Maleic Chemical Company has an annual revenue of $2 billion/year, half of which ($1 Billion/y) comes from a single product, Maleic Anhydride (MA, C4H2O3 ). The company currently sells MA for $2.50/kg ($2500/ton). You are hired as a Project Leader for the company, based on your expertise in Chemical Engineering/Chemistry as well as Sustainable Development. You report directly to the VP of research. Your boss asks you to reveiew several issues., starting with risks to the current business. A. Risks MA is now produced from the oxidation of benzene (C6H6) using a vanadium pentoxide catalyst at 65% yield: The feed stock material, benzene, now purchased at $1/kg, appears to have several associated risks. You meet with the purchasing team, some suppliers and officials of the EPA and come up with 3 possible outcomes: 1. Benzene will continue to be avalable as needed, but with a 5% year over year price increase over the next 6 years (years 1-6). This was considered to the most likely scenario with a 50% likelihood. 2 The use of benzene is restricted by the EPA to 100-t/y, years 4 and beyond (20% likelihood). 3. A biomass supplier will provide a renewable version of benzene for