techno-economic assessment of removing btex pollutants by designing thermal oxidation unit in a bituminous waterproofing factory in iran

Chemical degradation-based methods including oxidation have shown great promise for controlling benzene, toluene, ethylbenzeneandxylene isomers (btex) in waste gas. this study presents an approach in which the emission of btex compounds in a bituminous waterproofing (bw) production unit located in the city of delijan, iran has been controlled through process modification. the process is modified by introducing a thermal oxidation unit using an incinerator design. the process simulation has been performed with aspen hysys software and, key parameters in the oxidation process are identifiedandoptimized. finally, the environmentalandeconomic performances of the incinerator were assessed to provide a decision support tool for the selection of this approach. finally, the environmentalandeconomic performances of the incinerator have been assessed to provide a decision support tool for the selection of this approach. the results indicated that the formation of the oxidation unit had prevented the release of btex pollutants up to 98.5%. moreover, the economic analysis illustrated that the rate of return on investment in the proposed project is 0.27. thus, the potential for attracting capital will have positive impacts on the environmentalandeconomic indicators of the region.