Cost unit operations

Characterization of uncertainties in the operation and economies of the proposed seawater desalination plant in the Gaza Strip was made by using a Bayesian belief network (BBN) approach [80]. In particular, the model was used to (1) characterize the different uncertainties involved in the RO process, (2) optimize the RO process reliability and cost, and (3) study how uncertainty in unit capital cost, unit operation and maintenance (O M) cost, and permeate quality was related to different input variables. The minimum specific capital cost was found to be 0.224 0.064 US /m, and the minimum O M cost was found to be 0.59 0.11 US /m. This unit cost was for a production capacity of 140,000 mVday. 

Some induction heating furnaces must operate at frequencies higher than the supply frequency. Formerly, rotating motor alternator frequency converters were used. Now the avadabdity of high speed, high power sdicon controlled rectifiers for use in frequency converters has made rotary converters obsolete. Modem units operate at higher efficiency, cost less, require less factory space, and coordinate readdy with process controls (2). 

In some respects, hydrometallurgy can be described as wet analytical chemistry carried out on a large scale. Many different dow sheets can be designed with various types of unit operations and most metals can be extracted from a complex ore and recovered at the desired level of purity. A viable hydrometaHurgical process, however, must achieve that goal at an economically acceptable cost. 

Processing costs include those for size reduction, size classification, minerals concentration and separations, soHd—Hquid separation (dewatering), materials handling and transportation, and tailings disposal. Size reduction, one of the most expensive unit operations in minerals processing, could account for as much as 50% of the total energy consumed. This cost varies considerably from deposit to deposit and quite often from one area of a deposit to another. Ore bodies are extremely heterogeneous and the associated minerals Hberation, complex. 

Plant Operation and Costs. The operation and economics of the three United States gaseous diffusion plants miming ia 1972 is discussed ia References 29 and 30. These plants were operated as a single gaseous diffusion complex such that iaterplant shipments occurred so as to optimize the overall system. Independent operation of the plants would have resulted ia about a 1% loss ia separative work. 

YFrC r = sum of feed flows times respec tive unit costs OC = operating costs/time... 

Operating Labor The cost of operating labor is the second largest item of expense in the manufac turing cost. Labor requirements for a process can be estimated from an intelhgent study of the equipment flow sheet, paying careful attention to the various primaiy process steps such as frac tionation, filtration, etc. The hourly wage rate should be that currently paid in the company. Once the number of persons reqiiired per shift has been estimated for a particular production rate, the annual labor cost and the labor cost per unit of production can be estimated. 

The stirring produces the end product in the desired divided-sohds form. Hence, it is frequently termed a granulator or a ciystaUizer. A variety of factoiy-made sizes in various materials of construction are available. Initial cost is modest, while operating cost is rather high (as is true of all batch devices), but the ability to process gummy burdens and/or simultaneously effect two unit operations often yields an economical application. 

Chemical Volume Reduction Incineration has been the method commonly used to reduce the volume of wastes chemically. One of the most attractive features of the incineration process is that it can be used to reduce the original volume of combustible sohd wastes by 80 to 90 percent. The technology of incineration has advanced since 1960 with many mass burn facihties now have two or more combustors with capacities of 1000 tons per day of refuse per unit. However, regiila-tions of metal and dioxin emissions have resulted in higher costs and operating complexity. 

Continuous monitoring of unit operation providing information on rotor location, balance, speed, and bearing loads, which were previously difficult and costly to obtain. 

The overall costs for a VFO unit can be lower than the costs of conventional liquid fuel treatment plants. The U.S. Department of Energy conducted a survey that showed that the costs of operating a liquid fuel treatment system over a 20-year period is approximately 0.50 MMBtu... 

Now you can reconsider the material balance equations by adding those additional factors identified in the previous step. If necessary, estimates of unaccountable losses will have to be calculated. Note that, in the case of a relatively simple manufacturing plant, preparation of a preliminary material-balance system and its refinement (Steps 14 and 15) can usefully be combined. For more-complex P2 assessments, however, two separate steps are likely to be more appropriate. An important rule to remember is that the inputs should ideally equal the outputs - but in practice this will rarely be the case. Some judgment will be required to determine what level of accuracy is acceptable, and we should have an idea as to what the unlikely sources of errors are (e.g., evaporative losses from outside holding ponds may be a materials loss we cannot accurately account for). In the case of high concentrations of hazardous wastes, accurate measurements are needed to develop cost-effective waste-reduction options. It is possible that the material balance for a number of unit operations will need to be repeated. Again, continue to review, refine, and, where necessary, expand your database. The compilation of accurate and comprehensive data is essential for a successful P2 audit and subsequent waste-reduction action plan. Remember - you can t reduce what you don t know is therel... 

Use the material balance for each unit operation to pinpoint the problem areas associated with a process. The material-balance exercise may have brought to light the origin of wastes with high treatment costs, or may indicate which wastes are causing process problems in which operations. The material balance should be used to set priorities for long-term waste reduction. 

There are a large number of processes in the chemical industries that handle a variety of suspensions of solid particles in liquids. The application of filtration techniques for the separation of these heterogeneous systems is sometimes very costly. If, however, the discrete phase of the suspension largely contains settleable particles, the separation can be effected by the operation of sedimentation. The process of sedimentation involves the removal of suspended solid particles from a liquid stream by gravitational settling. This unit operation is divided into thickening,... 

Ultrafiltration equipment are combined with other unit operations. The unique combination of unit operations depends on the wastewater characteristics and desired effluent quality, and cost considerations. 

Rossiter and Douglas (1986) state that the first step in process design is to generate a basic structure for the flowsheet i.e. the choice of unit operations and interconnections which can be analysed, refined and costed, and then compared to alternatives. Thus, the generation of an industrial crystallization flowsheet gives rise to a number of optimization problems for which a systematic hierarchical decision process for particulate systems was proposed ... 

There may be some additional recovery from an LTX unit than would be realized from a straight two-stage flash sep" " — r"— increment is normally small and may not justify the increased equipment cost and operating complexity associated with an LTX unit. 

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