Towards Sustainable Viable Economic Development: Leveraging Heat Exchange Networks and The Return on Incremental Investment Metric

Abstract

Kamil M. Wagialla, Doaa Abuelgasim and Aisha H.Elhussein

This paper introduces a novel metric; Return on Incremental Investment (ROII), to assess project economic profitability within the framework of clean technologies. A heat exchange network (HEN) is taken as an example for the implementation of ROII as a systematic economic evaluation approach. Through a case study of a simplified green grass chemical facility, the economic analysis involves heat integration via algebraic and mathematical mixed integer linear programming (MILP), estimation of additional capital expenditure, utility cost savings, and eventually ROII calculation. The computational procedures are outlined in a step-by-step approach, starting from the extraction of streams’ thermodynamic data up to the final stage of ROII assessment. The findings offer valuable insights for industrial experts and plant managers to make informed decisions based on prioritized economic performance benchmarking for commerciallysustainable economic development objectives. Overall, this study contributes to advancing the rigorous assessment of economic viability within the context of clean technologies, facilitating informed decision-making towards energy-efficient technologies and sustainable economic development initiatives. The results of the economic evaluation of the undertaken case study underscore the high sensitivity ofROII to changes in utility costs, particularly the cost of power.

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