This document discusses decision and risk analysis (D&RA) as a tool for industrial biotechnology processes. D&RA screens options while accounting for risk, uncertainty, and complexity. It reveals important uncertainties and increases the rate of acquiring valuable information. For novel industrial biotechnology processes with high uncertainty, D&RA can guide design and mitigate risks. The document provides an example of how D&RA could be applied to selecting a core technology and optimal plant size for a front-end biotechnology design package.
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Decision & Risk Analysis for Industrial Biotechnology
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What is D&RA?
Decision & Risk Analysis (D&RA) is a decision making tool
Screens a variety of options and bring greater clarity and value to each
decision
Accounts for
Risk
Incomplete information
Complexity
Reveals where the really important uncertainties exist
Increases the rate at which valuable information is accrued
Industrial Biotechnology (IB) processes frequently use novel
processes with high complexity and uncertainty. D&RA can
mitigate and provide guidance throughout the design.
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Uncertainty in Novel Processes
Uncertainty is a lack of
information.
Risk is the potential impact
of making decisions without
that information.
The D&RA tornado
diagram depicts
uncertainties ranked by
potential impact to the
decision criteria.
The larger the range, the
larger combined risk and
potential upside.
Tornado diagrams determine
which variables warrant
special attention (risk
management).
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What Can D&RA Do For You
Use a consistent, established method of analysis to
make better decisions.
Guide research and engineering, make better decisions
sooner, identify and manage risk, boost project
economics, see the big picture!
D&RA recognizes there are very few things we know for
certain but we can be confident they will fall within a
range.
Time
After D&RA
Useful
Information
Uncertainty &
Probability of
Risk
After D&RA
D&RA
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D&RA Process Details
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Example: IB Technology Selection
What is the problem?
What are the issues that created this problem?
What are the distinct alternatives?
A typical IB process flow with unknowns:
Biosolids
Feedstock
Pretreatment
Technology?
Core
Process
Product
Co-Product
Waste
Processing?
Waste
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Example: IB Technology Selection
Alternatives
Core Process will require one of three viable pretreatment technologies
Feedstock
Technology
A, B, or C
Core
Process
Product
Co-Product
Processing waste from Technology A, B, or C will
have different capital and operating requirements.
Technologies A, B, and C have different capital and
operating requirements to process Feedstock.
Waste Processing
A, B, or C
Waste
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Framing
Define Objective
Determine the best Front-End Technology to integrate with the Core
Process and determine the optimal plant size to use as the basis for
the front end design package.
Major Constraints
Feedstock supply and product demand
Capital cost
Waste output (environmental regulations)
Decision Criteria
Choose the technology and plant size that provides the highest
expected IRR that satisfies the model assumptions and major
constraints.
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Modeling
Determine the inputs to the financial model
Develop model of influence between the inputs
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Modeling
Use probability to define risks and ranges of uncertainty for all
model inputs
10% probability (P10)
real value is less than P10
50% probability (P50)
real value is less than P50
real value is more than P50
90% probability (P90)
real value is less than P90
The P10/50/90 values are
based on data,
experience, and intuition
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00
Pretreatment Conversion
Cumulative Probablity Curve
P10
P50
P90
0.09
0.27
0.52
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Analysis: What is a Tornado Diagram?
What happens if we change the value of one variable, but
keep all others the same (at their P50 values)?
Pretreated Feed Recovered
Electricity Pricing
Product Recovery
Efficiency
Pretreatment Conversion
Total Installed Cost
Feedstock Pricing
Feedstock Composition
Product Pricing
20yr After-Tax NPV Millions
Low High
Default
Inverse
RelationshipP90
P90
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Analysis: Monte Carlo
The diagram on the right
shows a simple tree of
possibilities
~ 3 iterations / 2 variables
Monte Carlo Analysis =
generate a really big tree
~ 1000 iterations
IRR vs many variables
Probability Distributions
Pretreatment
Conversion = .09
Pretreatment
Conversion = .27
Pretreatment
Conversion = .52
Cap Cost = $10M
Cap Cost = $15M
Cap Cost = $30M
Cap Cost = $10M
Cap Cost = $15M
Cap Cost = $30M
Cap Cost = $10M
Cap Cost = $15M
Cap Cost = $30M
IRR = 6%
IRR = 3%
IRR = 1%
IRR = 17%
IRR = 12%
IRR = 8%
IRR = 32%
IRR = 24%
IRR = 15%
E[IRR] = 3.3%
E[IRR] = 12.3%
E[IRR] = 23.7%
IRR vs two variables
E[IRR] = A+B+C
3
A
B
C
E[IRR] = 13.1%
E[IRR] = Expected IRR = Probabilistically weighted average
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Make Decisions
Weve made the decision to
The major risks are
How to manage these?
The major upsides are
How to capitalize on these?
We should focus our efforts on
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View The World Differently
In summary, D&RA is a decision making tool that
Is a consistent, established method of analysis
Comprehends risk, incomplete information and complexity
Provides better decisions and direction sooner
Provides in-depth understanding of the issues
Reveals whats important
Aligns team around common goal(s)
Forces us to look at the world differently
I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of
complexity.
Oliver Wendell Holmes