Economical aspects

The lead market has recently undergone significant structural changes, which are summarised as follows. 

The volume of accumulators produced annually determines in turn the volume of spent batteries to be treated by the smelters so the battery producers fix aimually the quantity of seeondary lead they can receive back. 

Some battery producers already collect spent batteries and sell them to smelters saving on the recycling costs others collect and recycle in their own metallurgical plants. In the medium/long run, this action of the battery producers may result in their independence from the lead producers. Obviously, there is no general solution 

The world lead production at the beginning of the year 2000 amounted to 6 million tons/year, with 60% of it coming from secondary lead, especially from spent accumulators. The production of secondary lead started a few decades ago, affecting the traditional lead market based on metal extracted from ore. Such dramatic change can be explained as follows. 

In the medium/long run, the lead market is expected to grow thanks to an increased demand for cars (i.e. of the accumulators equipping them) especially in Asia and Eastern Europe. The demand for industrial accumulators will also be continuing steady especially for telecommunication systems. 

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A further advantage is the Selenium halflife of 120 days, which is 60% more when compared to iridium and a factor of approx. 4 when compared to Ytterbium. These differences turn out to be an important economical aspect when comparing the different sources, as they are a direct measure of the useful life of sources. The short halflife and the very high costs for Ytterbium sources have been the main factors for the rather low importance of Ytterbium in the full range of gamma radiography. 

An actual problem of a paper mill was the continuous measurement of the wall thickness of a heated roll which dries the paper in order to avoid severe crashes due to wearing. On one side the roll shall be used as long as possible because of economic aspects and on the other side the roll has to be replaced in time to avoid a severe crash. 

EPM/EPDM compounding pLASTOPffiRS, SYNPPiETIC - EPPiYLENE-PROPYLENE-DIENE RUBBER] (Vol 8) -in fats and oils [CARBOXYLIC ACIDS - ECONOMIC ASPECTS] (Vol 5)... 

Economic Aspects. The hardwood and decorative plywood industry has decreased in size and production significantly in the past few years. In 1994, there were an estimated 100 mills operating in the United States having a production volume of 1.135 x 10 m (2). The doUar value of this production is extremely difficult to estimate because of the very wide range of prices for the products. 

Economic Aspects. The stmctural plywood industry now has (ca 1997) about 105 operating mills, representing a significant decrease over the past several years. Production in 1994 was about 17.4 x 10 m (2), also representing a marked decrease over previous years. This decrease is a result of several factors, two of the most important being a decrease in availabiHty of suitable veneer logs, especially in the western states, and competition from the newer oriented strand board stmctural panel industries. 

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