Decision making model for the recovery of useful material resources from wastes

In the United States, many of the material resources necessary for energy production are imported. Strategic stockpiling of these resources has been a well-known method for reducing the economic and productivity impact of supply interruption in case of emergency. Another viable option is the recovery of valuable materials and recycle of useful products from wastes generated in energy production and industrial processing. The technical feasibility for recovery and recycle, including decontamination of nuclear-related materials, has been proven and demonstrated. The economic feasibility would depend on both the resale and strategic values of the material, the saving from reusing rather than disposing of the material, the reclamation cost, and other factors that may influence the incentive for recovery and recycle. The purpose of the work presented in this paper is to develop a model to identify the economic and other incentives for the reclamation of useful material resources. Using available data to quantify factors such as strategic and resale values, reclamation cost and disposal cost saving, this model calculates the incentive value consisting of the above factors and selects the appropriate reclamation option. Because this model is empirical, there are limitations to its application. However, within the boundary where the modelmore » has been tested, it can be a useful tool for the decision maker to evaluate the economic feasibility of reclamation.« less