Use cases
The planning decisions that set your margin.
Each of these is a decision chemical planners make every cycle. For each one: what the decision is, what is at stake in dollars, and how planning across real uncertainty changes the answer.
D1Use case
Production and campaign planning
The decision
Which units run, at what rates and severities, making which products, and for how long, across every site and period in the plan.
The economic stakes
Rates and run lengths set feed cost, energy, co-product volumes, and how much of each product you can sell at what price. A campaign that is too short pays for extra changeovers and off-spec material. One that is too long builds inventory you carry or sell at a discount.
How uncertainty changes the answer
With demand and yields as ranges, the best campaign is often not the one sized for the average. Mizahn shows which campaign lengths hold across the range, and what extra runtime is worth as protection against a weak yield month.
What Mizahn returns
- Unit, mode, rate, and timing by period
- Campaign lengths and start dates
- Margin by campaign
D2Use case
Product wheel and grade transitions
The decision
How long the product wheel should be, which grades run in each cycle, and how much of each grade to make. [TODO: confirm the scope of grade transition modeling before launch]
The economic stakes
Every transition makes off-grade material and costs runtime. Fewer transitions mean longer cycles and more inventory. The right cycle balances transition cost against carrying cost and lost sales, and those are all dollars.
How uncertainty changes the answer
When grade demand swings, a wheel sized for average demand stocks out on the volatile grades and carries too much of the steady ones. Mizahn sizes the cycle and the buffers across the demand range.
What Mizahn returns
- Cycle length and grade slate
- Make quantity per grade per cycle
- The cost of each transition rule
D3Use case
Feedstock selection
The decision
Which feeds to buy and crack, and how much of each: ethane, propane, butane, naphtha, or a mix, within contracts, logistics, and furnace limits.
The economic stakes
Feed choice sets the co-product slate. Lighter feeds make mostly ethylene. Heavier feeds make more propylene, butadiene, and aromatics. The best feed is the one with the highest total value of everything it makes, net of its cost, not the cheapest feed per tonne of ethylene.
How uncertainty changes the answer
Feed and co-product prices move independently, so a slate chosen on today's spreads can be wrong next month. Mizahn finds the feed mix that earns the most across price ranges and reports the break-even price at which the answer flips.
What Mizahn returns
- Feed slate by period
- Break-even prices for each feed
- Value of each co-product at the chosen slate
D4Use case
Allocation when supply is short
The decision
When supply is short because of an outage, a weak yield, or a logistics limit, which customers, contracts, and markets get product, and how much.
The economic stakes
Contract penalties, spot premiums, freight, and customer commitments differ by customer. Allocating first come, first served or pro rata leaves margin on the table and can trigger penalties you did not need to pay.
How uncertainty changes the answer
Shortfalls rarely come with a known end date. Mizahn allocates with the range of recovery dates in view, so you do not sell spot volume this week that a contract customer will need next week.
What Mizahn returns
- Allocation by customer, product, and route
- Penalties avoided and incurred
- Value of an extra unit of supply
D5Use case
Inventory positioning
The decision
How much of each product to hold, and where: at the plant, at terminals, or closer to customers.
The economic stakes
Inventory ties up working capital and storage. A stockout at the wrong terminal costs a sale or an expensive freight move. Targets set in days of cover say nothing about what they cost or what they protect.
How uncertainty changes the answer
The right buffer depends on how much demand, production, and transit times vary, not on their averages. Mizahn positions inventory against those ranges and prices each buffer, so the target is a decision with a dollar value, not a rule of thumb.
What Mizahn returns
- Target inventory by product and location
- The cost of each buffer
- Value of extra storage capacity
D6Use case
Turnaround and outage planning
The decision
When to take a unit down and for how long, and how to cover the gap: build inventory ahead, buy in product, reroute feed, or shift production to another site.
The economic stakes
A turnaround moves co-product volumes across the whole network, not just at the unit that stops. Moving it by a week changes how much you pre-build, how much you buy, and what you cannot sell. Mizahn puts a dollar value on each option.
How uncertainty changes the answer
Turnarounds overrun, and unplanned outages happen. Planning against a range of durations shows how much pre-build is worth it, and when buying in product is cheaper than building ahead.
What Mizahn returns
- Turnaround timing and cover plan
- Pre-build and buy-in quantities
- Margin effect of moving the window
D7Use case
Make versus buy and capacity
The decision
Whether to make an intermediate or buy it, and which debottleneck or new capacity earns its cost.
The economic stakes
Extra capacity is worth only what the network can do with it. Mizahn values capacity through the whole chain: the extra co-products, the downstream units that must absorb them, the logistics, and the markets.
How uncertainty changes the answer
Investment cases built on one price deck are fragile. Mizahn tests a capacity or sourcing decision across price and demand ranges, so you see how often it pays off, not just whether it pays off on average.
What Mizahn returns
- Make or buy by period
- Value of each capacity increment
- How the case holds across the range
Next step
See Mizahn on a network like yours.
Book a working session with the team. Bring a decision you are working on now: a feed slate, a campaign plan, a turnaround date. Or start with the technical brief.