CRMB wet process plant — 30 TPD capex breakdown

A Crumb Rubber Modified Bitumen (CRMB) wet process plant is a specialised blending facility that combines crumb rubber from waste tyres with hot bitumen under high-shear mixing to produce a road-paving binder that meets Indian Roads Congress (IRC SP:53) specifications. At a 30 TPD processing capacity, the main capital items group into six categories. This table presents indicative cost ranges per category at India 2025 prices, along with supplier notes and typical sourcing patterns, so that a founder approaching project finance or vendor quotations has a structured framework for validation.

The core process equipment — the reaction kettle and high-shear colloid mill — is the single largest capital line item. A 30 TPD plant typically requires two jacketed reaction kettles of 15 to 20 tonne capacity each plus an in-line colloid mill to achieve the particle-size dispersion and viscosity required by IRC SP:53. This equipment can be sourced from Indian fabricators or imported from established European producers (Italy and Germany) — the import premium may be worthwhile if the buyer requires European equipment certification. Storage tanks are the second-largest item: a jacketed bitumen storage tank and a separate jacketed CRMB finished-goods tank, both with thermic fluid heating to maintain temperature above the bitumen flow point.

Thermic fluid heating and circulation — the boiler, pump headers, and expansion tank that keep reaction kettles and storage tanks at operating temperature — is an often under-budgeted line item in first-time CRMB project planning. Civil and structural costs vary significantly by site; a greenfield industrial plot with good soil-bearing capacity and existing utility connections will come in at the lower end of the range, while a remote site requiring reinforced concrete piling or utility infrastructure build-out can exceed the upper end. The insulated tanker fleet deserves particular attention: owning versus leasing tankers represents a decision that affects day-one capital outlay significantly — leasing defers the fleet cost but adds a running expense to opex. Electrical, instrumentation, and pollution control rounds out the capex, covering the distributed control system (DCS), gas scrubber, and fire-safety equipment required for consent. The total indicative range of approximately ₹8.2 to ₹11.9 crore is the sum of these six categories; verify with current vendor quotations before finalising a financial model.