27 Plant Design & Economics Basics questions from the Chemical Core bank, written for Indian campus drives and tech interviews. Every question has a verified answer and an AI-tutor explanation on placd.
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A.size that minimises the sum of annualised capital cost, which rises with diameter, and pumping cost, which falls with diameter
B.capacity scaling where cost is proportional to the capacity ratio raised to about 0.6, so doubling capacity raises cost by roughly 52%
C.total cost of equipment, installation, piping, buildings and utilities ready for start-up, excluding working capital
D.Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
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2. Which term means: "total cost of equipment, installation, piping, buildings and utilities ready for start-up, excluding working capital"?
Junior
A.Internal rate of return
B.Lang factor
C.Fixed capital investment
D.Economic pipe diameter
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3. Which statement is correct?
Junior
A.Fixed capital investment — sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
B.Fixed capital investment — size that minimises the sum of annualised capital cost, which rises with diameter, and pumping cost, which falls with diameter
C.Fixed capital investment — capacity scaling where cost is proportional to the capacity ratio raised to about 0.6, so doubling capacity raises cost by roughly 52%
D.Fixed capital investment — total cost of equipment, installation, piping, buildings and utilities ready for start-up, excluding working capital
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4. What is Working capital?
Junior
A.money tied up in raw-material inventory, product stock, receivables and cash, typically 10–20% of total investment and recovered at project end
B.discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects
C.sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
D.Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
5. Which term means: "money tied up in raw-material inventory, product stock, receivables and cash, typically 10–20% of total investment and recovered at project end"?
Junior
A.Working capital
B.Internal rate of return
C.Economic pipe diameter
D.CEPCI
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
6. Which statement is correct?
Junior
A.Working capital — time for cumulative cash flow to recover the fixed capital investment, ignoring the time value of money
B.Working capital — sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
C.Working capital — money tied up in raw-material inventory, product stock, receivables and cash, typically 10–20% of total investment and recovered at project end
D.Working capital — multiplier on delivered equipment cost giving total plant cost, about 3.1 for solids, 3.6 for solid-fluid and 4.7 for fluid-processing plants
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7. What is Payback period?
Junior
A.sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
B.total cost of equipment, installation, piping, buildings and utilities ready for start-up, excluding working capital
C.time for cumulative cash flow to recover the fixed capital investment, ignoring the time value of money
D.Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
8. Which term means: "time for cumulative cash flow to recover the fixed capital investment, ignoring the time value of money"?
Junior
A.Payback period
B.Internal rate of return
C.Working capital
D.Net present value
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
9. Which statement is correct?
Junior
A.Payback period — discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects
B.Payback period — size that minimises the sum of annualised capital cost, which rises with diameter, and pumping cost, which falls with diameter
C.Payback period — time for cumulative cash flow to recover the fixed capital investment, ignoring the time value of money
D.Payback period — Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
10. What is Lang factor?
Mid
A.multiplier on delivered equipment cost giving total plant cost, about 3.1 for solids, 3.6 for solid-fluid and 4.7 for fluid-processing plants
B.discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects
C.money tied up in raw-material inventory, product stock, receivables and cash, typically 10–20% of total investment and recovered at project end
D.size that minimises the sum of annualised capital cost, which rises with diameter, and pumping cost, which falls with diameter
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
11. Which term means: "multiplier on delivered equipment cost giving total plant cost, about 3.1 for solids, 3.6 for solid-fluid and 4.7 for fluid-processing plants"?
Mid
A.Working capital
B.Net present value
C.Internal rate of return
D.Lang factor
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
12. Which statement is correct?
Mid
A.Lang factor — multiplier on delivered equipment cost giving total plant cost, about 3.1 for solids, 3.6 for solid-fluid and 4.7 for fluid-processing plants
B.Lang factor — discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects
C.Lang factor — sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
D.Lang factor — Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
13. What is Six-tenths rule?
Mid
A.size that minimises the sum of annualised capital cost, which rises with diameter, and pumping cost, which falls with diameter
B.money tied up in raw-material inventory, product stock, receivables and cash, typically 10–20% of total investment and recovered at project end
C.Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
D.capacity scaling where cost is proportional to the capacity ratio raised to about 0.6, so doubling capacity raises cost by roughly 52%
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
14. Which term means: "capacity scaling where cost is proportional to the capacity ratio raised to about 0.6, so doubling capacity raises cost by roughly 52%"?
Mid
A.Internal rate of return
B.CEPCI
C.Fixed capital investment
D.Six-tenths rule
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
15. Which statement is correct?
Mid
A.Six-tenths rule — discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects
B.Six-tenths rule — time for cumulative cash flow to recover the fixed capital investment, ignoring the time value of money
C.Six-tenths rule — size that minimises the sum of annualised capital cost, which rises with diameter, and pumping cost, which falls with diameter
D.Six-tenths rule — capacity scaling where cost is proportional to the capacity ratio raised to about 0.6, so doubling capacity raises cost by roughly 52%
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
16. What is Net present value?
Mid
A.time for cumulative cash flow to recover the fixed capital investment, ignoring the time value of money
B.sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
C.discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects
D.total cost of equipment, installation, piping, buildings and utilities ready for start-up, excluding working capital
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
17. Which term means: "sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive"?
Mid
A.Net present value
B.Payback period
C.Fixed capital investment
D.Economic pipe diameter
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
18. Which statement is correct?
Mid
A.Net present value — sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
B.Net present value — discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects
C.Net present value — multiplier on delivered equipment cost giving total plant cost, about 3.1 for solids, 3.6 for solid-fluid and 4.7 for fluid-processing plants
D.Net present value — Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
19. What is CEPCI?
Mid
A.capacity scaling where cost is proportional to the capacity ratio raised to about 0.6, so doubling capacity raises cost by roughly 52%
B.total cost of equipment, installation, piping, buildings and utilities ready for start-up, excluding working capital
C.discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects
D.Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
20. Which term means: "Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values"?
Mid
A.Internal rate of return
B.CEPCI
C.Net present value
D.Lang factor
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
21. Which statement is correct?
Mid
A.CEPCI — sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
B.CEPCI — money tied up in raw-material inventory, product stock, receivables and cash, typically 10–20% of total investment and recovered at project end
C.CEPCI — Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
D.CEPCI — time for cumulative cash flow to recover the fixed capital investment, ignoring the time value of money
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
22. What is Internal rate of return?
Senior
A.sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
B.Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
C.size that minimises the sum of annualised capital cost, which rises with diameter, and pumping cost, which falls with diameter
D.discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
23. Which term means: "discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects"?
Senior
A.Internal rate of return
B.Payback period
C.Lang factor
D.CEPCI
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
24. Which statement is correct?
Senior
A.Internal rate of return — time for cumulative cash flow to recover the fixed capital investment, ignoring the time value of money
B.Internal rate of return — sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
C.Internal rate of return — capacity scaling where cost is proportional to the capacity ratio raised to about 0.6, so doubling capacity raises cost by roughly 52%
D.Internal rate of return — discount rate that makes net present value zero, compared against the minimum acceptable rate to rank competing projects
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
25. What is Economic pipe diameter?
Senior
A.money tied up in raw-material inventory, product stock, receivables and cash, typically 10–20% of total investment and recovered at project end
B.capacity scaling where cost is proportional to the capacity ratio raised to about 0.6, so doubling capacity raises cost by roughly 52%
C.size that minimises the sum of annualised capital cost, which rises with diameter, and pumping cost, which falls with diameter
D.Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
26. Which term means: "size that minimises the sum of annualised capital cost, which rises with diameter, and pumping cost, which falls with diameter"?
Senior
A.CEPCI
B.Internal rate of return
C.Economic pipe diameter
D.Fixed capital investment
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
27. Which statement is correct?
Senior
A.Economic pipe diameter — Chemical Engineering Plant Cost Index used to escalate historical equipment costs to the present year by the ratio of index values
B.Economic pipe diameter — sum of all future cash flows discounted to today at the company's cost of capital; a project is acceptable when it is positive
C.Economic pipe diameter — size that minimises the sum of annualised capital cost, which rises with diameter, and pumping cost, which falls with diameter
D.Economic pipe diameter — capacity scaling where cost is proportional to the capacity ratio raised to about 0.6, so doubling capacity raises cost by roughly 52%
Answer + AI explanation with Pro
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