Energy, fuels, and chemicals 3235 



Table 26-18. — Estimated "plant- gate'' selling prices^ for energy products derived from 



woocf 



Plant size 

 850 dry tons/day 1700 dry tons/day 

 Dollars/ million Btu heating value — 



Process steam 2.70 



Low-Btu fuel gas 2.70 



Medium-Btu fuel gas 3.10 2.60 



Charcoal without credits 4.90 4.60 



Charcoal with steam credit 2.10 1.90 



Substitute natural gas 4.60 3.80 



Ammonia 5.50 ($107/ton) 4.43 ($88/ton) 



Methanol 7.60 ($0.50/gal) 6.20 ($0.40/gal) 



Ethanol 20.40 (1.65/gal) 17.50 (1.40/gal) 



Electricity 1 1 .80 (40 mills/kWh) 8.80 (30 mills/kWh) 



'Data from Saloetal. (1978). Assumptions include a 10-percent return on investment after taxes. 

 ^Woodcost is $1.00/10^ Btu. 



and capital charges of 22 percent of plant and working capital investment, of 

 $0.56 to $1.05 per gallon. They predicted that the market price for methanol 

 would increase from the 1979 price of $0.483/gallon to $0,980 in 1990 and 

 $1.079/gallon in 1995 (all in constant 1979 dollars). 



In 1 975 Katzen Associates reported on the separate or combined production of 

 chemicals from wood (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service 1976; 

 Saeman;'^ Grantham 1978; Hokanson and Rowell 1977). Table 12-20 summa- 

 rizes data on the selling prices for a hardwood plant. Assumptions included a 

 delivered price of $34/dry ton and that its availability is limited to 1 ,500 dry tons 

 per day. Conclusions drawn from the Katzen report are that chemicals produc- 

 tion from wood is not economically attractive. 



See table 12-21 for some energy equivalents useful in economic comparisons. 



'^J. F. Saeman. Energy and materials from the forest biomass 20 p. Paper presented at Institute of 

 Gas Technology Symp. on Clean Fuels from Biomass and Wastes. (Orlando. Fla., Jan 25-28. 1977). 



