National Metal and Materials Technology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand.
Technology Management Center / National Science and Technology Development Agency, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand.
J Environ Manage. 2021 Feb 15;280:111638. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111638. Epub 2020 Dec 5.
This research assessed the economic feasibility of recovering polyol from rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF) waste, collected from dismantled, discarded refrigerators, by a single-phase glycolysis recycling process using domestic crude glycerol (a byproduct of biodiesel production) as a transesterification agent. The study, conducted in Thailand, took into account benefits from the added value of the recovered product, the investment and related operating costs of the process, demand (the need for the recovered product) and supply (the amount of RPUF waste). The results showed that the production of recovered polyol from RPUF waste is economically feasible, with a net present value of 1,113,018 USD, an internal rate of return (IRR) of 22.9%, and a payback period of 4.4 years. Due to the high IRR, project investment should be attractive to both the government and private sector investors. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was conducted to assess the economic resilience of the process to uncertainties in key factors, including the prices of the machinery, recovered polyol, crude glycerol and stannous octoate, and the amount of RPUF waste available. The sensitivity analysis showed that the economic feasibility was most sensitive to the price of the recovered polyol, followed by the amount of RPUF waste and the prices of the machinery, crude glycerol and stannous octoate. Based on these results, technological, operational, financial, and regulatory policy recommendations were also presented.
这项研究评估了通过单相醇解回收工艺从废弃的冰箱中回收刚性聚氨酯泡沫（RPUF）废物中的多元醇的经济可行性，该工艺使用国产粗甘油（生物柴油生产的副产品）作为酯交换剂。该研究在泰国进行，考虑了回收产品附加值、工艺投资和相关运营成本、需求（对回收产品的需求）和供应（RPUF 废物的数量）的好处。结果表明，从 RPUF 废物中生产回收多元醇在经济上是可行的，其净现值为 1,113,018 美元，内部收益率（IRR）为 22.9%，投资回收期为 4.4 年。由于高内部收益率，政府和私营部门投资者都应该对项目投资感兴趣。此外，还进行了敏感性分析，以评估该工艺对关键因素不确定性的经济弹性，包括机械、回收多元醇、粗甘油和辛酸亚锡的价格以及 RPUF 废物的可用量。敏感性分析表明，经济可行性对回收多元醇价格最敏感，其次是 RPUF 废物的数量以及机械、粗甘油和辛酸亚锡的价格。基于这些结果，还提出了技术、运营、财务和监管政策建议。
