Economic evaluation of the industrial photosynthesis of rose oxide via lamp or solar operated photooxidation of citronellol

An economic evaluation regarding the industrial photosynthesis of fine chemical rose oxide using solar light is given and compared to conventional lamps as light source. A plant leaching a capacity of 100 t/a was designed containing app. 1,900 m(2) of parabolic troughs, 1,500m(2) of flatbed reactors of 32 high-pressure mercury lamps doped with Thallium iodide (TlI) as a photounit. The investment and production costs were compared and graded. We reached the conclusion that solar application is more profitable than the lamp driven one.