Profitability factors

Both the primary and the secondary decomposition reactions produce char and hence have the potential to affect charcoal yield and hence kiln profitability. Factors known to influence the nature, extent or rates of these reactions are reviewed below. 

Profitability analysis, risk assessment forecasting uncertainty, 326-331 market equilibrium, 328 overview, 325 profitability factors, 326 quantifying risk... 

The type of development, type and number of development wells, recovery factor and production profile are all inter-linked. Their dependency may be estimated using the above approach, but lends itself to the techniques of reservoir simulation introduced in Section 8.4. There is never an obvious single development plan for a field, and the optimum plan also involves the cost of the surface facilities required. The decision as to which development plan is the best is usually based on the economic criterion of profitability. Figure 9.1 represents a series of calculations, aimed at determining the optimum development plan (the one with the highest net present value, as defined in Section 13). 

Rock containing at least 30% P2O5) known mineable at a profit variable with economic factors. 

Estimates for a number of economic aspects of plasma fractionation can be made (200—206). The world capacity for plasma fractionation exceeded 20,000 t of plasma in 1990 and has increased by about 75% since 1980, with strong growth in the not-for-profit sector (Fig. 4). The quantity of plasma processed in 1993 was about 17,000 t/yr the commercial sector accounts for about 70% of this, with over 8000 t/yr in the form of source plasma from paid donors (Fig. 5). Plant capacities and throughput are usually quoted in terms of principal products, such as albumin and Factor VIII. These figures may not encompass manufacture of other products. 

In the past, commodity chemicals were generally priced on the basis of ROl. Capital cost was the most critical item, and those elements that ate related to capital cost were the principal factors in the selling price (excluding taw material cost in some cases). On this basis, a satisfactory ROl resulted in acceptable values for other criteria such as ROS or sales margin. Many analysts favor ROS as a benchmark for comparison because it is up to date and simple and because it is increasingly difficult to determine a tme ROl based on what profits might be on plants built under indation and expensive capital and constmction costs. 

The commodity nature of the product and the easy access to the Hcensed processes enable new producers, particularly in developing countries, to enter the global styrene merchant market with Htde experience in styrene technology. Access to ethylene, which caimot be easily transported by means other than pipelines, is a key factor in considering new styrene faciHties. Timing, or luck, is even more important because the supply and demand of styrene are seldom in balance and the price fluctuates broadly and rapidly as a result. Most of the time, the producers either suffer losses (1981—1985, 1991—1993) or enjoy handsome profits (1987—1990, 1994—mid-1995). Investments in styrene plants are known to have been recovered in less than a year, but prosperity encourages over-investment and lean years may foUow. 

The exacting Hst of specification requirements for aviation gas turbine fuels and the constraints imposed by deUvering clean fuel safely from refinery to aircraft are the factors that affect the economics. Compared with other distillates such as diesel and burner fuels, kerosene jet fuels are narrow-cut specialized products, and usually command a premium price over other distillates. The prices charged for jet fuels tend to escalate with the basic price of cmde, a factor which seriously underrnined airline profits during the Persian Gulf war as cmde prices increased sharply. 

In recent years, the automatic regulation of processes has steadily gained a foothold ia the brewiag iadustry. The aim has beea to produce beer with a better and more even quahty and at lower costs. Today, with new equipment and experience ia automatioa within the process iadustry, it is possible to build an advanced automatic system for the brewiag iadustry. Many factors influence the level of automation needed, and judgment must be used to decide what is best for optimum profit. 

Net Present Va.Iue, Each of the net annual cash flows can be discounted to the present time using a discount factor for the number of years involved. The discounted flows are then all at the same time point and can be combined. The sum of these discounted net flows is called the net present value (NPV), a popular profit criterion. Because the discounted positive flows first offset the negative investment flows in the NPV summation, the investment capital is recovered if the NPV is greater than zero. This early recovery of the investment does not correspond to typical capital recovery patterns, but gives a conservative and systematic assumption for investment recovery. 

For a profitable electrochemical process some general factors for success might be Hsted as high product yield and selectivity current efficiency >50%, electrolysis energy <8 kWh/kg product electrode, and membrane ia divided cells, lifetime >1000 hours simple recycle of electrolyte having >10% concentration of product simple isolation of end product and the product should be a key material and/or the company should be comfortable with the electroorganic method. 

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. 

It is also becoming necessaiy to insure against factors not normally considered until recently. These include possible lawsuits for polluting the environment. The cost of insurance increases the annual total expense Af . Thus, overinsurance can lead to an unnecessaiy decrease in profitability. The management of a company must ultimately judge its own risks. 

Metrology and contamination analysis in particular have been decisive factors for profitable semiconductor production [4.47]. Semiconductor applications of TXRF go back to the late nineteen-eighties and were introduced by Eichinger et al. [4.48, 4.49]. Because of its high sensitivity, wide linear range, facile spectrum deconvolution, and... 

The cost of equipment determines the capital investment for a process operation. However, there is no direct relationship to profits. That is, more expensive equipment may mean better quality, more durability and, hence, longer service and maintenance factors. These characteristics can produce higher operating efficiencies, fewer consumption coefficients and operational expenses and, thus, fewer net production costs. The net cost of production characterizes the perfection rate of the total technological process and reflects the influences of design indices. Therefore, it is possible to compare different pieces of equipment when they are used in the manufacture of these same products. 

In this book we have decided to concentrate on purely synthetic applications of ionic liquids, just to keep the amount of material to a manageable level. FFowever, we think that synthetic and non-synthetic applications (and the people doing research in these areas) should not be treated separately for a number of reasons. Each area can profit from developments made in the other field, especially concerning the availability of physicochemical data and practical experience of development of technical processes using ionic liquids. In fact, in all production-scale chemical reactions some typically non-synthetic aspects (such as the heat capacity of the ionic liquid or product extraction from the ionic catalyst layer) have to be considered anyway. The most important reason for close collaboration by synthetic and non-synthetic scientists in the field of ionic liquid research is, however, the fact that in both areas an increase in the understanding of the ionic liquid material is the key factor for successful future development. 

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