Lignin is a basic component of almost any plant that grows, so it is one of the most abundant organic compounds in the world. Almost anything derived from oil can be made out of lignin. The question is "can we do it cost-effectively and consistently?" A startup company has developed a process to derive plastics, carbon fiber and other advanced materials from lignin. The cash flow diagram for this process is shown below (in $ millions). If the company's hurdle rate (MARR) is % per year, is this a profitable undertaking?

60 50 40 30 20 10 O 1 2 3 4 7 8 9 10 5 6 20 30 Discrete Compounding; i = 23% Uniform Series Single Payment Compound Amount Factor To Find F Given P Present Worth Factor To Find P Given F N F/P P/F 1 2 Compound Amount Factor To Find F Given A F/A 1.0000 2.2300 3.7429 5.6038 7.8926 10.7079 14.1708 18.4300 23.6690 30.1128 1.2300 1.5129 1.8609 2.2889 2.8153 3.4628 4.2593 5.2389 6.4439 7.9259 Sinking Fund Factor To Find A Given F A/F 1.0000 0.4484 0.2672 0.1785 0.1267 0.0934 0.0706 0.0543 0.0422 0.0332 Present Worth Factor To Find P Given A P/A 0.8130 1.4740 2.0114 2.4483 2.8035 3.0923 3.3270 3.5179 3.6731 3.7993 0.8130 0.6610 0.5374 0.4369 0.3552 0.2888 0.2348 0.1909 0.1552 0.1262 3 Capital Recovery Factor To Find A Given P A/P 1.2300 0.6784 0.4972 0.4085 0.3567 0.3234 0.3006 0.2843 0.2722 0.2632 Uniform Gradient Gradient Gradient Uniform Present Series Worth Factor Factor To Find P To Find A Given G Given G PIG A/G 0.0000 0.0000 0.6610 0.4484 1.7358 0.8630 3.0464 1.2443 4.4672 1.5935 5.9112 1.9116 7.3198 2.2001 8.6560 2.4605 9.8975 2.6946 11.0330 2.9040 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 60 50 40 30 20 10 O 1 2 3 4 7 8 9 10 5 6 20 30 Discrete Compounding; i = 23% Uniform Series Single Payment Compound Amount Factor To Find F Given P Present Worth Factor To Find P Given F N F/P P/F 1 2 Compound Amount Factor To Find F Given A F/A 1.0000 2.2300 3.7429 5.6038 7.8926 10.7079 14.1708 18.4300 23.6690 30.1128 1.2300 1.5129 1.8609 2.2889 2.8153 3.4628 4.2593 5.2389 6.4439 7.9259 Sinking Fund Factor To Find A Given F A/F 1.0000 0.4484 0.2672 0.1785 0.1267 0.0934 0.0706 0.0543 0.0422 0.0332 Present Worth Factor To Find P Given A P/A 0.8130 1.4740 2.0114 2.4483 2.8035 3.0923 3.3270 3.5179 3.6731 3.7993 0.8130 0.6610 0.5374 0.4369 0.3552 0.2888 0.2348 0.1909 0.1552 0.1262 3 Capital Recovery Factor To Find A Given P A/P 1.2300 0.6784 0.4972 0.4085 0.3567 0.3234 0.3006 0.2843 0.2722 0.2632 Uniform Gradient Gradient Gradient Uniform Present Series Worth Factor Factor To Find P To Find A Given G Given G PIG A/G 0.0000 0.0000 0.6610 0.4484 1.7358 0.8630 3.0464 1.2443 4.4672 1.5935 5.9112 1.9116 7.3198 2.2001 8.6560 2.4605 9.8975 2.6946 11.0330 2.9040 4 5 6 7 8 9 10