An Engineer Wants to Estimate the Annual Inflation- Free Cost

question 4

Short Answer

An engineer wants to estimate the annual inflation- free cost of owning an aerobic digester system with a capacity of 195 million gallons per day (MGD) for the first 8 years of operation. Company records show that the cost of a similar system with a capacity of 75 MGD was $8 million five years ago. The equipment cost index has increased 26% per year since then, and the future general inflation rate is forecast to be 2% per year. He estimates that the annual operating expenses of the new system would be $440,000 per year for the first two years and increase to $441,500 per year thereafter, due to the increase in maintenance costs. Calculate the annual inflation- free cost of owning the 295- MGD system for the first 8 years. Use a cost- capacity exponent of 0.14 for the system and a market- based MARR of 8% per year.

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Definitions:

Unconditional Retention

Unconditional retention often refers to the total retention or memorization of information without conditions or contingencies.

Unconditioned Stimulus

In classical conditioning, an unconditioned stimulus is something that naturally and automatically triggers a response without any learning needed, such as food causing salivation in dogs.

Unconditional Statement

A statement or proposition that is true or asserted without any conditions or limitations.

Classical Conditioning

A training approach involving the regular pairing of two cues, where a response originally provoked by the second cue becomes triggered by only the first cue over time.