Page 52 - Plant design and economics for chemical engineers

PROCESS DESGN DEVELOPMENT 35
c. Potential markets and uses
d. Manner of discard
e. Environmental aspects
4. Equipment
a. Availability
b. Materials of construction
c. Initial costs
d. Maintenance and installation costs
e. Replacement requirements
f. Special designs
5. Plant location
CI. Amount of land required
b. Transportation facilities
c. Proximity to markets and raw-material sources
d. Availability of service and power facilities
e. Availability of labor
f. Climate
g. Legal restrictions and taxes
6. Costs
a. Raw materials
b. Energy
c. Depreciation
d. Other fixed charges
e. Processing and overhead
f. Special labor requirements
g. Real estate
h. Patent rights
i. Environmental controls
7. Time factor
a. Project completion deadline
b. Process development required
c. Market timeliness
d. Value of money
8. Process considerations
a. Technology availability
b. Raw materials common with other processes
c. Consistency of product within company
d. General company objectives

Batch Versus Continuous Operation
When comparing different processes, consideration should always be given to
the advantages of continuous operation over batch operation. In many cases, ~
costs can be reduced by using continuous instead of batch processes. Less labor