국내기사
소규모 사업장의 활성탄 관리를 위한 공동재생시설 경제성평가 = Economic feasibility of a regional regeneration system for activated carbon management in small-scale businesses
In small-scale industrial sites such as automotive paint booths, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are ofteninadequately treated due to economic limitations and poor maintenance of air pollution control equipment. Amongexisting VOCs control technologies, fixed-bed adsorption using activated carbon is widely used, but frequent replacementof spent carbon imposes significant cost burdens on facility operators. This study proposes a regionally distributed publicregeneration model that collects and regenerates saturated activated carbon from multiple sites. A continuousregeneration system using superheated steam is introduced, with an integrated energy recovery system that convertsVOCs desorption gas into syngas for combined heat and power generation. Through process design and cost estimationbased on a 450 kg/hr regeneration capacity, the economic feasibility of the model was evaluated. Key financial indicatorssuch as net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), benefit-cost ratio, and payback period demonstrate higheconomic viability. The model also shows resilience to external variables such as electricity prices and carbon marketconditions.