ABSTRACT
In an analysis of the economic feasibility of resource recovery, an examination of the markets for recovered energy and materials is necessary for two major reasons. First, the available markets determine which forms of energy and which categories of materials should be recovered. This determination, in turn, defines the alternative recovery technologies which should be considered. There is little wisdom in building an expensive facility which recovers materials or energy for which there is no long-term, viable market. Therefore, it is essential to determine which recovered resources are the most valuable to potential buyers, what specifications are required by the buyers, and what value buyers place on these resources. Second, the available markets help determine the location of the resource recovery facility. In some cases, the location of the energy market will dictate the location of the facility (steam markets). Therefore, when resource recovery is being analyzed, both the locations of waste generating areas and the locations of the buyers of recovered resources (especially energy) must be known.
