High Unit Cost Research Articles

The Effects of Reforms, Price Cuts and Global Budget Implementation on Biotechnological Medicine Sales Which Have Annual Average Highest Amount Of Sales Between 2008-2013 In Turkey.

In 2003 Health Transformation Program and in 2006 Social Security Reform were launched in Turkey. At the end of the years 2009 and 2011 price cuts were done by the Government and between the years 2010-2012, there was a global budget implementation in Turkey. The top 100 medicines, annual average highest amount of sales of between 2008-2013, had one to four of the total pharmaceutical market value in 2013. We aimed to examine the status of biotech-medicines in the first 100 medicine’s and evaluate the effects of policy interventions on these medicine sales. While pharmaceutical sales data were obtained from the IMS Health-Turkey data base, prices and characteristics of medicines were obtained from the Turkish Medicine and Medical Devices Agency data bases. Each group (biotech/nonbiotech-medicines) was analyzed using TRAMO and SEATS method. 19 medicines are biotechnological. In 2009 compared to 2008 while biotech-medicines amount increased by 43.8%, nonbiotech-medicines amount increased by 14.2%. In subsequent years, an increase over the previous year is observed at lower rates for biotech-medicines. This total amount has decreased compared to previous years for nonbiotech-medicines. 2014 and 2015 for the consumption of biotechnological medicines was estimated to be around 9 million boxes, expenditure for 2014 of 1360 million Turkish Liras (TL) and 2015 million TL for the year 2015. On the other hand, non-biotechnological medicines consumption would be approximately 185 million boxes and for the year 2014 2225 million TL, for the year 2015 2280 million TL are projected. Biotechnological medicines have high unit costs and these costs are increasing compared to year to year. Policy interventions did not effected biotechnological medicine sales negatively. While big differences between the biotechnological and non-biotechnological medicine box sales will continue, the gap between the biotechnological and non-biotechnological medicines total amount will be closer.

Costs and performance of an oxygen-blown IGCC plant with CCS on a first-of-a-kind basis in Japan

The Japanese government recently funded the feasibility study (FS) on conceptual designs for oxygen-blown Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC)+carbon capture and storage (CCS) systems. This paper presents the results of the economic evaluations conducted in the FS. The systems are first-of-a-kind (FOAK) bases with a net output power of 300MWe. It also illustrates a design for a post-demonstration brownfield plant to be constructed in Japan in the 2020s. The study assesses transportation and storage technologies, and site-specific characteristics for transportation by ship and pipeline (PL). With CCS, the construction cost for transportation is the highest (40–60%), closely followed by separation and recovery costs. CCS raises the cost of electricity (COE), of which 30–60% is due to CO2 transportation. The costs of CO2 avoided and CO2 captured show a trend similar to the construction cost. Ship transport is more promising given the flexibility in CO2 storage sites along Japan's coastline and the high unit cost of PL transportation. The overnight cost and levelized COE of the IGCC+CCS plant in the FS (FOAK plant) are relatively higher than those for the plants evaluated in other studies (commercial plants).

Biogas from dedicated energy crops in Northern Italy: electric energy generation costs

AbstractAgricultural anaerobic digestion facilities are increasing in many EU member States and biomass supply is sometimes an issue. Dedicated energy crops (DEC) (mainly Maize, Triticale and Sorghum) are often used to integrate other substrates, such as agricultural residues, manure and organic waste. However, DEC production includes onerous agricultural operations (soil preparation, harvest, transport and storage) and may result in high unit costs (UC) of electric energy (EE, € kWhe−1), compared to other renewable sources. In this work, seven different types of DEC (4 different combinations of crop successions) were cultivated in 30 different parcels, distributed along the Po Valley (northern Italy), using different varieties of seeds for each crop type. All agricultural operations were accounted for their costs (988–3346 € ha−1). Biomass production was measured and reported as average of different parcels for each type of crop (31.2–187 Mg ha−1). Biomass dry matter content and biogas potential were measured on representative samples and the EE obtainable was calculated (7.9–35.3 MWhe ha−1), by assuming conservative factors (CH4 contents in biogas and electric generation yields). The costs of ensiled biomass sensibly varied (13.8–40 € Mg−1) among crop solutions, as well as the same UC of EE (0.068–0.150 € kWhe−1). These costs were considered together with typical plant management and investment costs (plant size: 0.5–1 MWe): total UC of EE generation through anaerobic digestion (considering 100% DEC) varied in a relatively wide range (0.143–0.279 € kWhe−1). When the biomass mix is ‘blended’ with low‐cost residues or organic waste, this range could be lowered to 0.096–187 € kWhe−1. Only this strategy and strong efforts in reducing technological investment/management costs can candidate biogas‐based EE as a really competitive renewable alternative to traditional sources, in the next future.

Minimization of operational cost for an off-grid renewable hybrid system to generate electricity in residential buildings through the SVM and the BCGA methods

Abstract Recently Turkey's electricity demand has shown a considerable increase due to its population and economic growths. It is understandable that this may be very influential on electricity price on market as well as other factors such as an increase in natural gas price, etc. It should be noted that the half of Turkey's electricity generation is supplied from natural gas and 95% of this source is imported from other countries. However, Turkey is rich in wind and solar energy potentials to generate electricity and it is believed that this makes a considerable impact on reducing high electricity unit cost to competitive one. In this regard, these potentials can be utilized for electricity generation in order to meet a significant portion of the power demanded by residential houses through a PV/wind system. The electricity cost of the renewable system can be minimized by optimally scheduling generated and consumed powers. In this paper, optimal power scheduling in such systems is carried out by using the BCGA and the SVM methods. The results indicated that the proposed approach was able to minimize the operation cost in the hybrid system through the optimal power scheduling.

Ferry service network design with stochastic demand under user equilibrium flows

This paper develops a service reliability-based formulation for ferry service network design with stochastic demand under user equilibrium flows while considering two types of services, regular and ad hoc. Regular services operate with a fixed schedule; whereas ad hoc services are those subcontracted or outsourced to a third party and have a higher unit cost. Two ad hoc provision schemes are studied. Scheme A considers that the demand information is known in advance by passenger reservation, and the company makes use of this information to plan for ad hoc services. In Scheme B, the demand realization is only known as passengers arrive at the piers and the company calls upon ad hoc services in case of demand overflow. In Scheme A, we utilize the notion of service reliability (SR) to address the issue of demand uncertainty and formulate the problem as a two-phase stochastic program in which the schedule of regular services and ad hoc services are derived sequentially. The user equilibrium (UE) assignment with capacity constraint is formulated via a linear programming (LP) approach considering overflow delays. A SR-based gradient solution approach is developed to solve the model. Scheme B, as expected, requires more resources to operate, for which a SR-based non-linear model is developed. The value of reservation to the company is defined as the operating cost difference between these two schemes. We apply the methods to ferry service network design in Hong Kong, and then compare the UE (Scheme A) and system optimal (SO) solutions, in terms of service deployment and computation time, to contrast the solution quality arising from the inclusion of equilibrium flows. The value of advance reservation information between Scheme A and Scheme B is presented as well.

Estimating Power Outage Costs Based on a Survey of Industrial Customers

SummaryThousands of factories in Japan responded to a survey on power outage costs for industrial customers. From across the country, 5139 facilities designated as energy management factories answered questions about their power consumption and the loss of production value due to a hypothetical hour‐long power outage on a summer weekday. Using their responses, we estimated the median unit cost of a power outage across all sectors to be 672 yen/kWh. The service sector of amusement and hobbies and the manufacturing sector that makes electronic information and communication equipment have relatively high unit costs for power outages. The direct cost of damage from a specified power outage across all sectors totaled 77 billion yen. Using input–output analysis, we estimated the indirect damage costs caused by the repercussions of halting production. Indirect damages across all sectors totaled 91 billion yen. The wholesale and retail trade sector had the largest direct damage costs, while the transportation equipment manufacturing sector has the largest indirect damage costs. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 185(4): 25–32, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.22306

Cost of maternal health services in selected primary care centres in Ghana: a step down allocation approach

BackgroundThere is a paucity of knowledge on the cost of health care services in Ghana. This poses a challenge in the economic evaluation of programmes and inhibits policy makers in making decisions about allocation of resources to improve health care. This study analysed the overall cost of providing health services in selected primary health centres and how much of the cost is attributed to the provision of antenatal and delivery services.MethodsThe study has a cross-sectional design and quantitative data was collected between July and December 2010. Twelve government run primary health centres in the Kassena-Nankana and Builsa districts of Ghana were randomly selected for the study. All health-care related costs for the year 2010 were collected from a public service provider’s perspective. The step-down allocation approach recommended by World Health Organization was used for the analysis.ResultsThe average annual cost of operating a health centre was $136,014 US. The mean costs attributable to ANC and delivery services were $23,063 US and $11,543 US respectively. Personnel accounted for the largest proportion of cost (45%). Overall, ANC (17%) and delivery (8%) were responsible for less than a quarter of the total cost of operating the health centres. By disaggregating the costs, the average recurrent cost was estimated at $127,475 US, representing 93.7% of the total cost. Even though maternal health services are free, utilization of these services at the health centres were low, particularly for delivery (49%), leading to high unit costs. The mean unit costs were $18 US for an ANC visit and $63 US for spontaneous delivery.ConclusionThe high unit costs reflect underutilization of the existing capacities of health centres and indicate the need to encourage patients to use health centres .The study provides useful information that could be used for cost effectiveness analyses of maternal and neonatal care interventions, as well as for policy makers to make appropriate decisions regarding the allocation and sustainability of health care resources.

Regional disparity and cost-effective SO2 pollution control in China: A case study in 5 mega-cities

With rapid development, increasing sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission becomes a key environmental issue in China. To respond to this challenge, the Chinese government established a top-down scheme to reduce its SO2 emissions. However, regional disparity and the associated cost differences brought uncertainties to the policy effectiveness and efficiency. Few studies focus on this field. Therefore, this study tries to fill such a gap by investigating the differences of SO2 emissions, reduction potential, and cost-effectiveness through use of the GAINS-China model in five mega-cities in China, namely, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Hong Kong. A scenario analysis approach is employed, focusing on two technologies named flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and limestone injection (LINJ). Results demonstrated that a large SO2 reduction potential exists, as well as a great disparity, among the five mega-cities. Chongqing had the largest reduction potential with lowest unit cost, while Beijng and Hong Kong showed the lowest reduction potential with higher unit cost. In Beijing and Shanghai, FGD and LINJ in the power generation sector had the larger reduction potential with the highest cost-effectiveness. However, in Chongqing, the industry sectors also had large reduction potentials. Finally, appropriate SO2 control strategies and policies are raised by considering the local realities.

Incremental analysis of the reengineering of an outpatient billing process: an empirical study in a public hospital

BackgroundA smartcard is an integrated circuit card that provides identification, authentication, data storage, and application processing. Among other functions, smartcards can serve as credit and ATM cards and can be used to pay various invoices using a ‘reader’. This study looks at the unit cost and activity time of both a traditional cash billing service and a newly introduced smartcard billing service in an outpatient department in a hospital in Taipei, Taiwan.MethodsThe activity time required in using the cash billing service was determined via a time and motion study. A cost analysis was used to compare the unit costs of the two services. A sensitivity analysis was also performed to determine the effect of smartcard use and number of cashier windows on incremental cost and waiting time.ResultsOverall, the smartcard system had a higher unit cost because of the additional service fees and business tax, but it reduced patient waiting time by at least 8 minutes. Thus, it is a convenient service for patients. In addition, if half of all outpatients used smartcards to pay their invoices, along with four cashier windows for cash payments, then the waiting time of cash service users could be reduced by approximately 3 minutes and the incremental cost would be close to breaking even (even though it has a higher overall unit cost that the traditional service).ConclusionsTraditional cash billing services are time consuming and require patients to carry large sums of money. Smartcard services enable patients to pay their bill immediately in the outpatient clinic and offer greater security and convenience. The idle time of nurses could also be reduced as they help to process smartcard payments. A reduction in idle time reduces hospital costs. However, the cost of the smartcard service is higher than the cash service and, as such, hospital administrators must weigh the costs and benefits of introducing a smartcard service. In addition to the obvious benefits of the smartcard service, there is also scope to extend its use in a hospital setting to include the notification of patient arrival and use in other departments.

Cournot and Bertrand Competition when Advertising Rotates Demand: The Case of Honda and Scion

We develop a model to explain why firm behavior differs in the market for small cars. Firms such as Honda compete in output (Cournot) and produce marketing campaigns with universal appeal, while firms such as Scion compete in price (Bertrand) and produce targeted marketing campaigns. We show that this mixture of Cournot and Bertrand behavior can occur when advertising rotates demand. When behaving as a Cournot-type firm such as Honda, it is more profitable to pursue a mass-market advertising campaign that rotates demand counterclockwise when it faces relatively low unit costs and a flat demand function. When behaving as a Bertrand-type firm such as Scion, it pays to pursue a niche-market advertising campaign that rotates demand clockwise when it faces relatively high unit costs and a steep demand.

Cost-benefit analysis of riparian protection in an eastern Canadian watershed

Forested riparian buffers have proved to be an effective management practice that helps maintain ecological goods and services in watersheds. In this study, we assessed the non-market benefits and opportunity costs associated with implementing these buffers in an eastern Canadian watershed using contingent valuation and wood supply modeling methods, respectively. A number of buffer scenarios were considered, including 30 and 60 m buffers on woodlots and on all land (including woodlots, agricultural, and residential lands) in the watershed. Household annual WTP estimates ranged from −$6.80 to $42.85, and total present value benefits ranged from −$11.7 to $121.7 million (CDN 2007), depending on the buffer scenario, affected population, time horizon, and econometric modeling assumptions considered. Opportunity cost estimates range from $1.3 to $10.4 million in present value terms, depending on silvicultural and agriculture land rental rate assumptions. Overall, we found that the net present value of riparian buffers was positive for the majority of scenarios and assumptions. Some exceptions were found under more conservative benefit, and higher unit cost, assumptions. These results provide decision makers with data on stated benefits and opportunity costs of riparian buffers, as well as insight into the importance of modeling assumptions when using this framework of analysis.

Numerical simulation-based investigation on vendor managed inventory model

In a vendor managed inventory system, vendor or supplier is given the responsibilities of managing the customer’s stock. The fundamental change is that the ordering phase of the process is saved, and the supplier is handed the authority and responsibility to take care of the entire replenishment process. This integrates operations between suppliers and buyers through information sharing and business process reengineering. This paper investigates the implementations of vendor managed inventory systems in a consumer goods industry. Once the data were setup in a spread sheet, two axis graphs were used for policy comparison. The case that is described in this paper is that of a fruit juice manufacturing firm located in India. The firm purchases over 100 items, such as packaging materials. The contribution of the packaging materials in the total inventory value is 83%, out of which 20% have a higher unit cost and a longer lead time. Therefore, a proper policy to manage the inventory of the packaging items is required.

Challenge in Integrating Clean Water Infrastructure Provision in Jabodetabek Metropolitan Area

Abstract Development of suburbs in Jabodetabek Metropolitan Area, triggered by land development in certain areas by developer, is characterized by disintegration of infrastructure provision. Disintegration of infrastructure provision causes uneven infrastructure services received by community and higher unit cost. This paper aims to identify the possibility of integrating infrastructure provision in Jabodetabek Metropolitan Area and provide recommendations to integrate infrastructure provision in the region. Through searching of secondary data and results of previous studies, an analysis to determine the extent of possible integration of infrastructure in the region is carried out. Based on the results of analysis, it is known that integration is possible in term of water availability and number of population. Attentions have to be given to density and institution in order to realize integration.

Biosimilars; a unique opportunity for Iran national health sector and national pharmaceutical industry.

In 1980s, medicines produced through recombinant DNA technology created a novel opportunity for management of several debilitating and life threatening diseases. However, these medicines are very expensive and therefore not affordable for many patients especially those living in low resourced countries. Biopharmaceuticals mostly have a high unit cost and often prescribed for chronic medical conditions with possibility of long-term use. Therefore, they will impose a burden on either national health care systems or patients’ out of pocket. It is estimated that the average daily treatment of a patient with branded biopharmaceuticals will cost at least 22 times of those for small molecule medicines [1]. Biopharmaceuticals are medicines produced from living organisms via genetic manipulation. Although use of living organisms for production of vaccines has a long history, the first DNA recombinant medicine for human use, human insulin, was approved in the USA in 1982. However, introduction of other biopharmaceuticals including monoclonal antibodies into market later on experienced a much faster pace. Biopharmaceuticals are large and complex molecules which their active substances are mostly polypeptides, glycoproteins, proteins, and nucleic acids. Therefore, it is practically impossible to manufacture an “identical” copy for these molecules. Blood coagulating factors, erythropoietins, gonadotrophins, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF), human growth hormones (GH), interferons (INF), interleukins and monoclonal antibodies are among the most important marketed biopharmaceuticals in past decades [2]. Despite complexity of their molecules, biopharmaceuticals are very well characterized both for their clinical use and production methods. Biopharmaceuticals are also very sensitive to their production procedures. When the manufacturing process is modified by scaling up or transferring it to alternative facilities, new products might show modified specifications. Even though these manufacturing changes are tightly regulated most of the time they still will cause observable changes in the final product. However, all of these products will be marketed under one single brand name indicating that regulators consider these changes in the range of “highly similar” products. The fact that their administration provides expected clinical outcomes also confirm their comparability. “Biosimilars” are biopharmaceuticals which are manufactured by non originator pharmaceutical companies following expiration of patent period. According to current guidelines and regulations for granting marketing authorization “similarity” should be proven between biosimilar and its corresponding originator biopharmaceutical. Biopharmaceuticals have a very fast growing market. It is reported that 32% of products in development pipeline and 7.5% of marketed medicines are biopharmaceuticals which account for around 10% of pharmaceutical expenditure [3]. It is forecasted that by 2020, biopharmaceuticals will sell around US$23 billion in the EU and US$29 billion in the USA and of course all of this market could be challenged by biosimilars [3]. The biopharmaceutical market has expanded drastically in the past two decades. Although most of these medicines enjoyed exclusivity in the market due to their patent; recent years have witnessed expiration of their patent.

Competetiveness of the Montenegrin fruit and vegetables sector and recommendtations for impovement

A number of facts, primarily including high fragmentation at all levels, weak vertical integration, limited dimensions in comparison to competitors poor technological level and unbalanced quality/price ratio make the sector weak, low competitive and exposed to international competition, reducing its capacity to capture any existing market potential. Almost all opportunities are frozen by prevailing weaknesses and threat impacts are exacerbated by a largely prevailing number of weaknesses. High production unit cost appears to be a major constraint to local supply market competitiveness. This situation appears to be mainly caused by general low levels of productivity – provoked by not adequate and up-to-date cultivation practices, reduced levels of input use, utilisation of old and, therefore, less performing varieties, and also farm management shortcomings. High losses from reduced availability of post-harvest facilities and equipment add up to the problem. The improvement of the sector is not easy. In other words, there is a lot to do for the Montenegrin sector operators to increase sales: tackle imports and increase market shares in the domestic market and abroad. Based on our research, we suggest that the Montenegrin fruit and vegetable sector should primarily aim at substituting imports, increasing domestic consumption and developing exports to the region (CEFTA countries) primarily via promising market opportunities. Based on our analyses of the state of affairs of the sector, the competitiveness and the market potentials, the recommendations for improvement competitiveness are outlined.

A simple guide to a complex problem—maternity bed occupancy

The average occupancy applicable to different sized maternity units is shown to be calculated by Erlang's equation. This equation has been used with great confidence for nearly 100 years to calculate the resources required to meet the incoming demand in a huge variety of service situations ranging from the capacity of telecommunications satellites to bed occupancy in hospitals. Larger maternity units can operate at higher average occupancy and as such smaller units face greater cost pressures due to their inherent inability to avoid the lower occupancy (and hence higher unit costs) that is associated with smaller size. The implications to the operation and design of maternity units are discussed.

Performance-Cost Analysis of Stabilized Undercut Subgrades

An approach for comparatively evaluating the performance cost of undercut subgrade stabilization measures is presented. The performance-cost analysis coupled results from laboratory cyclic load testing with material prices and estimated cost factors for stabilization alternatives. The study utilized data from 22 simulated undercut sections with different stabilization configurations over a soft subgrade with a California bearing ratio of approximately 2.0%. The computed cost factors are normalized with respect to the rut-depth magnitude and subgrade strength. Sections with lime-stabilized subgrade were the most economical with respect to initial and postrut repair cycles. Unreinforced aggregate based course (ABC) sections between 356 and 508 mm (14 and 20 in.) in thickness were economical during initial cycles. Sections with geosynthetic reinforcement showed that once enough rut depth is induced to mobilize the strength of the reinforcement, economical performance was comparable with other stabilization measures excluding lime-stabilized subgrade. When the ABC layer was thicker [between 457 and 508 mm (18 and 20 in.)], differences in the reinforcement type were less significant. Tests with 914 mm (36 in.) select fill overlaid by 76 mm (3 in.) ABC stabilization exhibited a high unit cost but were moderately economical. This study shows the advantage of including performance aspects, such as rut depth and subgrade strength, when considering the overall cost of stabilization.

Activity based costing in health care center: A case study of Iran

Lack of attention to real costs has made implementing a costing system which targets the listed purposes in the appropriate format pilot units seem essential. The purpose of this study is to calculate the unit cost of services provided in a health care center in Iran. This study has a cross sectional description and is based on the 2010 financial data. The department studied is a health center affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences. A scientific committee which is composed of the health and budget and financing experts was set up. Then the required form was designed to collect data on the costs and services provided. Data entry was done through Excel software and analyzed based on activity based costing system following eight steps. The results of this study are presented as a “unit cost” of more than 80 types of services offered in the final activity units of the health center studied. Polio vaccine by the unit of vaccination with the unit cost of $0.84 and TB treatment by disease unit with the unit cost of $64.79 are respectively the lowest and highest unit costs of services rendered by the health center studied. Due to the high share of personnel costs of total expenditures (73%), increased labor productivity plays an important role in reducing costs. Moreover, integrated units with similar services, according to their capacity to accept and organize similar activities in the implementation process of various services to prevent their repetition, are also effective in reducing costs. Key words: Activity based costing, health care center, Iran.

Should positron emission tomography/computed tomography be the first rather than the last test performed in the assessment of cancer?

Cancer is a major cause of illness and death in Western society and is associated with a heavy concomitant economic burden. Although use of imaging comprises only a small proportion of the fiscal impact of cancer, its use has been increasing over recent decades, causing concern amongst funders of health care and efforts to constrain the use of new imaging tests with a relatively high unit cost. In clinical practice, positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) is generally performed when less expensive tests have left some uncertainty regarding appropriate management. In this setting, its utility relates to provision of incremental diagnostic information. However, given that superior diagnostic information can positively affect patient management, wherein the majority of costs reside, it may be both more efficient and cost effective to go directly to the most accurate investigation in certain situations. For PET/CT, the ability to provide more accurate assessment of metastatic status than is available from conventional diagnostic paradigms provides a rationale for its independent rather than incremental use in patients presenting with either a high likelihood of malignancy or proven malignancy of a locally advanced nature and an accordingly high risk of metastatic disease. A randomized trial design is described that could be used to test this hypothesis.

Chitosan/carbon nanotube composite beads: Preparation, characterization, and cost evaluation for mercury removal from wastewater of some industrial cities in Egypt

AbstractComposite beads composed of chitosan (CS) with different carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were prepared by the incorporation of single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), and carboxylic multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT‐COOHs). A protected crosslinking method was used for the preparation of the CS/CNTs beads by the reaction of the beads with Hg(II) as the protector. Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis were used to characterize the prepared beads. The adsorption performance of the prepared beads was investigated for the removal of Hg(II). The results show that beads prepared by the protected crosslinking technique removed 2.5 times more Hg(II) from solution than beads prepared by normal crosslinking. The maximum Hg(II) removal values were 148.7, 183.2, 167.5, and 172.7 mg/g by CS, MWCNT‐COOH‐impregnated CS beads, MWCNT‐impregnated CS beads, and SWCNT‐impregnated CS composite beads, respectively. The optimum removal conditions were pH = 4, contact time = 40 min, and temperature = 70°C. The equilibrium adsorption isotherm data of the beads exhibited a better fit to the Langmuir isotherm model. The reusability of Hg(II) sorption by the prepared beads was investigated to evaluate their repeated availability performance in water treatment. Quantitative removal of mercury from industrial wastes was demonstrated. A statistical analysis of the replacement cost of these sorbents revealed that SWCNTs, MWCNTs, and MWCNT‐COOH could possibly be cost‐effective sorbents in water treatment, regardless of their high unit cost at this time. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012