Effect of Plant Size

A calculated IRR is a unique index for a particular set of costs and revenues, and enables easy comparison with the corresponding index for other situations. However, it will be apparent that if all of the figures in the above example had been multiplied by two, then the same IRR would have resulted. This implies that the two plants, differing by a factor of two in size, are equally attractive financially. 

This is true and so other factors have to be brought into the decision process. Can the company afford to build a bigger plant Can the market accept twice as much product  

of course, also true that a plant of twice the output would probably cost significantly less than twice as much as the smaller one (a price factor of 20 6, if the six-tenths rule is used), and so would be more attractive financially - but the same questions have to be asked. 

---

Figure 2. Production of electricity by wood combustion—effect of plant size on revenue required from the sale of electricity by a regulated utility...

Heide, O. M., Sonsteby, A. Floral initiation in black currant cultivars (Ribes nigrum L.) Effects of plant size, photoperiod, temperature, and duration of short day exposure. Scientia Horticulturae 138, 1, 2012. 

The effect of plant capacity on investment can be seen from Fig. 8.2-3. Costs of around 245 million DM, or only 817 DM/t on the 1997 basis, are required for plants equipped with maximum-stream-size reactors of 300,000 t/a. The data can be extrapolated to actual (1998) costs by means of the price index of 1.01 published in [1], These plants with large design capacities have significantly reduced specific investment costs. 

Perhaps the most important of these factors involves the raw material employed for this purpose and the by-product volumes and prices. In this connection we discuss the product distributions from potential various feedstocks and current trends in feedstock selection, illustrating the significant role feedstocks play in the ethylene commercial picture. In addition, the effects on production economics of the factors of plant size and severity of operation are investigated. 

The steady-state economic design of a process with this type of reaction requires consideration of the effects of reactor size and temperature on the entire plant. High recycle flowrates of A and a large reactor operating at a low temperature will suppress the production of D. But this will require a large capital investment in the reactor and separation sections of the plant and consume significant energy. 

Using a source-composition library containing data from 21 studies of coal-fired power plants, we have investigated the effects of particle size, coal type, and pollution control device on the composition of particles emitted from coal-fired power plants. 

The work reported here was carried out in two phases. The first phase was conducted in a laboratory test boiler to determine the relative PNA emissions from a variety of EDS and petroleum fuels. The second phase of testing was conducted in a commercial boiler to determine the effect of unit size on PNA emissions. This testing was made possible by the start-up and operation of the Exxon Coal Liquefaction Pilot Plant (ECLP) which has a throughput of 250 tons per day and can produce approximately... 

Another difficulty of this process was low ccxiversion in the commercial plant, which could not be predicted from the results of the pilot plants. Grekel et al. (G15) reported the effects of particle size distribution, gas inlet devices, and internals, cm contact efficiency. Volk et al. (VI2) also emphasized the effect of bed internals. These developmental studies became a very useful guide for applications of fluidized catalyst beds. 

The magnitude and overall effect of a macronutrient on oil yield is dependent upon environment, available water, specific plant type and its stage of development. For example, nitrogen will generally increase the mass of plant material produced per unit area independent of soil type. Also, it has been determined that for herbaceous plants the oil content of particular selection remains constant irrespective of plant size. Therefore, as nitrogen can cause an increase in overall dry matter, it can have a positive effect on oil production. Phosphorus and potassium can also cause an increase in dry matter, however, their presences in soil does not necessarily mean that they are available to the plant. In acid soils, for example, phosphorus is not readily accessible while potassium is easily leached away. Generally, in most neutral or alkaline soils the effect of phosphorus and potassium on oil content is less dramatic than nitrogen unless a true deficiency is found. 

The long-range average cost is an important planning function for capital investment and is shown in Figure 8.3 for = 20 cents per pound. In this example, the LRAC continues to decline as the plant size increases a larger plant is more efficient. In some cases the LRAC becomes essentially independent of plant size after some critical value has been reached (Figure 8.4, curve A) then it is proper to speak of the minimum effective size. An inefficient smaller plant can... 

Fruit crops typically have a short season and inelastic demand. As a consequence, many processors convert part of the annual harvest to concentrated purees for later utilization. This, in effect, reduces plant size needed to accommodate the crop and better utilizes the plant by extending the operating season. 

Relationships were tested with the non-parametric Spearman rank correlation coefficient, while the translocation capacity was tested with the ratio Ce/Cr, where Ce and Cr are the antimony contents in an epigeal compartment (shoots, leaves, etc.) and in the roots, respectively. The effects of plant traits were tested with the Mann-Whitney /-test in each sampling site for which a sample size no smaller than four observations was possible. The null hypothesis was not rejected when an overlap of observations between small samples occurred. 

As can be seen, the higher the feed pressure the lower the VI, owing to the positive effect that it has on CO conversion in an MR. MR reaction volume is three quarters of that of TR at 600 kPa and goes down to one quarter at 1500 kPa, when an equimolecular mixture is fed and a final conversion of 80% is considered. VI further decreases when a stream coming out from a reformer is fed (50% H2, 10% CO2, 20% CO, 20% H2O) into the Pd-Ag MR, owing to the low value of the equilibrium conversion (35%) (Figure 12.10). As a consequence, the amount of catalyst necessary to reach a suitable conversion is drastically reduced with clear gain also in terms of plant size reduction. 

Tobacco is an important economic crop and a model plant for research. Many reports reveal that CTS can induce tobacco s resistance to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), tobacco necrosis virus (TNV), and Phytophthora parasitica nicotianae. For example. Falcon studied the effect of different sizes and deacetylation degrees of chitosan derivatives on tobacco protection against P. parasitica (Falcon et al. 2008). The result of their experiment showed that different chitosans have distinct effects on this disease control though less acetylated chitosan are better for inhibition of P. parasitica... 

The effect of particle size on carbon limits from principle of equilibrated gas is also illustrated in Figure 5.17, representing conditions for an industrial oxo-syngas plant [382]. Graphite data predicts carbon formation, whereas carbon-free operation was obtained with a catalyst with nickel particles less than 250 run. 

There is little in the literature on the effect of plant age on the development of volatile flavor components, however Freeman [70] has reported on flavor formation during onion seed germination and growth. It appears that after approximately 20 days, onion flavor potential is completely developed. The seed itself contains no flavor precursors (cysteine sulfoxide derivatives) and only about 3% the aUiinase activity (enzyme) of mature onion bulbs. However, the plant quickly develops alliinase activity and a maximum activity is reached after 15-20 days. Therefore, flavor is developed well before the plant is of suitable size for consumption. 

O Brien RD, Lindow SE (1989) Effect of plant species and environmental conditions on epiphytic population sizes of Pseudomonas syringae and other bacteria. Phytopathology 79 619-627 Ott EM, Muller T, Muller M, Franz CM, Ulrich A, Gabel M, Seyfarth W (2001) Population dynamics and antagonistic potential of enterococci colonizing the phyllosphere of grasses. J Appl Microbiol 91 54-66... 

In estimating reactor plant costs, it is necessary to determine the cost of the various items of equipment. Present estimates [23] of reactor plant costs for a large reactor station are given in Table 10-14. The equipment costs are based on per-pound costs of HRE-2 equipment, cost estimates obtained from industry, and the assumption that costs are directly proportional to (reactor power) The effect of station size upon reactor station costs are estimated [23] in Table 10-15, while the possible effect of technical advances upon capital investment costs is indicated [22] in Fig. 10-12. In all these estimates, a developed and operable system is postulated. 

Cadden, A. M. (1987). Comparative effects of particle size reduction on physical structure and water binding properties of several plant fibers. Journal of Food Science, 52, 6, 1595-1631. 

---