Economic feasibility analysis of commercial formaldehyde-based adhesives

Formaldehyde-based adhesives have been used for several decades due to its convenience. In this paper, we aimed to explore the economics of urea-formaldehyde (UF) adhesives that can be used in wood panels. Two formaldehyde production pathways: metal oxide pathway and silver pathway, were compared in this study. SuperPro Designer v9.5 software was employed to perform the techno-economic analysis (TEA). Key parameters of TEA were calculated and compared of these two pathways, including total capital investment, annual operating cost and product revenues. It was found that the unit production cost of UF adhesive made from metal oxide pathway ($0.86/kg) was less expensive than that from silver pathway ($0.99/kg), but the total capital cost was slightly higher in metal oxide pathway (40 million $) than silver pathway (38 million $). Additionally, sensitivity analysis indicated that final product yield and material costs were the most sensitive factors among all inputs.