Economic risk assessment using Monte Carlo simulation for the production of azelaic acid and pelargonic acid from vegetable oils

The interest in renewable products is growing as a source of raw materials. Alongside, new process technologies (process intensification combined with continuous manufacturing) are seen as better alternatives to increase the profitability of new projects. Consequently, two Monte Carlo simulations were performed to focus the Research and Development effort on areas of major impact on the development of a chemical process. Palm oil and high oleic sunflower oil were used as case studies for the production of azelaic acid. It was found that process intensification strategies should focus on selectivity and on the reduction of the number of processing steps. Additionally, the use of vegetable oils with a higher quality although at higher price (about 50 % more expensive) provides a faster payback time, mostly due to a lower CAPEX and a better value of the co-products. For specialty chemicals, the choice of the oil depends strongly on the fatty acid profile.