The trade-off between steady-state economics and dynamic controllability of recycle plants is analyzed for ternary systems. For this analysis, a boundary is first established in the composition space to identify the correct flow sheet, and then optimal trajectories for recycle plants with direct and indirect sequences are derived as the conversion varies. In the optimality regions, at any conversion, the correct separation sequence, as well as optimal reactant distribution, can also be obtained. For dynamic controllability, the reachable composition space is identified as the recycle ratios vary. The results clearly indicate that trade-off between steady-state design and dynamic control is not likely to occur, if the plant is designed along the optimal trajectories with the correct flow sheet. Rigorous nonlinear simulations also reveal that no single control structure works well over the entire composition space.