment and materials may not be available in the country where the plant is
built.[13]

2. Project Management

2.1. Team Organization

The team consists of five senior chemical engineering students. The faculty advisor is Jeremy
VanAntwerp, a chemical engineering professor at Calvin College. The industrial advisor is Phil Bronsma,
an industrial chemist. The team has 45-minute weekly meetings with the faculty advisor. Also, the team
members meet weekly, typically two to four hours, to work on the design project. The meetings are
scheduled to secure quality project time and to promote progress. Literature articles, research summaries,
minutes, presentation slides, Excel sheets, and other documents are stored and managed in the team’s
Google drive folder. Selected key documents such as posters and reports are available at the team’s
webpage: http://engr.calvinblogs.org/17-18/srdesign20/
2.2 Design Norms and Faith Integration.
For this project, we focus on transparency, stewardship, and cultural appropriateness. These
criteria allow us to quantify how well our project meets both ethical and technical requirements. Firstly, in
terms of transparency, we want the design process and the design itself fully disclose to the public. The
design should promote honesty and communicate in a way that non-engineers (customers) can understand
as well. Secondly, in terms of stewardship, we are responsible to take care of the Earth because it is God’s
good creation. Therefore, we are conscious that our design should use resources cautiously and
thoughtfully. We also need to pay attention on harmful chemical releases and other environmental effects
that may be involved in the process. Lastly, in terms of cultural appropriateness, we are aware that our
designs should not only alleviate labor burdens, but also preserve wholesome aspects of the cultures we
approach (in this case, South Sudan, the U.S, and other developing countries).

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work with all your heart, as working for the Lord rather for people”:
Throughout the time we spend on this project, the team plans to work diligently and effectively not only
because we want to come out with good results, but because it is the mind posture we should have with
everything we put our hands to

2.2. Schedule

Tasks to be completed are usually listed on the senior design Moodle page or established at the
team’s weekly meeting with the faculty advisor. Tasks are marked off after they have been completed.
Leadership is rotational with each team member in charge of maintaining the schedule for a month. The
team leader periodically monitors each team member’s progress and helps the team to meet all deadlines.
In cases where the team is falling behind, a compromised deadline is set and dedicated project time is
scheduled to meet new deadline.

2.3. Budget

The project is carried out without the need to purchase any hardware, software, or equipment. The
design is theoretical and there will not be any development of a physical or tangible prototype. Therefore
the cost of this project will be $0 and budget management does not apply.

2.4. Method of approach

The team came up with a preliminary process about the extraction oil from seed. With this
process, we constructed a material balance and identifies the key equipment need for the extraction
process. The team then delved into researching the market of sesame seed, solvents used for extraction of
oil, and sesame oil. Four books relating to the production of sesame oil were ordered for references.
Literature research papers were gathered from a variety of databases including Google Scholar and
interlibrary loan.

In additional to the design process above, the team visited Zeeland Farm Services (ZFS) in
Zeeland, Michigan. ZFS is a family-owned and operated business in the agricultural and transportation
industries.[14] It primarily produces soybean oil (and resulting animal feed) by hexane extraction. The visit
offered the team a practical view of the design project. We obtained knowledge on the typical capacity of
the system, number of workers to operate the system, how the solvent comes into contact with the flaked
soybean seed, and how hexane is separated and recycled from oil and cake. After hexane is removed from
the oil, the crude soybean oil goes through a refinery process before it is sold to the market.
3. Sesame Oil Production System

3.1 Scale of Production and Plant Location

3.1.1. The Present 1% Case

The team aims to design a production plant that supplies 1% of the worldwide output of sesame
oil. Therefore, the capacity of the plant is 10,750 tons per year, which equates to about 20% of South
Sudan’s sesame oil output.

3.1.2. A Potential 5% case

In the event that the economic analysis proves that 1% will not be feasible enough to turn a profit,
the team will change the goal to 5% of the world’s market supply. This would match the entire current
South Sudan output per year.

3.2. Solvent Selection

3.2.1. Potential Solvents

To choose a reasonable solvent, the team consulted scientific literature to evaluate alternative
solvents. In an article by Tir, et. al., the effects of various solvents on the yield and properties of oil
extracted from Algerian sesame seeds were studied.[15] Extractions were carried out using the following
solvents: hexane, ethanol, acetone, dichloromethane, isopropanol, hexane-isopropanol mixture, and
chloroform-methanol mixture. 50 g of crushed dry sesame seed was refluxed in a Soxhlet apparatus using
the previously listed organic solvents. The sesame oil yield obtained ranged from 28.86% to 52.83%. The
results of the study is shown in the table below.
 Table 2: Results of the alternative solvent study[1]

Methanol and ethanol are safer than hexane with lower toxicity and lower flammability.
However, the main constituents of sesame oil are esters derived from glycerol and aliphatic saturated or
unsaturated fatty acids. The aliphatic structure gives alcohols such as ethanol and isopropanol a limited
solubility. Unlike the alcohols, hexane has an aliphatic structure which makes it very miscible with oil.
Therefore, methanol and ethanol are not favorable as their performance is limited by solubility.
Dichloromethane was identified to be the solvent that extracts the most oil compared to all other
solvents. Unfortunately dichloromethane is extremely toxic and has a carcinogenic nature, making it
unsuitable for oil extraction in the food industry.
While its yield is not optimal, acetone is also toxic and therefore is not suitable for our project.
The paper rules out chloroform due to similar concerns.
 3.2.2. Isopropanol or Hexane
The article recommends isopropanol as the solvent to extract sesame seed oil. Isopropanol is less
flammable than many other solvents; it exhibits a lower toxicity and is commonly available. Additionally,
the study concluded that the amphiphilic structure of isopropanol allows the extraction of an oil more rich
in sterols and tocopherols, indicating a higher quality.
For the design project, however, our team chose hexane as our solvent. Isopropanol, while having
a similar extraction performance compared to hexane, has a higher boiling point and higher heat of
vaporization, resulting in a significant increase in energy cost.[15,16] Additionally, the difference in the
material cost is significant. According to ICIS, hexane is $0.21/lb but isopropanol is $0.65/lb, about three
times the cost of hexane.[17] Thus, for industrial purposes, isopropanol is not a suitable substitute of
hexane.
The team also considered a mixture of hexane and isopropanol. The option was rejected because
its advantage is minimal, but the mixture poses a greater fire hazard[15] and complicates the separation
steps of the design.

3.2.3. Hexane Toxicity

Hexane is commonly used extract vegetable oil in industry because it is relatively inexpensive
and produces a high oil yield. To further justify our solvent choice, the team investigated the health
effects of hexane. After hexane recovery, the amount of hexane left in the edible oil is in the parts per
million range. In short, such a small amount of hexane has had no established effects on human and
animal health.
According to the EPA, the main source of exposure to hexane is through inhalation.[18] EPA has
classified hexane as a Group D chemical, with no evidence to human carcinogenicity. The known danger
of acute hexane inhalation are mild central nervous system (CNS) effects, including dizziness, slight
nausea, and headache. Chronic exposure to hexane in air is associated with polyneuropathy in humans,
with numbness in the extremities, muscular weakness, blurred vision, headache, and fatigue. Neurotoxic
effects have also been exhibited in rats.[18] However, the miniscule amount of exposure through ingestion
has no documented health effects. Therefore the EPA has allowed hexane to be the main solvent for
vegetable oil extractions.
The FDA does not monitor hexane in food nor do they require testing of its quantity in foods.[19]
Under the FDA hexane is regulated in hops and some spices; the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21
Chapter I, Sec.173.270 Hexane gives a maximum of 25 ppm in certain extracted spices.[20] Regarding
hexane in our product, however, toxicity by ingestion is not seen as a threat.
In conclusion, the use hexane is approved by proper authorities and our consumers do not need be
afraid of health risks from consuming our sesame oil.

3.2.4. Safety Precautions

Though hexane is safe to oil consumers, it is still an occupational hazard. The team researched
safety precautions to protect the plant operators. Workers handling hexane should do so with protective
clothing and in ventilated areas.[21] The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
has established a recommended exposure limit to be 50 ppm a 10-hour workday and a 40-hour
workweek.[22]
Therefore, we have investigated the hazards of our production system and will pursue the design
with safety precautions in mind.
3.3. Overview of the System

Figure 2: Process flow diagram of the sesame oil production system

3.4. Key Equipment in the Process

3.4.1. Seed Storage (B-101)

The team plans on storing 125,846 tons of sesame seed for the production throughout the year
(8,000 hr). The storage is divided into 12 bins, one for each month.
 3.4.2. Roaster (E-101)
The sesame seeds first go through the roaster at a rate of 4.37 kg/s. An elevated temperature
reduces the viscosity of the oil and therefore allows easier mechanical pressing. Presently, we assumed
that all the moisture in the seed (about 6 wt%) is evaporated.

3.4.3. Grinder and Settler (G-101)

Sesame seed is fed to the grinder at a rate of 4.164 kg/s. In the screw press, the sesame seed is
broken up into a favorable size so that oil leaks out. Though a higher oil yield is achievable with a bigger
grinder, we assumed that 50% of the oil is obtained and the remaining is sent for solvent extraction. A
settling tank is added to collect the oil and to prevent any undesirable solid from entering the oil storage
tank.

3.4.4. Leaching and Settler (V-202)

The cake that comes out of the grinder enters the leaching tank. The solvent, hexane, contacts the
cake at a flow rate of 11.14 kg/s, determined by a solvent to seed ratio of 2.5. The ratio is calculated from
an example hexane leaching system, assuming linear scale up based on the oil content to be processed.[22]
An agitation system is incorporated in the leaching tank to promote the dissolution of oil into hexane. We
assume that 99% of the total oil is extracted. After the flows are well mixed, a settling tank (possibly a
hydrocyclone) separates the liquid phase and the solid phase.

3.4.5. Distillation Column (T-101)

The solvent is separated from the miscella (mixture of solvent and oil). Presently we assume that
the oil product is essentially pure of hexane and we lose 1% of the total oil by the overhead product. We
assumed a recycle ratio of 20:1 at the purge splitting point.

3.4.6. Evaporator (E-102)

The cake from the leaching unit is evaporated to remove its volatile contaminants. We assume
that 1 % of the total solvent and 1% of the total oil are lost.

3.4.7. Storage Tanks (V-101, V-103)

Tank V-101 holds the pressed oil incoming at a flow rate of 1.09 kg/s. Tank V-103 holds the
extracted oil incoming at a flow rate of 1.06 kg/s. The two types of oil are stored separately due to market
preferences.

3.4.8. Animal Feed Storage (B-102)

This equipment holds the animal feed obtained from the evaporator at a rate of 2.00 kg/s.

3.4.9. Boiler (not shown on PFD)

A boiler is needed to supply heat. Our utility is low pressure steam because the temperature of our
system is not very high (for example, hexane boils at 68.75 0C at 1 atm)[16]. Other forms of utility are
ignored in the current level of design.
 3.4.10. Other Equipment
Heat exchangers, pumps, valves, pipes, and conveyor belts are ignored in the current level of
design but will be considered in the future. For example, a cooler will be added to cool down the recycled
hexane. Conveyors are needed to move the solid and pumps are needed to transport the liquid. A vacuum
condition will also be considered for safety concerns.

3.4.11. Sesame Oil Refinery

We are aware that further refining process may be needed for our sesame oil to be marketable. A
full refining process usually include four steps: conditioning, neutralization, washing, and drying.
Conditioning transforms non-hydrate phospholipids into their hydrate form by breaking down metal-
phosphatide complexes with a strong acid (such as phosphoric acid). Neutralization removes free fatty
acids and residual gums. Washing removes residual gums by hot water. Drying removes moisture under
vacuum conditions. Additional step, deodorization, can be added to remove odor substances.[23] Currently
the design produces crude sesame oil. The team will consider if and which refinery steps are necessary for
the next level of design.
4. Business Plan

4.1. Market Survey

4.1.1. Market Scale and Distribution

The global production of sesame seed is 6,235,530 metric tons in 2014. Based on data from
1993~2014, 1,075,000 tons of sesame oil is produced annually.[24] Asian and African countries are the top
producers and consumers of sesame oil and its products. The demand and consumption for sesame
products have increased phenomenally. The global market continues to indicate a high growth with an
average annual rate of 21.6% from 2007 to 2015. In 2015, the gross profit from market sale was $12.61B,
moving up by 100.4% against the previous year. This trend is expected to continue throughout the
forecast period 2017-2025 thanks to “disposable income growth, population growth, and growth of
baking.” [25] In addition, the expected growth is also a result of the fact that the increasing usage of sesame
oil for purposes other than cooking, such as cosmetics, health, and wellness products.[26] The figure below
shows the distribution of the global sesame oil production.

Figure 3: World’s leading producer of sesame oil (1993-2014)[24]

The average annual growth rate (AAGR) in net sales of top producing countries continue to
skyrocket. From 2007 to 2015, AAGR of Myanmar, China, and Tanzania is 0.9%, 2.4%, and 36.9%
respectively.[24]
 In addition to traditional markets, sesame oil is also gaining popularity in Europe. Europe
imported 12,000 tons of sesame oil in 2015. The United Kingdom is the most important market with 40%
of consumption. Since 2011, imports increased steadily at an annual rate of 7.1%.[27]

4.1.2. Market Stability

The market price of sesame oil is not stable and has fluctuated significantly every year. Factors
affecting the market include high demand for the seed and short supply for the sesame products. The high
dependence of agriculture on the climate conditions in the developing countries makes the yield of
sesame seed unstable.[28] This fluctuation could adversely affect the financial projections of this project if
the price of sesame seed increases or the prices of oil and by-products decline. Moreover, because there is
no international organization that unifies sesame oil market policies and stabilizes the oil market, it has
been challenging to find a reliable report on world sesame price. Therefore, we consulted the commodity
bulk price of wholesale suppliers. See the prices of materials and production below (Section 6.2.2) Last
but not least, the prices vary by the type of sellers and quality of the oil.
In conclusion, the market for sesame oil is has potential for our design.

4.2 Cost Estimate

4.2.1. Overview

The cost estimate is the strongest evidence of feasibility (or infeasibility) for our design. We
evaluated the purchase cost of each piece of equipment and estimated a total capital investment of
$35.21M. Based on the production capacity and a preliminary energy balance, we estimated annual
utility, maintenance, and labor cost to be $507K, $3.10M, and $3.65M respectively. We investigated the
prices of the materials involved and obtained material cost and revenue. Assuming 15% interest rate and a
20 year study period, our breakeven price of sesame oil is $2,670/t, which is 6.9% lower than the market
price ($2,870/t). Therefore, the sesame oil production plant is profitable.

4.2.2. Prices of Materials and Products

The materials needed are sesame seed and n-hexane. The profitable products are sesame oil and
the leftover cake as animal feed. The team researched on wholesale prices and discovered that sesame
seed and oil prices vary significantly from seller to seller. To obtain a reasonable estimate, we recorded
the listed prices of 10 sellers of seed, oil, and hexane each and the listed prices of 6 (only 6 available)
sellers of sesame animal feed. Only large-scale (metric ton magnitude) suppliers, such as Rama Gum
Industries (India) Limited for sesame seed, Tianjin Yuanlong Chemical Industry Co. for hexane, Qingdao
Ocean Import and Export Co. for sesame oil, and Multiko Packaging for seed meal, were consulted. We
removed the maximum and the minimum to reduce the outlier bias. Then we obtained the average prices
of our materials and products. Next we intend to conduct a more thorough market research considering
different types of seed and oil and employing more sophisticated statistical analysis.

Table 3: Average Prices of Sesame Seed, Hexane, Oil, and Cake (Animal Feed)[29,30,31,32]
 Note: 1. Any price range is replaced with the median value of the range.
2. Any price on volume is converted to mass basis via density.
3. Any price not in USD is converted to USD via exchange rate as of 11 Nov 2017[33].
4. Prices are accessed on 10 Nov 2017.

Although sesame seed contains about 50% oil by mass, it is obvious that the average oil price
($2,870/t) is more than twice of the average seed price ($1,180/t). Hexane ($1,690/t) is more expensive
than seed, but with solvent recovery only a small amount of fresh feed is needed. (We assumed a 20:1
recycle ratio in our current material balance.) In addition, animal feed ($460/t) provides a relatively small
but sizable revenue. Therefore, sesame oil production is potentially profitable.

4.2.3. Total Purchase Cost

The team considered the major equipment of the production process. For each equipment, the
purchase cost was calculated as a function of a key design variable. We used cost correlations available in
design textbooks. We estimated the purchase cost of each piece of equipment based on the material or
energy balance and obtained a total purchase cost of $6.670M. See the sections below for a more detailed
explanation of each equipment.

Table 4: Major Equipment and Purchase Cost of Sesame Oil Production System
4.2.3.1: Seed Storage (B-101) and Animal Feed Storage (B-102)
These were modeled as storage bins under “solids-handling systems”[34]. For sesame seed, we
assumed one harvest per year. The growth cycle of sesame is 130 days[35] and multiple harvests are
possible. We also learned from ZFS that some growers store their grain to sell at a higher price during the
off season. Therefore, obtaining sesame seeds outside the harvest period is possible. However, the
agriculture market fluctuates frequently and without detailed data (specific to a certain region) we cannot
reliably estimate the availability of the seed year around. We decided to pursue a conservative estimate;
our storage facility must be able to contain a year’s (8000 hr) production. With a seed density of 608.7
kg/m3 [36], our total storage volume is 207,000 m3 (7.30M ft3), which appears to be overwhelmingly large
and far exceeds the upper limit of the cost function (by 73 fold). Therefore, we divided the storage facility
into 12 smaller bins, one for each month, resulting in a purchase cost of $3.13M. For animal waste, we
assumed a storage capacity to hold 7 days of production. This yields a purchase cost of $99K.

4.2.3.2. Roaster (E-101)

The roaster was modeled as an indirect-heat steam tube rotary dryer[34]. We chose rotary dryer
because of its capacity to process a large amount of solid particles continuously. We chose indirect
instead of direct heat dryer even at 40% higher cost. Indirect heat dryer offers better heat transfer control
for low temperature applications (compared to direct heat dryer which operates at 250 ~ 1000 ℃), avoids
charring of the seed, and avoids contact with potentially harmful fuel exhaust gases.[37,38] We obtained a
range of dryer diameters and process capacities.[37] After linear interpolation, the diameter of our dryer is
3.89 ft. We assumed a typical 10:1 length to diameter ratio[38], yielding a cylindrical area (drum peripheral
area in the cost function) of 475 ft2. Our roaster cost is $441K.
4.2.3.3. Grinder and Settler (G-101)
The grinder was modeled as a screw press under “solid-liquid separators”[34]. Its purchase cost is
$795K, estimated according to a wet solid flow rate of 33050 lb/hr. As in Figure 1, the expeller allows oil
to drip out from the sieves, which removes the majority of the solid. The grinder is followed by a solid
liquid settling tank (also G-101, not individually shown on the PFD), so that small streams of oil is
collected into a continuous phase. Also, oil is further purified to remove any solid that has leaked through
the sieves into the oil. The settling area is not available without detailed design, so we assumed maximum
settling area of the cost function and obtained a conservative estimate of $560K.

4.2.3.4. Leaching Tank and Settler (V-202)

The leaching tank was modeled as a closed vessel turbine agitator[34]. The spacetime was assumed
to be 10 min. Since hexane takes the majority of the flow and solid particles are suspended in hexane, we
used hexane density of 653 kg/m3 [16] and obtained the size of the vessel (3,236 gal). The agitator power is
32.36 HP. The vessel itself was modeled as a floating roof storage tank to account for the volatile solvent.
Together the vessel and the agitator cost $56K. A settler (also V-202, not individually shown on the PFD)
was added to separate the hexane-oil liquid phase and the remaining solid. Its cost was estimated in the
same way as as G-101 to be $560K.

4.2.3.5. Evaporator (E-102) and Distillation Tower (T-101)

Both pieces of equipment remove hexane from a mixture. In the evaporator we presently assumed
a 1% loss of hexane, a small amount which we will burn in the furnace. However, this assumption may
not be valid dictated by the detailed leaching design. In that case, we intend to install a condenser and add
the hexane into the recycle stream. The evaporator was modeled as a drum dryer, which works well for a
slurry[34]. Similar to the settler, we used the maximum heating area of the cost function and obtained a
conservative estimate of $334K.
The distillation tower is more complex. We assumed that the operating pressure is 1 atm because
the normal boiling point of hexane (69 ℃)[34] falls within a suitable range. We calculated the wall
thickness to withstand internal pressure using the ASME pressure vessel code formula[39]. We assumed
that the vessel is vertical and calculated the additional thickness for wind and earthquake using the Mulet
correlation[39]. To determine the vessel size, we assumed that the space time is 60 min, yielding a volume
of 66.75 m3, and the height is 15 m, yielding a common height to diameter ratio (L/D) of 6.3. Detailed
design is required to determine the actual size. Since our chemicals are non-aqueous and the operating
temperature is moderate, we chose carbon steel as the material of construction, with a density of 7.85
g/mL[40] and a material factor (FM) of 1[36]. In the end, we obtained vessel cost (CV) based on the weight of
the equipment and added cost (CPL) for platforms and ladders. Therefore purchase cost (CP = CV FM +
CPL)[36] is $66K. Currently, we ignored the cost of plates or packing. Also, to obtain a high purity of oil,
multiple pieces of separation is probably necessary.

4.2.3.6. Pressed Oil Storage (V-101), Leached Oil Storage (V-103), and Solvent Storage (V-102)
The team decided to storage the pressed and the leached oil separately because some customers
prefer pressed oil that is solvent free[41]. Both oil storage were modeled as cone roof storage tanks[7-6]. The
capacity was assumed to hold 7 days of production. We calculated their volume based on material balance
and obtained purchase cost of V-101 to be $130K and that of V-103 to be $129K.
 The solvent storage was modeled as a floating roof storage tank because hexane is volatile[32].
Likewise, the capacity holds 7 days of production and the cost is $209K.

4.2.3.7. Steam Boiler (F-101)

Roaster, evaporator, and distillation are the energy intensive equipment. The team performed
preliminary energy balance using general temperatures, average heat capacities (mass basis), and heat of
vaporization (ΔHvap) of water[42] and hexane[36]. Our primary utility is steam. See utility cost (Section
4.2.5.1) below.
Therefore, the team installed a steam boiler (not shown on the PFD). Assuming 100% thermal
efficiency at the boiler and each equipment, the boiler duty is 6,032 kW. The steam boiler was modeled as
a fired heater[32] and its purchase cost is $157K. We ignored other energy generating equipment because
steam duty is much greater than other forms of utility.

4.2.4. Total Capital Investment

The team used Lang’s overall factor method to obtain a study estimate of 35%, which accounts
for the construction of the plant (installation, piping, pumps, controls, building, etc).[43] We ignored the
cost index of the equipment because the cost functions are given at a CE index of 500, which corresponds
to the year 2006.[44] We think that it is sufficiently close to the contemporary time for the current level of
feasibility study. We summed the purchase cost of the equipment, multiplied by a factor of 5.03 for a
solids-fluids processing plant and a factor of 1.05 for equipment transportation.[43] Therefore, the total
capital investment (CTCI) is $35.23M.

4.2.5. Operating Cost

4.2.5.1. Utility Cost

The roaster, evaporator, grinder, distillation column, and heat exchangers will run on low-
pressure steam and the pumps will run on electricity. Low pressure steam costs $6.60/t and electricity
costs $0.10/kWh.[45] For the current level of feasibility study we only considered the most energy
intensive steps. For the roaster, we assume that the seed is heated to 90 ℃ all the water is vaporized. For
the evaporator and the distillation, we assume that the process occurs at 70 ℃ and all the hexane is
vaporized. We obtained heat capacities and heat of vaporization of each species.[36,46] For any mixture
such as sesame seed, we assumed a weighted average on mass basis. Therefore, the total duty of our
design is 6,032 kW.
Table 5: Energy Balance of Roaster, Evaporator, and Distillation Tower
 Such duty requires a total low pressure steam flow rate of 2.7 kg/s assuming that steam is
completely condensed into saturated water. With an 8000 hr/yr operating time, our utility requires about
76,900 tons of low pressure steam corresponding to a cost of $507K/yr. Utility cost of other equipment
will be evaluated in the next level of design.

4.2.5.2. Labor Cost

Two methods were applied to calculate the number of operators needed in the plant and the total
labor cost. The first method is a scale-up approximation. The number of operators is estimated based on
our capacity and the capacity and number of operators at Zeeland Farm Services (ZFS). ZFS was chosen
as the standard because its soybean oil production process is very similar to our sesame oil production
process in terms of equipment and technical requirements. ZFS’s oil refinery plant in Zeeland, Michigan,
is capable of processing 160 million pounds of soybean oil annually. Currently, the company is producing
approximately 40,823 tons of soybean oil per year[47]. The company has 30 people working in the
processing plant and 10 people working in the refinery plant. Since we did not design the refinery plant
this semester, we will focus on estimating the number of operators in the processing plant only. The team
used linear correlation since no other correlation is available. Therefore, the number of operators in our
plant is estimated to be 46 people.
The second method is the labor-related-operations method[43].This method evaluates the type and
arrangement of the equipment, the multiplicity of the units, and the control of each process. For a
preliminary estimate of the number of operators required per shift, the process is divided into the
following sections with each section requiring at least 2 operators at a time: feed preparation system,
mixing system, solid-liquid separation batch system, and vaporization system. The table below shows the
number of operators in each section.

Table 6: Number of operators per section (basis: plant with automatic control)[43]
 Because our plant processes more than 100 t/day, the Seider textbook suggests to multiply the
number of operators in solid-liquid separation continuous system by two. The plant will operate 24/7
(excluding downtime); therefore three shifts per day are needed. To account for to illness, vacations,
holidays, and weekends, we decided to employ 5 shifts for each section. So the total number of operators
needed is 50 people.
The second method was chosen because the actual scale-up in the first method may not be linear.
Beside operators, we added 3 truck drivers, 2 office workers, and 2 salesmen to help the company
function properly. Therefore, the total number of employees is 57 people.
We investigated the average amount of working time and the average salary of various jobs (see
appendix, Table A.1).[48] In addition to paying salary, a company also pays to cover some benefits (health
insurance, paid vacation, 401(k) plan, retirement, etc.). The benefits of an employee is approximately
$6,251 (2015), 78% of which is paid by the company[49]. Therefore, the total labor cost is $3.65M/yr.

Table 7. Labor cost estimation for the company

4.2.5.3. Maintenance cost

The plant operates 8,000 hr/yr and the shutdown (turnaround) time for maintenance is
approximately 31 days. The purpose of shutdown time is to perform necessary maintenance (external and
internal), repairs, and equipment replacement. According to the Seider textbook, the maintenance cost is
the sum of maintenance wages and benefits (MW&B), salaries and benefits (for supervisors), materials
and services, and maintenance overhead.[7-21] For solids-fluids handling process, the MW&B is 4.5% of
the total depreciable cost (CTDC), which has a Lang factor of 4.28 based on the delivered cost of
equipment[38]. Salaries and benefits cost 25% of MW&B; materials and services cost 100% of MW&B,
and the maintenance overhead costs 5% of MW&B[38]. We obtained a total maintenance cost of
$3.10M/yr.

Table 8: Breakdown of Total Annual Maintenance Cost

4.2.5.4. Material Cost and Revenue

Based on our current material balance, our sesame production system consumes 1.26M tons of
seed and 17.9K tons of hexane per year, and produces 62.0K tons of sesame oil and 57.5K tons of animal
feed per year. We used the market price for seed, hexane, and animal feed, ignored any market fluctuation
in the future, and obtained the annual material cost or revenue of each for the annual cash flow. This
allows us to calculate a breakeven oil price and compare the price to the market price.

Table 9: Material Amount, Unit and Annual Cost or Revenue

4.2.6. Break Even Price

To obtain an annual equivalent (A, annuity) of the capital investment (P, present worth), we
assumed an interest rate (i) of 15% and a study period (n) of 20 years, as those are typical values studied
in course design projects and engineering economy cases. Then, the (A/P, i%, n) factor is 0.1598.[7-20]
Therefore, the annuity value of the total capital investment is $5.63M.
Then, the team listed the items in the annual cash flow, set up Excel solver, and calculated an oil
price which yields an annual cash flow of $0. This breakeven price is $2670/t. The current market price is
$2,870/t. Since the breakeven price is $200 lower than the market price, the sesame oil production plant is
profitable.
 Table 10: Break Even Price Calculations

5. Conclusions

Our plant produces 62,000 metric tons of sesame oil per year (8000 hr) via mechanical pressing
and solvent extraction using hexane. The plant will be operated at atmospheric pressure and at a
temperature range of room (25 0C) and 90 0C.
Our team estimated a total capital investment of $35.23M. We evaluated various operating costs:
labor, utility, maintenance, and material. With a 15% rate of return and 20 year study period, the
breakeven price for our sesame oil is $2670/t, which is 6.9% lower than the current market price
($2870/t). Hence, we conclude that production plant under is feasible.

6. Acknowledgement

The Golden Oil team (20) expresses its gratitude for Professor Jeremy VanAntwerp (faculty
advisor), who guided the team to consider various factors to progress into the project, Team 18, who
shared with us information regarding some common equipment and also planned a plant visit, and
Zeeland Farm Services (ZFS), whose patient and friendly staff guided us on an enlightening plant tour.

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 Appendices

Table A.1: Salary of various professions in the US