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name: process-economics-estimator description: Process economics estimation skill for capital costs, operating costs, and profitability analysis allowed-tools:

• Read
• Write
• Glob
• Grep
• Edit
• Bash metadata: specialization: chemical-engineering domain: science category: Process Design skill-id: CE-SK-032 graph: domains: [domain:chemical-engineering] skillAreas: [skill-area:statistical-analysis, skill-area:mathematical-reasoning, skill-area:data-analysis] workflows: [workflow:experiment-design] roles: [role:research-engineer, role:computational-scientist]

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Process Economics Estimator Skill

Purpose

The Process Economics Estimator Skill performs economic analysis of chemical processes including capital cost estimation, operating cost calculation, and profitability metrics.

Capabilities

• Capital cost estimation (factored, equipment-based)
• Operating cost calculation
• Raw material cost analysis
• Utility cost calculation
• Labor cost estimation
• Depreciation and taxes
• Profitability metrics (NPV, IRR, payback)
• Sensitivity analysis
• Monte Carlo simulation

Usage Guidelines

When to Use

• Evaluating project economics
• Comparing process alternatives
• Supporting investment decisions
• Analyzing sensitivity

Prerequisites

• Equipment list available
• Capacity defined
• Utility requirements known
• Market prices available

Best Practices

• Use appropriate estimation method
• Document all assumptions
• Include contingency
• Perform sensitivity analysis

Process Integration

This skill integrates with:

• Equipment Sizing and Specification
• Process Flow Diagram Development
• Separation Sequence Synthesis

Configuration

process-economics-estimator:
  estimation-classes:
    - order-of-magnitude
    - study
    - preliminary
    - definitive
  profitability-metrics:
    - NPV
    - IRR
    - payback
    - ROI

Output Artifacts

• Capital cost estimates
• Operating cost analyses
• Cash flow projections
• Profitability analyses
• Sensitivity charts