For a school project – I need to find the cost/kg (or per lb) of molecular sieves for an industry-sized packed bed column (hundreds to thousands of kilograms) not laboratory amounts (5-10kg). I’ve checked out Chemical Market Reporter and several manufacturers websites, and I can’t get a solid number.
I don’t need the answer outright, but if someone could just point me in the right direction, i’d appreciate it.
The base zeolite from which it is made , 4A, is very inexpensive and easy to make. In quantity it sells for less than $0.25/ LB. It needs to be treated with potassium (ion-exchanged) to form 3A. All but the most demanding applications require mild treatment costing perhaps another $0.25/ lb. Aggregating the (now) 3A to a useful adsorbent pellet can be done for less than $0.50/ lb. So the total manufacturing cost is a little less than $1/lb. At a medium scale (tons) it might be procurable for $2.50-$3.00/lb. For huge applications (like natural gas drying where a million lbs. in an adsorbing unit is not large) that can often be negotiated down to perhaps $1.50/lb.