DETERMINATION OF THE BEST INVESTMENT ALTERNATIVE CONSIDERING EQUIPMENT AVAILABILITY IN A PAPER PULP PREPARATION PLANT

Abstract

Introduction:
Paper manufacturing industries must ensure that pulp production operates with minimal investment costs.
Objective:
To determine the lowest investment alternatives that guarantee the annual production of pulp required for paper manufacturing.
Materials and Methods:
Based on the system reliability model, the current technological availability is determined. Equipment redundancy options are explored through an experimental design, and results are corroborated using Nonlinear Integer Programming and the minimum investment cost constraint obtained from the experimental plan.
Results and Discussion:
By minimizing the investment value of $6 587 167,7 CUP, the necessary redundancy values for the equipment were obtained, allowing the facility's availability to increase from 0,4336 to 0,9068.
Conclusions:
The optimal investment cost to improve availability at this stage is $6 587 167,87, representing a saving compared to the cost under current conditions. The plant increases its reliability.