Abstract
LaNi5 is widely used in various applications. Many methods to produce LaNi5 particles have been reported but information for the large-scale production, so far, is less available. This study aimed to evaluate the project for the production of LaNi5 particles using combustion-reduction (CR) and co-precipitation-reduction (CPR) methods based on engineering and economic perspective. Engineering evaluation was conducted by evaluating the CR and CPR processes from stoichiometry. For the economic evaluation, several economic parameters were calculated in the ideal condition including gross profit margin (GPM), payback period (PBP), break-even point (BEP), cumulative net present value (CNPV), profitability index (PI), internal rate return (IRR), and return on investment (ROI). For the worst cases in the project, it was done by calculating both the internal problems (i.e., raw materials, sales, utility, labor, employee, fixed cost, variable cost, and production capacity) and the external issues (i.e., taxes and subsidiaries). The engineering analysis provided the information that CR and CPR projects are prospective for being able to be done using commercial apparatuses. The economic analysis from GPM, PBP, BEP, CNPV, and PI showed the positive results, while IRR and ROI showed the negative ones, indicating that the projects are acceptable for large-scale production, but it seems to be less attractive for industrial investors. The analysis also confirmed that the CR process was more prospective than the CPR process. This work has demonstrated the important of the projects for further developments.
Highlights
Lanthanum nickel materials are the attractive materials due to their wide applications, such as in hydrogen storage applications, catalysts in the synthesis process of materials, hydrogen purification, accumulation of heat and heat pump, refrigeration, actuator, and compressor[1].Table 1 presents the summary of current reports to synthesize LaNi5 materials
The methods allow the product with high purity, smaller sizes, excellent performance, less usage of raw materials, as well as the lower temperature process compared to other methods[2]
Since no information is available for the large-scale production, the work aimed to realize the mass production that can be used for commercialization
Summary
The methods allow the product with high purity, smaller sizes, excellent performance (i.e. faster kinetics, higher capacities, long-term cycling stability), less usage of raw materials, as well as the lower temperature process compared to other methods[2]. The methods are reported in the lab-scale work only. Since no information is available for the large-scale production, the work aimed to realize the mass production that can be used for commercialization. It will be interested for supporting industrial practitioners, especially in the optimization of the process [3]
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