At steady state, work at a rate of 60 kW is done by a paddle wheel on a slurry contained within a closed, rigid tank. Heat transfer from the tank occurs at a temperature of 280 ºC to surroundings that, away from the immediate vicinity of the tank, are at 26 ºC. Determine the rate of entropy production, in kW/K, (a) for the tank and its contents as the system.

An external consultant recommends that a plant installs a bank of capacitors for power factor correction. this will reduce the peak electrical demand charges by an average of 93 kw every month. the plant current pays $13 per kw in peak demand charges. the capacitor bank will include 223 kw of fixed capacitors, and 183 of variable capacitors. the fixed capacitors cost $59 per kw, and the variable capacitors will cost $65 per kw. the consultant charges 21% of the equipment costs to install the capacitors. because this project will reduce the demand for the electric utility, they are prepared to provide a one-time rebate of $42 per kw of reduced demand. what is the simple payback period for this project (in years)?