Evaluation of the Techno-Economic Feasibility for Excavated Soil Recycling in Shenzhen, China

Tong Huang, Shicong Kou, Deyou Liu, Dawang Li and Feng Xing
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Tong Huang: Key Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibration, Institute of Engineering Mechanics, China Earthquake Administration, Harbin 150086, China
Shicong Kou: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering, College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Deyou Liu: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering, College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Dawang Li: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Durability for Marine Civil Engineering, College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China
Feng Xing: Key Laboratory of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Vibration, Institute of Engineering Mechanics, China Earthquake Administration, Harbin 150086, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-16

Abstract: The existing recycling chain of construction and demolition waste generally considers soil inert solid waste to be sent to landfills. As the most significant component of C&D (construction and demolition) waste, excavated soil occupies approximately half of landfills. Currently, excavated soil is a big issue in China’s Pearl River Delta. This paper investigated the composition and quantity of excavated soil in Shenzhen, China. In particular, the potential market demand for critical recycled sand (a key recycled material extracted from the excavated soil) was estimated. Furthermore, the technical analysis for excavated soil recycling takes an entire excavated soil recycling process’s perspective, delving into the process flow for the excavated soil and the recycled sand’s physicomechanical properties. Then, two mainstream and legitimate models of excavated soil recycling were considered: stationary plant recycling and on-site recycling. Each model’s financial and economic viability was assessed. The financial analysis focuses on investors’ perspectives, whose primary goal is to assess their investment profitability. The economic feasibility of the excavated soil stationary plant recycling and on-site recycling models in Shenzhen were then compared via benefit and cost analysis during the lifetime of the recycling equipment. A comprehensive, complete cost calculation and investment analysis revealed that Shenzhen’s excavated soil recycling business is profitable under the current market conditions. This study investigates scaled and effective excavated soil recycling and gives a technically and economically viable reference to the global excavated soil issue.

Keywords: excavated soil; stationary plant and on-site recycling; recycled sand; techno-economic feasibility; benefit and cost analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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