Prices/pricing differential

Because of the large price differential between propane and propylene, which has ranged from 155/t to 355 /1 between 1987 and 1989, a propane-based process may have the economic potential to displace propylene ammoxidation technology eventually. Methane, ethane, and butane, which are also less expensive than propylene, and acetonitrile have been disclosed as starting materials for acrylonitrile synthesis in several catalytic process schemes (66,67). 

The price differential at which coal becomes competitive with gas depends on plant size and the cost of capital, but based on estimates by the International Energy Agency (21) the required price ratio for gas to coal in North America falls into the range of 3.1 to 3.7 on an equivalent energy basis ( /MJ). Current prices give a gas/coal cost ratio nearer 1.5 to 2.0. As a result, all projected new methanol capacity is based on natural gas or heavy oil except for the proposed coal-based plant in China. 

A typical catalytic hydrodealkylation scheme is shown ia Figure 3 (49). The most common feedstock is toluene, but xylenes can also be used. Recent studies have demonstrated that and heavier monoaromatics produce benzene ia a conventional hydrodealkylation unit ia yields comparable to that of toluene (51). The use of feeds containing up to 100% of C —aromatics iacreases the flexibiUty of the hydrodealkylation procedure which is sensitive to the price differential of benzene and toluene. When toluene is ia demand, benzene suppHes can be maintained from dealkylation of heavy feedstocks. 

The principal industrial appHcation for isobutyl alcohol is as a direct solvent replacement for 1-butanol. It is also used as a process solvent in the flavor and fragrance, pharmaceutical, and pesticide industries. The maximum employment of isobutyl alcohol was in the mid-1980s when it had a distinct price advantage over 1-butanol (10). More recently, however, with increased demand for other value added derivatives of isobutyraldehyde, the price differential between isobutyl and -butyl alcohols has diminished resulting in a switching back by some consumers to 1-butanol. 

Should clean coal plants meeting more stringent new source review standards be differentiated from older plants grandfathered to lesser requirements in an energy-environmental matrix Restated, should operational distinctions used for other renewable sources and natural gas also be made for coal plants for the purpose of environmentally based price differentiation ... 

Schmid and Richter (2000) showed that the premium prices for organic food were highest for fruit and vegetables (60% to 70%) and lowest for cheese (20%) and cereal products (31%). The premium prices for organic meat were 52% above conventional and for milk were 42%. The reason given by sales staff for the big price differential for fruit and vegetables was that these products cannot be stored for very long. The authors state that to promote sustained consumer... 

Danzon, P.M. (1997), Trade and Price Differentials for Pharmaceuticals Policy Options, London Office of Health Economics. 

The influence of RP on selling prices depends on the monopsony power of the buyer, the price elasticity of the product and the cross-price elasticity for substitute products, and also the coverage of products under RP. The situation most likely to result in equivalence between RP and price-cap regulation is when there is a majority buyer, the number of products under RP is very large and demand is very elastic. In general, the RP system attains its objectives best when the pharmaceutical bill has a close relationship with price pressure and when price differentials in the market for equivalent products are high, which has clear links with the presence of generics. 

Now that there is a choice of caustic soda grades as increased quantities of rayon grade become available it is evident that fresh water pulp mills are seeing a difference in their process. The price differential will enable the diaphragm caustic soda to be sold, but as in any free market, market forces may wish to move to rayon grade as it becomes more widely available. 

Even if current (per million btu) price differentials between coal and gas (or oil) do not widen much further, such direct substitution of coal for other hydrocarbon fuels is certain to become increasingly attractive - and may, indeed, prove imperative in the national interest. But in the long run equally important is that technological advances, coupled with the abundance and projected cost of Western Canadian coal, now make it possible to contemplate large-scale conversion of coal into gaseous and/or... 

Third, there is the question of how unfair current price differentials in the global pharmaceutical market actually are. The authors of the previously cited Bain study proposed that Europeans should pay prices proportional to their GDP per capita (Bain Company 2005, p. 5). That idea has been echoed by most critics of the current, allegedly free rider system. There is evidence that, by and large, this criterion is actually being met. 

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