Economic feasibility of energy recovery from plastic waste

Abstract

En este trabajo se estudia la viabilidad económica de la obtención de energía a partir de plásticos residuales. Para ello, se propone la instalación de una planta de tratamiento de este material que ha sido previamente depositado en un vertedero con el fin de obtener productos de valor añadido. Para

The aim of this Project is to evaluate the economic feasibility of obtaining energy out of plastic solid waste. In order to achieve it, the proposal includes the setup of a plant that treats plastic previously disposed into landfills to manufacture value-added products. Before reaching any result, it is essential to gather all the information required related to the state of art of the technologies and other examples of the industry. There is an uncertainty around the cost of machinery and devices, as well as in many other expenses related to the project. Therefore, the reader should pay attention to the final analysis to reach his own conclusions. The high volatility of the petrochemical´s market and the uncertainty mentioned above give us a clue about the static of the economic analysis. Therefore, since the real industry is more dynamic, a sensitivity analysis is undergone to study different scenarios to give a range to the economic feasibility and not only a number, the Net Present Value. After the cost/benefit analysis, the projector determines that the implementation of the plant is economically feasible and, at the same time, it gives some other profits in terms of social and environmental impact.