Capacity optimization of chemical-synthesis plants for the production of bulk drugs

There are many bulk drug chemical-synthesis plants in Puerto Rico. Optimization of their capacity is key to keeping them competitive in the world's economy. This is specially important nowadays that companies are operating in Puerto Rico without the tax incentives of the past. The capacity optimization of this type of plants is discussed in this report. Two approaches are used: the optimization of the production rate and the optimization of the batch size. The optimization of the production rate by removing equipment bottlenecks allows the plant to run faster, thus increasing the plant capacity. Removing bottlenecks requires capital investment which increase depreciation costs. The balance between increasing depreciation costs and the savings associated to reduced leadtimes and labor creates an optimal solution. The second approach is the optimization of the batch size. Again an optimal solution arises from the increasing depreciation costs and the savings due to increasing the lot size. Both analytical and numerical solutions are discussed in this work. A computer program in Microsoft Excel...