Plant location economics

A new facihty should be located ia an area that is economically suitable (see Plant location). At the same time, the social, environmental, and aesthetic effects must be considered. These decisions are part of land-use pohcies. As of this writing (1996), there is no national land-use program. However, there are certain laws that cover portions of this decision-making process and some states have such programs. 

The cost of transportation has an important effect on the marketabiUty of chemicals. For that reason, transportation, along with numerous other factors, is often a significant consideration in determining the location of chemical production faciUties. In addition, convenient and economical access to water and rail transportation and the interstate highway system, as well as proximity to raw materials and markets, may influence the choice of warehouse and terminal sites for storage and redistribution of chemical products (see Plant location). 

The earliest method for manufacturiag carbon disulfide involved synthesis from the elements by reaction of sulfur and carbon as hardwood charcoal in externally heated retorts. Safety concerns, short Hves of the retorts, and low production capacities led to the development of an electric furnace process, also based on reaction of sulfur and charcoal. The commercial use of hydrocarbons as the source of carbon was developed in the 1950s, and it was still the predominate process worldwide in 1991. That route, using methane and sulfur as the feedstock, provides high capacity in an economical, continuous unit. Retort and electric furnace processes are stiU used in locations where methane is unavailable or where small plants are economically viable, for example in certain parts of Africa, China, India, Russia, Eastern Europe, South America, and the Middle East. Other technologies for synthesis of carbon disulfide have been advocated, but none has reached commercial significance. 

The choice of an overseas maniifac tiiriug site involves the consideration of many political and economic fac tors in addition to costs. Table 9-64 gives a hst of 92 items which should be taken into account when choosing a plant location for manufacturing abroad. 

In 1999, the European Council of Vinyl Manufacturers (ECVM) chose this process as the most robust and economical, and started to support it within the context of ECVM s recycling efforts. ECVM committed 3 million as a support to the building of a pilot plant. The pilot will be build at Solvay s Tavaux plant, located in the eastern part of Erance. If the pilot is successful, most probably a 25,000 tpa full scale plant will be build. However, it is not expected that such a full scale plant will be operational before 2005. 

Process Alternatives. Process alternatives for sulfur recovery are shown schematically in Figure 2. The choice of either elemental sulfur or sulfuric acid will depend on economics and markets related to each plant location. Elemental sulfur may be produced by gas-phase oxidation (the Claus process) or liquid-phase oxidation (e.g., the Stretford process). Stretford units were described in Section 1 and are well discussed in the literature (1, 2> 5) Claus sulfur recovery efficiency is usually less than required by current air emission standards. Therefore, some form of tail-gas treating is required. Sulfuric acid may be produced by the well-known contact process (6). This process is licensed by a number of firms, each of which has its own... 

Hodder JE, Jucker JV (1985) International plant location under price and exchange rate uncertainty. Engineering Costs and Production Economics 9 225-229... 

Power plants to burn scrap tires involve large capital investments and annual operating expenses. However, plants located near large supplies of tires can be feasible. A key variable in determining economic feasibility for these plants is the buy-back rate granted by the utility. In areas of the country where the rate is high, such as California and the northeast, power plants are feasible. The buy-back rate is the rate the utilities pay for electricity generated from alternative fuel, and reflects the fuel and other costs avoided by the utility. 

Economics. At the present time, process economics are difficult to evaluate. Costs of hydrogen, low BTU fuel gas, or electric power are dependent on plant size, coal cost, plant location, product purity, and other environmental requirements that must be met. Using mid-1979 dollars, we have estimated 99% purity, 1000 psig hydrogen from a 50MM to 100MM SCF/D plant to cost between 1.25 to 1.60 per 1000 SCF ( 4- 5 per MM BTU) before taxes and profit. 

Most bulk coal transportation is by rail, with trucks used for local transport. For reasons of economics, most of the world s coal consumption is in power plants located nearby coal mines, which minimizes the necessity for long-distance transportation. More than 60 percent of the coal used for power generation worldwide is consumed within 50 km of the mine site. In the United States, the average distance that coal is shipped by rail is farther, at about 800 miles. That distance has increased in recent years owing to the move toward greater use of coals with lower sulfur content (found mainly in the West) to meet sulfur oxide emissions standards in plants located mainly in the South and the East. As coal is currently shipped over great distances in the United States,... 

Before proceeding any further with the development of a process design and its associated economics, it will be desirable to consider an overall view of the various functions involved in a complete plant design. Particular emphasis in this discussion will be placed on important health, safety, loss prevention, and environmental considerations. Other items that will be noted briefly include plant location, plant layout, plant operation and control, utilities, structural design, storage, materials handling, patents, and legal restrictions. 

Economics Based on a 300,000-mtpy cumene plant located in the US Gulf Coast, the ISBL investment is about US 15 million. 

Economics Based on a 100,000-tpy cumene plant located in the U.S. Gulf Coast, the inside-battery-limits investment is ... 

The capital investment for any FBC plant depends upon several factors, including the cost of capital, size of unit, geographic location, and coal type. EPRI has completed several economic evaluations and projects the following costs, in 1994 US dollars, for plants located in Kenosha, Wisconsin, burning Illinois No. 6 bituminous coal contain-ing 4 percent sulfur 200-MWe circulating AFBC, 1520/kW 350-MWe bubbling PFBC, 1220/kW 350-MWe circulating PFBC, 1040/kW 320-MWe advanced PFBC, 1110/kW. The advanced PFBC has the most potential for cost reduction, and capital investment could be reduced to below 1000/kW. 

The 50-MW plant in Burlington, Vermont, was limited in capacity by the wood fuel available witbin the area circumscribed by a radius of 80 km (50 mi.) from the plant. This is considered by most energy specialists to be the maximum distance that wood fuel can be obtained and economically transported to the plant by truck or rail. For captive sources of biomass fuels, the capacity can be larger. One example is the 60-MW, wood waste-fueled power plant located in Williams Lake, British Columbia (Baker, 1995). This plant is located in the center of a major lumber industry region that has five large sawmills located within 5 km of each other. The mills produce more than 540,000 green tonnes of bark, sawdust, and other wood waste products per year. 

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