Economic appraisal of supercritical fluid extraction of refined cashew nut shell liquid

This manuscript summarises the techno-economic feasibility of refined cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL). A simple mass transfer based mathematical model for the yield prediction is presented. The process parameters and extraction time for maximum profit and purity of the product were optimized. The optimum extraction time for maximum profit and purity was found to be 0.9 h at 300 bar and 323 K. The influence of the different costs, such as fixed cost, raw material cost, labor cost, utility cost, etc. on profit and cost of production of the extract is also presented.