- Process flexibility
- Continuous vs batch operation
- Special controls involved
- Commercial yields
- Technical difficulties involved
- Energy requirements
- Special auxiliaries required
- Possibility of future developments
- Health and safety hazards involved

Plant Design Comparison: Technical factors

- Present and future availability
- Processing required
- Storage requirements
- Materials handling problems

Plant Design Comparison: Raw materials

- Amount produced
- Value
- Potential markets and uses
- Manner of discard
- Environmental aspects

Plant Design Comparison: Waste products and by-products

- Availability
- Materials of construction
- Initial costs
- Maintenance and installation costs
- Replacement requirements
- Special designs

Plant Design Comparison: Equipment

- Amount of land required
- Transportation facilities
- Proximity to markets and raw-material sources
- Availability of service and power facilities
- Availability of labor
- Climate
- Legal restrictions and taxes

Plant Design Comparison: Plant location

- Raw materials
- Energy
- Depreciation
- Other fixed charges
- Processing and overhead
- Special labor requirements
- Real estate
- Patent rights
- Environmental controls

Plant Design Comparison: Costs

- Project completion deadline
- Process development required
- Market timeliness
- Value of money

Plant Design Comparison: Time factor

- Technology availability
- Raw materials common with other processes
- Consistency of product within company
- General company objectives

Plant Design Comparison: Process considerations

- Technical factors 
- Raw materials
- Waste products and by-products
- Equipment 
- Plant location
- Costs
- Time factor
- Process considerations

These variables also have further, more specific items within them.

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By weighing certain variables, one can narrow down differing plant processes that would yield the same product, instead of having to make multiple complete designs and comparing them afterwards.

Comparing Plant Designs

Peters, M. S., et al. Plant Design and Economics for Chemical Engineers. 4th ed., McGraw-Hill, 2003. 

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