Economic Appraisal of the Rapid Catalytic Cracking Development Scheme for Municipal Solid Waste

Abstract

There are a wide range of modern waste disposal systems and the costs of operating them greatly vary. The type of waste disposal system to be used is selected based on the nature of the operation, process and needs of the local community. In Iran, mixed municipal waste with significant contamination and humidity is prevalent. As a result, the most commonly used methods implemented in European and American countries are not applicable in Iran and in many cases, investments on these technologies have failed. Among the methods that have attracted the attention of authorities and urban managers are the mixed waste disposal approaches associated with positive economic returns such as Rapid Catalytic Cracking systems (RCC). In this study, the economic aspects of implementing an engineering investment model on a typical RCC unit is studied in order to evaluate the economic development of the project regarding the local and regional conditions and challenges. The data collected in 2017 were used in this study and results were obtained using COMFAR. The internal rate of return (IRR) of an RCC system with a capacity of 180 tons per urban waste for a lifespan of ten years is 80.23%, which indicates there is a very attractive economic justification for the scheme compared to the interest rate (20%).