Investment continued

Hardware investment Continuous electron capture device Ion mobility spectrometer Mass spectrometer... 

The price of oil fell in 1986, providing a boost during a further period of growth, but the late 1980s saw the onset of another worldwide recession. New investment continued, especially in the Far East outside Japan Japan s share of Asian ethylene capacity has fallen from 75% to 45% in the last 10 years. (South Korean ethylene production tripled between 1990 and 1993 to l 5Mt per annum, for example.) In contrast, the chemical industries of Eastern European countries and the former Soviet republics are heavily depressed, though we may soon see new investment targeted initially at export markets. 

The field may enter into an economic decline when either income is falling (production decline) or costs are rising, and in many cases both are happening. Whilst there may be scope for further investment in a field in economic decline, it should not tie up funds that can be used more effectively in new projects. A mature development must continue to generate a positive cashflow and compete with other projects for funds. The options that are discussed in this section give some idea of the alternatives that may be available to manage the inevitable process of economic decline, and to extend reservoir and facility life. 

Nonetheless, production and use of nitric phosphates ia Europe are continuing to grow. In general, nitric phosphate processes are somewhat more compHcated than sulfur-based processes and requite higher investment. In the past, several attempts have been made to estabHsh commercial acceptance of this type process ia the United States, but plant operations have been relatively short Hved because of low sulfur prices and resultant competition from sulfur-based processes. 

Work on other routes to ceUulosic fibers continues, driven by a desire to identify an environmentally benign route to ceUulosic fibers that can utilize the large capital investment in the xanthate route and hence cost less than a completely new fiber process. 

Induction heating equipment installations can require significant investment in electric power components as well as the work handling equipment made necessary by the process. These costs can be offset by savings in plant space, reduction in metal loss, precise control of product temperature, and reduced in-process inventory. A typical continuous induction heating line consumes about 360 kW h/t heating carbon steel bars to 1230°C. 

These mixing systems offer high flexibility because they can be operated in batch, semibatch, or continuous modes. Adequate mixing is a prerequisite for the success of chemical processes in terms of rninirnizing investment and operating costs. In addition, chemical reactions with... 

Process Instrumentation and Control Systems. Investment for instmmentation and control systems and their installation typically range between 3 to 10% of the total installed cost for a grassroots continuous process faciUty. Instmmentation and control systems also represent a substantial percentage of the overall faciUty maintenance (qv) costs. Investment costs may be placed in one of two categories, ie, nondiscretionary and discretionary. 

Batch reactors often are used to develop continuous processes because of their suitabiUty and convenient use in laboratory experimentation. Industrial practice generally favors processing continuously rather than in single batches, because overall investment and operating costs usually are less. Data obtained in batch reactors, except for very rapid reactions, can be well defined and used to predict performance of larger scale, continuous-flow reactors. Almost all batch reactors are well stirred thus, ideally, compositions are uniform throughout and residence times of all contained reactants are constant. 

Coppers and high copper aEoys can be successhEly cast using the centrifugal, continuous, investment, permanent, plaster, and sand molding methods. 

Properties of red brass alloys are given in Table 9. The members of this group are cast using the centrifugal, continuous, investment, and sand molding methods. General tensile strengths vary from 170 to 210 MPa (25,000—30,000 psi) minimum as cast in sand molds. 

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