Technoeconomic process modelling of waste remediation within a supply chain network

Technoeconomic modelling links engineering performance to economic outcomes. In this paper we present a method for embedding technoeconomic unit process models within a geographically distributed supply chain simulator. This enables the simultaneous optimization of how and where processing is performed. This is particularly suited to waste remediation, where the costs of transporting hazardous materials may outweigh those of performing some stages of treatment at the waste source. The approach is applied to a microalgal-bacterial remediation of hydrocarbon waste (sump oil mainly) produced by the MOD Sites (military bases) across the UK. Through this treatment, valuable bioproducts are recovered from algae which consumes hydrocarbon waste and CO2 as it grows.