Labor costs relative

Multiple-hearth roasting offers ease of operation, abiUty to handle a wide variety of ores or blends, and Httle downtime. On the other hand, these furnaces are no longer being built because of their high capital and labor costs, relatively low sulfur dioxide off-gas, need for added fuel, and marginal opportunity for waste-heat recovery. 

While in the USA environmental regulations were very strict and labor costs relatively high, Chinese companies profited from a combination of low labor costs and lax environmental regulations. Also, the largest rare earth mine in China at Bay an Obo not only produces rare earths but also iron ore, which provides another stream of income which covers the mine s fixed costs (Gholz 2014). 

There are four key advantages to handling separated materials (/) separated materials systems are far less labor-intensive than other collection schemes (as mentioned eadier, labor costs are the largest component of most recovery facihties operating expenses) (2) the equipment needed to handle separated material is relatively simple and inexpensive (J) source separation is often the only method of resource recovery suitable for small communities ... 

Over time, the market has demanded increasingly sophisticated software. Each successive enhancement in processor speed has been consumed by software that is more complex, even if only in creating a more user-friendly interface. In the past, computer time was expensive relative to labor costs. That situation is now reversed, and spending more for a more user-friendly computer can often be easily justified in order to enhance the productivity of the vasdy more expensive human being. 

Often the decision to select a batch or continuous processing mode involves a determination of the relative contributions of capital and operating expenses to total process costs for the proposed level of capacity. As Denbigh (1) points out, what is best for a highly industrialized country with high labor costs is not necessarily best for a lesser developed country. In many cases selectivity considerations determine the processing mode, particularly when the reaction under study is accompanied by undesirable side reactions. The yield of the desired product may differ considerably between batch and continuous operation and between the two primary types of continuous processes. When the yield is lower for a continuous process, this factor may be so important in the... 

The types of products that contain PET fibers will expand, especially in areas such as nonwoven fabrics used for disposable items, e.g. industrial fabrics for diapers, disposable wipes, filters, etc. These are products that do not require much hand labor, and are relatively well protected from low labor costs in developing countries. Bicomponent fibers based on PET will become more prevalent as the production technology becomes more widespread, in areas where the bico approach can enhance properties or economics. 

In some regions of the world labor is relatively inexpensive and it can be used advantageously by innovative producers. Labor costs, however, are typically not the largest cost in the manufacturing process. A more typical ranking of the costs of operation, from the highest cost percentage to the lowest is (1) resin and feed-... 

At intervals often varying from 1 week to several months, a pyrolysis unit must be shut down in order to clean (or decoke) the coils. Such decokings sometimes require 1-2 days to complete. Obviously, as the rates of coking increase, the number of decokings per year also increases, causing the annual production rate of ethylene to decrease. Furthermore, utility and labor costs for each decoking are relatively expensive. 

The primary disadvantages of radiant curing adhesives include relatively high material cost due to the fact that these compositions generally have no low-cost components such as solvents, extenders, or fillers. However, radiant cured adhesives are often justified on a total-cost basis when one is considering energy bills, reduced waste, labor cost, production time, and factory space availability. 

Example 4 Estimating relative costs of construction labor as a function of geographical area. If a given chemical process plant is erected near Dallas (Southwest area) with a construction labor cost of 100,000 what would be the construction labor cost of an identical plant if it were to be erected at the same time near Los Angeles (Pacific Coast Area) for the time when the factors given in Table 20 apply ... 

A process plant was constructed in the Philadelphia area (Middle Atlantic) at a labor COSt of 200,000 in 1980. What would the average costs for the same plant to be in the Miami, Florida area (South Atlantic) if it were constructed in late 1988 Assume, for simplicity, that the relative labor rate and relative productivity factor remain essentially constant. 

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