Values assessments economic value concepts

The consequences of environmental pollution have not been intensively assessed. Some economists place an economic value on any aspect of an effect that may be important to man. If this comprehensive concept of economics is used, our ability to assess the true economic effects of pollutants on vegetation is just beginning. 

While there are large unknowns about the cost of high temperature electrolysis systems, an economic assessment can be made of the peak electricity market underlying the potential system economics. The distinguishing characteristic of this system is that the electricity is sold to meet the needs of three premium markets (US DOE, 2007b), in which the value and price of electricity are far above the price of base-load electricity. These three markets (Table 1) determine the technical requirements and economic viability of the concept. 

The problem is the boundary limit of the techno-economical assessment, for example, which costs are effectively considered (see also later discussion regarding life-cycle assessment). This is a moving boundary that should be determined from the best-available-technology (BAT) and the related legislative limits on emissions. However, a more advanced concept is to consider the chemical process as a component of the environment and set the local legislative limits on emissions to values that do not decrease the biodiversity in the specific area where the process is localized. There are many problems in implementing this concept which introduces the idea that emissions from chemical production (and in general from all industrial and human activities) should have a value connected to the capacity of the environment to sustain the life (biodiversity). 

In Section 2. the information needed to assess the economic feasibility of a process is covered. This includes the estimation of fixed capital investment and manufacturing costs, the concepts of the time value of money and financial calculations, and finally the combination of these costs into profitability measures for the process. 

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