Case study of a novel low rank coal to calcium carbide process based on techno-economic assessment

As calcium carbide (CaC 2 ) production is an energy-intensive industry, a novel low rank coal to CaC 2 (LRCtCC) process has been developed. This study is aimed to evaluate the techno-economic performance of the LRCtCC process. A model integrating particle swarm optimization and nonlinear programming (PSO-NLP) is developed to predict the behavior of coal pyrolysis. The techno-economic assessment of the LRCtCC process is analyzed. Results show that the power consumption of electric arc furnace is expected to drop to 2845 from 3169 kW·h/t with the hot material (HM) temperature increasing from 25 to 850 °C. The effect of increasing HM temperature is greater than that of adjusting the composition of fuel on system efficiency, cost of CaC 2 , and internal rate of return. In addition, the effects of typical economic factors on net present value ( NPV ) of the LRCtCC process are compared. Results show that variations of CaC 2 price and power consumption pose a remarkable impact on NPV . The findings of this study suggest that the LRCtCC process would be an attractive method for the improvement of CaC 2 production. • A PSO-NLP model was developed to predict the behavior of coal pyrolysis. • The effect of hot material temperature on the power consumption of CaC 2 production was investigated. • The application of rotary hearth furnace gas and electric arc furnace gas was studied. • Sensitive analysis of the main parameters on economic performance was evaluated.