Costs alternative concepts

The capitalized-cost profitability concept is useful for comparing alternatives which exist as possible investment choices within a single overall project. For example, if a decision based on profitability analysis were to be made as to whether stainless steel or mild steel should be used in a chemical reactor as one part of a chemical plant, capitalized-cost comparison would be a useful and appropriate approach. This particular case is illustrated in Example 9 of Chap. 7. 

Alternatively, concepts having deployment target dates further out in time tend to push the technology envelope and employ more aggressive temperatures, new types of fuel and materials, new energy converters and less proven heat transport approaches, etc. The motivation is to reduce cost, and to take steps toward autonomous operation for reduced operating staff size and skill level. Many of these concepts assume the operation in a closed fuel cycle to ensure better fuel utilization and further minimization of environmental impacts. Further substantial R D will be required to achieve these gains. 

The motor industry was using plastics long before the Second World War, in such items as electrical components and interior fittings. They were used whenever they were available as a convenient low cost alternative to traditional materials. These were direct replacement applications the concept of redesigning around the essential merits of plastics came much later, following some fundamental changes on the world scene. 

In considering the economics of process alternatives, it is important to think about the total life cycle costs. There is an increasing interest in this concept in the environmental area, with a recognition of the need to incorporate waste treatment, waste disposal, regulatory compliance, potential liability for environmental damage, and other long term environmental costs into project economic evaluation. Similarly, we must consider life cycle safety costs. Some examples of factors which should be considered include ... 

The life cycle cost of a process is the net total of all expenses incurred over the entire lifetime of a process. The choice of process chemistry can dramatically affect this life cycle cost. A quantitative life cycle cost cannot be estimated with sufficient accuracy to be of practical value. There is benefit, however, in making a qualitative estimate of the life cycle costs of competing chemistries. Implicit in any estimate of life cycle cost is the estimate of risk. One alternative may seem more attractive than another until the risks associated with product liability issues, environmental concerns, and process hazards are given due consideration. Value of life concepts and cost-benefit analyses (CCPS, 1995a, pp. 23-27 and Chapter 8) are useful in predicting and comparing the life cycle costs of alternatives. 

It is to be expected that in the near future more of such concepts will find application, simply for cost reasons. Laboratory-scale investigations with precisely microfabricated reactors in advance of the use of such devices can give valuable information, providing a best-case scenario. From then, one can look for alternative micro-flow solutions of lower cost, higher reliability, higher flexibility and so... 

The workhorses in national monitoring programs are multi-residue methods. Any official method collection of any EU Member State contains at least one multi-residue method. For multi-analyte and/or multi-matrix methods, it is likely to be impractical to validate a method for all possible combinations of analyte, concentration and type of sample matrix that may be encountered in subsequent use of the method. Therefore, initial validation should incorporate as many of the target analytes and matrices as practicable. For practical reasons this validation and the evaluation of other methods with limited scope often cannot be conducted in inter-laboratory studies. Other concepts based on independent laboratory validation or validation in a single laboratory have been developed and can provide a practical and cost-effective alternative (or intermediate) approach. 

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