a. To determine if the process improvement is recommended, we need to calculate the Net Present Value (NPV) of the investment. First, calculate the total revenue from each product per year: Product A: 5000 $/kg * 5.5 kg/batch * 20 batches/year = $550,000/year Product B: 1500 $/kg * 6.25 kg/batch * 13 batches/year = $121,875/year Product C: 3000 $/kg * 5.75 kg/batch * 16 batches/year = $276,000/year Total revenue per year = $550,000 $121,875 $276,000 = $947,875/year With a 25% increase in capacity, the new total revenue per year = $947,875 * 1.25 = $1,184,843.75/year The additional revenue per year due to the capacity increase = $1,184,843.75 - $947,875 = $236,968.75/year The NPV of the investment over 5 years at a discount rate of 17% is calculated as follows: NPV = (Cash inflow - Cash outflow) / (1 r)^n - Initial investment Where: Cash inflow = Additional revenue per year = $236,968.75 Cash outflow = Manufacturing cost = $0.75 million/year r = Discount rate = 17% = 0.17 n = Year (from 1 to 5) Initial investment = Cost of new crystallizer = $850,000 Calculate the NPV for each year, then sum them up and subtract the initial investment