Economics of research

Chapter 3. The Economics of Research and Development in the Pharmaceutical Industry... 

It has become apparent over the last few years that photophysical research has been largely concerned with the very detailed analysis of particular systems. The economics of research funding are reflected in the style and extent to which groups in di+ferent parts of the world are able to investigate specific problems. The application of photophysical processes in areas such as molecular electronics is still in an embryonic state and much more work needs to be done before substantial progress towards useful devices will be achieved. 

Natural Gas Upgrading via Fischer-Tropsch. In the United States, as in other countries, scarcities from World War II revived interest in the synthesis of fuel substances. A study of the economics of Fischer synthesis led to the conclusion that the large-scale production of gasoline from natural gas offered hope for commercial utiHty. In the Hydrocol process (Hydrocarbon Research, Inc.) natural gas was treated with high purity oxygen to produce the synthesis gas which was converted in fluidized beds of kon catalysts (42). 

The reference electrode contributes heavily to the economics of electroanalytical chemistry. Companies that sell and service electroanalytical instmmentation are few in number and small in size, or they are parts of much larger companies. One suppHer of electroanalytical instmmentation is Princeton AppHed Research Corp. (PARC) of Princeton, Newjersey. PARC is a subsidiary of EG G Instmments, Inc. Among the many suppHers of ion-selective electrodes are Orion (Boston, Massachusetts), Corning (Corning, New York), and Ingold (Wilmington, Massachusetts). Brinkmann Instmments, Inc. (Westbury, New York) is a useful suppHer of titration equipment. 

The stage is thus set, and further woik to establish safe and economically viable sources of hydrogen for general energy usage seems destined to flourish as an active area of research for some while. 

Fischer-Tropsch hydrogenation to a mixture of straight chain aliphatic, olefinic and oxygenated hydrocarbons. Despite an enormous amount of research during the past two decades, this is still not an economically viable process except in special circumstances, such as in South Africa. " ... 

Mikesell, R. F. (1977). The Rite of Discount for Evaluating Public Projects. AEI Studies 184. Washington, DC American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Peirce, W. S. (1996). Economics of the Energy Industries. Westport, CT Praeger. 

Scholarly study of the issues in energy economics ranges from massive tomes to short articles. Government and international agencies, consulting fimis, indusUaal corporations, and U ade associations also produce a vast body of research in energy economics. 

This, then, was the scene in which SCP projects were planned in Europe. The need for alternative foods and feedstuffs was clear and, in the UK and elsewhere, oil and gas seemed a plentiful and cheap resource from which to produce them. North Sea gas fields were being exploited and research had shown that natural gas or its derivatives could be used to produce SCP feed of superior protein content to conventional feedstuffs. The economics of such processes seemed very promising. In 1971 the European prices for fish meal and soya meal were 200 and 100 per ton respectively. In 1973 oil price rises and a failure in the Peruvian fish meal supply pushed these prices up to 550 and 300 respectively. With such prices for the major feedstuffs it was considered that SCP feeds could be produced competitively. 

We have included in this volume two chapters specifically related to society s kinetic system. We have asked James Wei of the University of Delaware, recent Chairman of the consultant panel on Catalyst Systems for the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Motor Vehicle Emissions, to illustrate key problems and bridges between the catalytic science and the practical objectives of minimizing automobile exhaust emissions. We have also asked for a portrayal of the hard economic facts that constrain and guide what properties in a catalyst are useful to the catalytic practitioner. For this we have turned to Duncan S. Davies, General Manager of Research and Development, and John Dewing, Research Specialist in Heterogeneous Catalysts, both from Imperial Chemical Industries Limited. 

Nowadays, a strategic area of research is the development of polymers based on carbohydrates due to the worldwide focus on sustainable materials. Since the necessary multi-step synthesis of carbohydrate-based polymers is not economical for the production of commodity plastics, functionalization of synthetic polymers by carbohydrates has become a current subject of research. This aims to prepare new bioactive and biocompatible polymers capable of exerting a temporary therapeutic function. The large variety of methods of anchoring carbohydrates onto polymers as well as the current and potential applications of the functionalized polymers has been discussed recently in a critical review [171]. Of importance is that such modification renders not only functionality but also biodegradability to the synthetic polymers. 

To date, insufficient attention has been given to the economics of pest control. Most reports dealing with pest control include no data on the economics of the methods used. Complete and accurate information about the economics of pest control is needed to guide future research projects and advance the technologies of pest control. 

This provides brief information from a new report, produced on behalf of the British Plastics Federation, by the Centre for Economics Business Research, which says that over half of the UK s EPS packaging will be reclaimed by the year 2010, using recycling or waste-to-energy schemes. 

From the early beginning of treating HIV/AIDS, most health economic studies focussed on the calculation of provider costs. During the first years there had been a clear dominance of research on hospital costs for patients with AIDS, in particular,... 

During the 28th International Symposium on Combustion in 2000, Irvine Classman spoke about the importance of research in the area of combustion science to modem society in his Hottel Lecture. In his message he appealed to the combustion community to contribute to the solution of real issues and to be more creative in solving economic, social, and environmental problems. 

Heterogeneous catalysts have been used industrially for well over 100 years. Amongst the first processes was the catalytic hydrogenation of oils and fats to produce margarine using finely divided nickel. It is quite likely that when this process was first operated in the late nineteenth century unhealthy amounts of nickel remained in the product. The issue of leaching and the avoidance of trace catalyst residues are still important aspects of research from both economic and environmental points of view. 

---