Product levels

Production levels will be influenced by external factors such as agreed production targets, market demand, the level of market demand for a particular product, agreements with contractors, and legislation. These factors are managed by planning of production rates and management of the production operation. 

Market forces determine the demand for a product, and the demand will be used to forecast the sales of hydrocarbons. This will be one of the factors considered by some governments when setting the production targets for the oil company. For example, much of the gas produced in the South China Sea is liquefied and exported by tanker to Japan for industrial and domestic use the contract agreed with the Japanese purchaser will drive the production levels set by the National Oil Company. 

The demand for domestic gas changes seasonally in temperate climates, and production levels reflect this change. For example a sudden cold day in Northern Europe causes a sharply increased requirement for gas, and gas sales contracts in this region will allow the purchaser to demand an instant increase (up to a certain maximum) from the supplier. To safeguard for seasonal swings, imported gas is frequently stored in underground... 

A state-to-state integral reaction cross section from reactant level a to product level b takes the fomr... 

Consequently, the reaction yield F in figure B2.5.15 is shown as a fiinction of the fluence, F. At the end of a laser-pulse sequence with a typical fluence F 3 J cm, practically 100% of the CF I is photolysed. As described in section B2.5.4.3. the product-level distribution of the iodine atoms fonned in this type of reaction can be detemiined... 

Boron. Virtually all United States boron production and about three-fifths of the world production comes from bedded deposits and lake brines in California. U.S. reserves are adequate to support high production levels. Turkey is the only other boron-producing country of significance. Only about 5% of boron production is used in agriculture. 

Information on the production levels of the perfluoroethers and perfluorotertiary amines is not disclosed, but the products are available commercially and are marketed, for instance, as part of the Fluorinert Electronic Liquids family by 3M Co. (17). These Hquids have boiling points of 30—215°C with molecular weights of about 300—800. They range in price from 26—88/kg. Perfluoropropene oxide polyethers are marketed by Du Pont with the trade name Krytox (29). The linear perfluoropropene oxide polyethers are marketed by Daikin under the trade name Demnum (28). The perfluoropolyethers derived from photooxidation are marketed by Montefluos under the trade name of Fomblin (30). These three classes of polyethers are priced from about 100—150/kg. 

The 1990 production levels and corresponding countries are also Hsted in Table 1 as are exports and imports of natural gas. Geographic consumption trends are shown in Figure 1. 

Natural gas production and transmission systems are complemented by underground storage systems. These systems provide the capabdity to respond to short-term gas demands which exceed the immediate production levels or transmission capabdities. They also provide an opportunity to sustain some production by refilling the storage areas when seasonal temperature variations lead to periods of reduced gas demand. In the United States in 1990, there were 397 storage pools having a combined capacity of 2.2 x 10 (1). 

Urea Process. In a further modification of the fundamental Raschig process, urea (qv) can be used in place of ammonia as the nitrogen source (114—116). This process has been operated commercially. Its principal advantage is low investment because the equipment is relatively simple. For low production levels, this process could be the most economical one. With the rapid growth in hydrazine production and increasing plant size, the urea process has lost importance, although it is reportedly being used, for example, in the People s RepubHc of China (PRC). 

In the United States, the acetylene production exceeded 450, 000 t/yr between 1963 and 1970, but then declined until it hit a minimum production level below 150, 000 t/yr in 1982. Of this production, about 40,000 t were dedicated to industrial use, ie, welding, etc. Thus only slightly more than 100,000 t were produced for the chemical process industry. Figure 14 illustrates the 17-year decline in acetylene production and indicates the reduced derivative demand to which the accumulated decline is attributed (37). 

As shown in Table 4, the 1992 world consumption of petroleum was neatly 10.4 X 10 m /d (65.4 x 10 bbl/d) (8), which is sbghdy higher, at 3.6%, than in 1978. In most of the regions shown in Table 4, consumption and production levels are not in balance. The one exception is the group of non-OECD European countries, ie, the former Soviet Union, the former C2echoSlovakia, Hungary, Poland, and other former Eastern Bloc countries, where production was neatly in balance with consumption at about 19% above consumption in 1992. 

Of the three worldwide manufacturers of poly(ethylene oxide) resins. Union Carbide Corp. offers the broadest range of products. The primary quaUty control measure for these resins is the concentrated aqueous solution viscosity, which is related to molecular weight. Specifications for Polyox are summarized in Table 4. Additional product specifications frequendy include moisture content, particle size distribution, and residual catalyst by-product level. 

Commercial and Artificial Processing. Commercially, silkworm cocoons are extracted in hot soapy water to remove the sticky sericin protein. The remaining fibroin or stmctural sdk is reeled onto spools, yielding approximately 300—1200 m of usable thread per cocoon. These threads can be dyed or modified for textile appUcations. Production levels of sdk textiles in 1992 were 67,000 metric tons worldwide. The highest levels were in China, at 30,000 t, foUowed byJapan, at 17,000 t, and other Asian and Oceanian countries, at 14,000 t (24). Less than 3000 metric tons are produced annually in each of eastern Europe, western Europe, and Latin America almost no production exists in North America, the Middle East, or Africa. 1993 projections were for a continued worldwide increase in sdk textile production to 75,000 metric tons by 1997 and 90,000 metric tons by 2002 (24). 

The armual world production of sodium nitrate was steady throughout the early 1990s. About 85% is suppHed by the natural product. The maximum world production of sodium nitrate occurred around 1930, at 3,000,000 t/yr, but the highest production levels attained by the Chilean nitrate industry (ca 2,900,000 t/yr) occurred in the late 1920s. Synthetic sodium nitrate production peaked in the mid-1930s at 730,000 t/yr. During that period, the Chilean industry production decreased to 1,360,000 t/yr. 

Bromothiophene is produced in Europe by Solvay and SCL, at up to 50 metric tons per year, with a 98%-pure specification and prices commensurate with production levels. 3-Bromothiophene is stiU a specialty product as of the mid-1990s, produced in multipurpose plant by SCL in hundreds of kilos per year, but at this level of market demand and also on account of the complexity of the synthesis, it commands a relatively high price. 

The foUowiag shows production levels for selected major commodities and years (4). Lumber is given ia nominal volume terms (1,000 board feet = 2.36 m ). 

The evolution in the world production of asbestos fibers since 1950 is illustrated in Table 5 (5) after a peak near 1980, production leveled off after 1985 at 4.2 4.3 X 10 t. Changes in the production of the two main producers, Canada and the former USSR, over the same period are also illustrated. These figures show a substantial decrease in the Canadian production with a concomitant increase in the former USSR production. During recent years, several other countries, namely Brazil, Zimbabwe, and China, have substantially increased their production of chrysotile. Most of China s production, as well as the limited production of many other countries, is used in local industrial appHcations. South Africa is the only country where the three main types of asbestos are produced (chrysotile, crocidoHte, and amosite), and the only significant producer of amphibole fibers. 

Much more carbon dioxide is generated daily than is recovered (44). The decision whether or not to recover by-product carbon dioxide often depends on the distance and cost of transportation between the carbon dioxide producer and consumer. For example, it has become profitable to recover more and more carbon dioxide from C02-rich natural gas weUs in Texas as the use of carbon dioxide in secondary oil recovery has increased. The production levels for enhanced oil recovery are generally not reported because of the captive nature of the appHcation. 

Composition, temperature, and flow rate of the electrolyte are of great importance to the quafity of the cathode deposit, and changes in any one of these parameters can have a serious effect. Storage and circulation of the electrolyte are also significant. The total volume of electrolyte in a modem tank house is typically 6000 m for a copper production level of ca 500 t/d. 

The manufacturing cost consists of direct, indirect, distribution, and fixed costs. Direct costs are raw materials, operating labor, production supervision, utihties, suppHes, repair, and maintenance. Typical indirect costs include payroll overhead, quaHty control, storage, royalties, and plant overhead, eg, safety, protection, personnel, services, yard, waste, environmental control, and other plant categories. However, environmental control costs are frequendy set up as a separate account and calculated direcdy. The principal distribution costs are packaging and shipping. Fixed costs, which are insensitive to production level, include depreciation, property taxes, rents, insurance, and, in some cases, interest expense. 

A typical break-even chart is used with production models to predict optimum production levels, break-even points, and shutdown conditions under various scenarios. These models tend to involve a reasonable amount of approximation. For example, sales revenue as a function of production level involves numerous variables and relationships that are not always weU known. Such charts, however, provide useful guides for production operations. 

The best quahty to be found may be a temperature, a temperature program, a concentration, a conversion, a yield of preferred product, a cycle period for a batch reaction, a daily production level, a land of reactor, a size for a reactor, an arrangement of reactor elements, provisions for heat transfer, profit or cost, and so on—a maximum or minimum of some of these factors. Among the constraints that may be imposed on the process are temperature range, pressure range, corrosiveness, waste disposal, and others. 

Crete steps at various production levels (such as supervisory labor) are the semivariable component of the overhead cost. It is an easy matter to determine these various components for various production rates and list them as shown in Table 9-39. 

Stokes Vacuum, Inc. Prices include shell, 50-lh/in -gaiige jacket, agitator, drive, and motor auxiliary dust collectors, condensers. iLoading with product level on or around the agitator shaft. 

A client may choose to develop a toller who is qualified, but will need additional or improved equipment and technology to meet the eventual production levels required later in the life of the toll contract. The client may require the toller to make changes or modifications at their plant in order to effectively manufacture a particular product in increasing quantity. Some areas of concern applicable to scale up were listed in Various Points to Consider, Section 3.1. Additional considerations to address in the contract may include ... 

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