For the conceptually designed facility, the total fixed capital investment
and the total direct cost of production per year are
estimated to be $1,468,500 and $499,705 respectively. The direct
production of cost of biomass and astaxanthin would be about $14/kg
and $555/kg. If a 10 year depreciation of fixed capital cost is adopted,
the unit production cost of biomass and astaxanthin would be $18/kg
and $718/kg respectively. If a 5 year depreciation of fixed capital cost
is adopted, the unit production cost of biomass and astaxanthin would
be $22/kg and $882/kg respectively. The production cost of synthetic
astaxanthin by DSM, BASF, and NHU is estimated to be about $1000/
kg astaxanthin, and therefore the conceptually designed facility
would be able to produce natural astaxanthin at a cost lower than
that of synthetic astaxanthin.