Economic Feasibility Study on the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Fuel Companies. A Cuban Study Case

Abstract

In the Cuban oil industry, wastewater from the process of reception and distribution of hydrocarbons, contain a wide range of contaminants with high chemical and biological oxygen demand (COD and BOD). However, the most significant pollutants of these effluents are the hydrocarbons, fats and oils due to its high toxicity and ability to spread in thin layers on the water surface which difficult the passage of sunlight, hurting life in such ecosystems. Two technological alternatives were evaluated from technical, economic and environmental point of view. The first one, considered as short-term solution (rehabilitation of the existing system) and second one (building of a collection pool), considered investment in the medium to long term. Taking into account the equipment acquisition cost as well as the process flow requirements, the total investment cost for both alternatives was estimated. Furthermore, the main dynamic economic indicators: Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Pay Period (PP) were evaluated to develop a comprehensive economic-financial study using the method of "Percentage of Delivered Equipment". In addition, a sensitivity analysis to evaluate the effect of increases or decreases in the price of the process equipment market over the economy of the proposal variant was analysed. From the economic point of view, alternative 1 reported higher gross annual earnings ($ 2,139,553) compared to the second variant ($ 2,131,428). However, considering that the annual income of the company are substantial ($ 11,791,284 in 2013), the alternative 2 proposes a more effective solution from a technological point of view achieving greater life of the proposed technology and as better operation and maintenance. Moreover, this technological option guarantees a significant reduction on the environmental pollution risk.