Cost running

Maintenance and operating costs represent the major expenditure late in field life. These costs will be closely related to the number of staff required to run a facility and the amount of hardware they operate to keep production going. The specifications for product quality and plant up-time can also have a significant impact on running costs. 

Once production commences (possibly 3-8 years after the first capex) gross revenues are received from the sale of the hydrocarbons. These revenues are used to recover the capital expenditure (capex) of the project, to pay for the operating expenditure (opex) of the project (e.g. manpower, maintenance, equipment running costs, support costs), and to provide the host government take which may in the simplest case be in the form of taxes and royalty. 

The choice of a mass spectrometer to fulfill any particular task must take into account the nature of the substances to be examined, the degree of separation required for mixtures, the types of ion source and inlet systems, and the types of mass analyzer. Once these individual requirements have been defined, it is much easier to discriminate among the numerous commercial instruments that are available. Once suitable mass spectrometers have been identified, it is then often a case of balancing capital and running costs, reUability, ea.se of routine use, after-sales service, and manufacturer reputation. 

There are many techniques available for measuring the particle-size distribution of powders. The wide size range covered, from nanometers to millimeters, cannot be analyzed using a single measurement principle. Added to this are the usual constraints of capital costs versus running costs, speed of operation, degree of skill required, and, most important, the end-use requirement. 

Aluminium alloy offers saving of up to 40% in total car weight. The increased unit cost is offset by the lower running cost of the lighter vehicle, and the greater recycling potential of the aluminium. ... 

The adjustment of a protection station or of a complete protection system where there is stray current interference is made much easier by potential control. Potential control can be indispensable for electrochemical protection if the protection potential range is very small (see Sections 2.4 and 21.4). This saves anode material and reduces running costs. 

Running costs Favorable with small objects Favorable with large objects... 

In many cases, warm-air heating is the cheapest heating system to install from the initial-cost point of view the running costs, however, will be higher than for a radiant heating system to provide the same conditions. 

These have the advantage that they are low-cost units to install the running costs, however, depending on the source of electricity, are generally higher than other energy sources. 

It is of prime importance to keep air and gas leakage from ductwork at a minimum, as it represents increased fan running cost and the waste of treated air. Leakage into extract ductwork reduces the efficiency of the collection system. 

Duct design The process of sizing ductwork to ensure the optimum performance in initial costs, running costs, and the distribution of air in a duct distribution system. The design techniques may be... 

Economic velocity The velocity at which gases or fluids are conveyed to ensure that running costs are kept at an economic minimum and that damage is nor caused by erosion. 

But for power station applications, the thermal efficiency is not the only measure of the performance of a plant. While a new type of plant may involve some reduction in running costs due to improved thermal efficiency, it may also involve additional capital costs. The cost of electricity produced is the crucial criterion within the overall economics, and this depends not only on the thermal efficiency and capital costs, but also on the price of fuel, operational and maintenance costs, and the taxes imposed. Yet another factor, which has recently become important, is the production by gas turbine plants of greenhouse gases (mainly carbon dioxide) which contribute to global warming. Many countries are now considering the imposition of a special tax on the amount of CO2 produced by a power plant, and this may adversely affect the economics. So consideration of a new plant in future will involve not only the factors listed above but also the amount of CO2 produced per unit of electricity together with the extra taxes that may have to be paid. 

Energy conseiwation typically involves making an investment that results in lower energy running costs. An investor (or policymaker) is often confronted with a list of possible conseiwation measures. The investor needs a way to rank the measures and then... 

Conventional methods of flow control used inefficient throttling devices such as valves, dampers, and vanes. These devices, although they have a low initial cost, introduce unacceptable running costs due to their inefficiency. Several speed control technologies can be used to improve motor system operation. 

Thermal power plant is more commonly associated with very large central power stations. The capital cost for thermal power plant, in terms of cost per installed kilowatt of electrical generating capacity, rises sharply for outputs of less than some 15 MW. It is for this reason that thermal power plant is not usually considered for industrial applications unless it is the combined cycle or combined heat and power modes. However, for cases where the fuel is of very low cost (for example, a waste product from a process such as wood waste), then the thermal power plant, depending on output, can offer an excellent choice, as its higher initial capital cost can be offset against lower running costs. This section introduces the thermal power cycle for electrical generation only. 

Large power stations use complex feed heating systems before the boiler feed pumps (LP) and after the boiler feed pumps (HP), which can give high overall thermal efficiencies of 39 per cent. However, for the smaller machine, it becomes uneconomic to consider multiple bleeds from the turbine, and the final choice is dictated by the extra cost for the additional complexity against lower running costs due to increased efficiency. As a minimum, a contact type de-aerator is often employed which would extract a small bleed of around 2-3bar from the turbine. 

When the use of lagging is being considered, cost-beneht analysis should be made to determine the minimum running costs when either (1) fuel is stored at the minimum recommended storage temperature with an outflow heater to raise the temperature to the minimum handling temperature, or (2) fuel is stored at handling temperature, thus requiring no outflow heater. 

Automatic operation may be by means of compressed air, operating a pneumatic cylinder, or electricity. Pneumatics is generally favored for industrial applications and electricity for commercial premises. Economy of installation is normally the deciding factor, since running costs are low for either system. 

Running costs of ventilation systems can be broken down into three main areas ... 

Advantages No external source of power is required installation is relatively simple the danger of cathodic protection interaction is minimised more economic for small schemes the danger of over protection is alleviated even current distribution can be easily achieved maintenance is not required apart from routine potential checks and replacement of anodes at the end of their useful life no running costs. 

Disadvantages Possible interaction effects on other buried structures (Section 10.6) subject to the availability of a suitable a.c. supply source or other source of d.c. regular electrical maintenance checks and inspection required running costs for electrical supply (usually not very high except in the case of bare marine structures and in power stations where structures are often bare and include bimetallic couples) subject to power shutdowns and failures. 

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