Published May 1985
This review examines the economics of using oxygen as the oxidant gas in the production of high abrasion furnace (HAF) carbon black by the oil-furnace process. The oxygen route is compared with the conventional process, in which air is used as the oxidant gas. The data used in the evaluation were extracted from an Ashland Oil, Inc. patent.
The base case for the economic evaluation depicts a single train producing 50 million lb/yr of HAF black. Bagging and warehousing facilities are not included in the investment estimates. We prorated capital costs for utilities on the basis of the assumption that this production line is part of a plant producing an additional 50 million lb/yr of various grades of black.
On a new-plant basis, the product value for the oxygen route is lower than that for the air route. If an existing line is retrofitted to accommodate the use of oxygen the variable costs will be reduced. Clearly, In this latter case the economics swill be greatly influenced by factors such as the prices of oxygen and natural gas and the end-use of low Btu (about 50 Btu/scf) flue gas produced by the air route.
