Miller Plant Cost Estimation

Other multiple-factor methods that have been published in the past are those by C. E. Chilton, Cost Estimation in the Process Industries, McGraw-Hill, New York, I960 M. S. Peters, K. D. Timmerhaus, and R. E. West, Plant Design and Economics for Chemical Engineers, 5th ed., McGraw-Hill, New York, 2003 C. A. Miller, Chemical Engineering, Sept. 13,1965, pp. 226-236 and P. A. Holland, P. A. Watson, and V. K. Wilkinson, Chem. Eng., Apr. 1,1974, pp. 71-76. These methods produced preliminary quality estimates. Most companies have developed their own in-house multiple-factor methods for preliminary cost estimation. 

Miller claims that if the basic equipment estimate has an accuracy of 10%, the most likely plant estimate should have an accuracy of 14%. This is much better than the ratio or Lang estimates, and considerably more accurate than Nichols said was possible with this type of data. 12 He claimed that there is a direct correlation between the cost of an estimate and its probable accuracy. Ever since he stated this in 1951, cost engineers have been trying to prove him wrong. 

The major economic issue in whether succinic acid can compete is the low starting cost of petrochemical raw materials. The target cost for succinic acid from a bioprocess is estimated to be around 0.25/lb for a large-scale plant (Zeikus et al. 1999 Varadarajan and Miller 1999). This target cost is necessary to compete with low-cost petrochemical raw materials. 

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