Life cycle comparison of waste-to-energy alternatives for municipal waste treatment in Chilean Patagonia

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (10_suppl) ◽  
pp. 67-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto Bezama ◽  
Carla Douglas ◽  
Jacqueline Méndez ◽  
Nóra Szarka ◽  
Edmundo Muñoz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Chilean Patagonia

scholarly journals Municipal Waste Management Strategy Review and Waste-to-Energy Potentials in New Zealand

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Perrot ◽  
Alison Subiantoro
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Anaerobic Digestion ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Production Efficiency ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Municipal Waste Management ◽  
Waste Energy

Municipal waste management and Waste-to-Energy (WtE) potentials in New Zealand are discussed. The existing main waste management strategy of New Zealand is to reduce, reuse and recycle waste. Most of the remaining waste is currently disposed of in landfills. WtE options were explored in this study as a more sustainable waste treatment alternative in the country, while making use of the annual 30.8 petajoule of available waste energy in New Zealand. Four WtE technology options were discussed and compared, namely incineration, anaerobic digestion, gasification and pyrolysis. The aspects in comparison were air pollution, cost, side products, capacity, commercial maturity, energy efficiency and type of waste treated. Special emphasis was given to environment-friendliness and cost. From the comparison, it was found that anaerobic digestion seems to be the most attractive solution for the country as it is environment-friendly, economical and the concept is consistent with New Zealand’s existing waste management strategy. The major limitations of anaerobic digestion are its low energy production efficiency and its limited waste treatment capacity. Hence, an effective national waste reduction and recycling strategy is crucial for the success of this waste management option.

scholarly journals Market Structure of Urban Waste Treatment and Disposal: Empirical Evidence from the Italian Industry

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Di Foggia ◽  
Massimo Beccarello
Keyword(s):  
Waste Management ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste ◽  
Market Structure ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Product Market ◽  
Market Concentration ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Treatment And Disposal

In light of the organizational dynamics of services of economic interest, the regulation of municipal solid waste management is a critical issue to deal with so as to achieve sustainability goals in the coming decades. The European circular economy targets limit the share of municipal waste in landfills to a maximum of 10% by 2035. Consequently, waste-to-energy plants may temporarily become the primary option for residual unsorted waste. The municipal waste management chain comprises two consequential stages: collection and transport, and the treatment and disposal stage, which characterizes as an oligopolistic market structure. After defining the relevant market and calculating market concentration measures, we analyze market power in the treatment and disposal of non-recyclable mixed waste, also known as residual waste. Our analyses are based on empirical data using well-known market concentration indices such as the Herfindahl–Hirschman index and concentration ratios. We report the results of three different market concentration scenarios based on alternative geographic and product market definitions. Considering only waste-to-energy as a product market, we present a situation of moderate concentration, typically involving the attention of competition authorities. On the contrary, considering both options as a single product market, no relevant evidence emerges due to the significant share of waste sent to landfills in 2019, i.e., 20.1% of the total municipal solid waste generated in Italy. Implications for future studies consist of new detailed information on the municipal waste treatment market structure in one of the leading European countries that may prompt comparative studies. Policy implications are derived from the possibility of taking cues from this paper to envisage appropriate regulatory models for an evolving sector in which market spaces are increasing.

scholarly journals Comparative evaluation of environmental efficiency of the municipal solid waste treatment scenarios for St. Petersburg region with the life cycle assessment method

2021 ◽  
Vol 938 (1) ◽  
pp. 012018
Author(s):  
N V Mikhailova ◽  
A V Yasinskaya
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle Assessment ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Municipal Solid Waste ◽  
Solid Waste ◽  
Comparative Evaluation ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Assessment Method ◽  
Environmental Efficiency ◽  
Cement Industry ◽  
Waste To Energy

Abstract The research focuses on complex comparative evaluation of environmental efficiency of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) treatment scenarios that can be implemented in St. Petersburg and Leningradskaya oblast’. Three scenarios were modelled that technically and economically meet the regional needs. The scenarios imply the following systems: 1) sorting, Mechanical-Biological Treatment (MBT), landfilling; 2) sorting, MBT, Waste-to-Energy (WTE), landfilling; 3) sorting, MBT, Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) for cement industry, landfilling. In comparison, the “zero” scenario implying landfilling untreated waste was modelled. A Life Cycle Assessment based approach was proposed, which allows comparing scenarios through converting heterogeneous impact categories to a single monetary index. The highest damage reduction (by 60-70% in comparison with the “zero” scenario) was shown in the complex scenarios, including both MBT and energy recovery. 40, 42 and 47% of the total damage in scenarios 1, 2, 3 accordingly is associated with MBT product landfilling. The results show that the main benefit of complex treatment cannot be fully realized without separate collection of food waste. In this situation the most environmentally soundable scenario comprises recyclables separation and subsequent WTE treatment of all the rest with the exception of some non-combustibles.

scholarly journals The Use of Chemical Sensors to Monitor Odour Emissions at Municipal Waste Biogas Plants

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 3916
Author(s):  
Marta Wiśniewska ◽  
Andrzej Kulig ◽  
Krystyna Lelicińska-Serafin
Keyword(s):  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Municipal Waste ◽  
Quantitative Composition ◽  
Technological Processes ◽  
Odour Activity Value ◽  
Gas Detector ◽  
Biogas Plants ◽  
Odour Emissions

Municipal waste treatment plants are an important element of the urban area infrastructure, but also, they are a potential source of odour nuisance. Odour impact from municipal waste processing plants raises social concerns regarding the well-being of employees operating the plants and residents of nearby areas. Chemical methods involve the determination of the quantitative composition of compounds comprising odour. These methods are less costly than olfactometry, and their efficiency is not dependent on human response. The relationship between the concentration of a single odorant and its odour threshold (OT) is determined by the odour activity value (OAV) parameter. The research involved the application of a multi-gas detector, MultiRae Pro. Measurements by means of the device were conducted at three municipal waste biogas plants located in Poland. In this paper we describe the results obtained when using a detector during the technological processes, the unitary procedures conducted at the plants, and the technological regime. The determination of these relationships could be useful in the development of odour nuisance minimization procedures at treatment plants and the adjustment to them. This is of paramount importance from the viewpoint of the safety and hygiene of the employees operating the installations and the comfort of residents in the areas surrounding biogas plants. Monitoring of expressed odorant emissions allows the course of technological processes and conducted unit operations to be controlled.

Life Cycle Comparison of Two Options for MSW Management in Puerto Rico: Thermal Treatment vs. Modern Landfilling

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giselle Balaguer-Da´tiz ◽  
Nikhil Krishnan
Keyword(s):  
Puerto Rico ◽  
Life Cycle ◽  
Thermal Treatment ◽  
Waste Management ◽  
Life Cycle Inventory ◽  
Landfill Gas ◽  
The Body ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Msw Management ◽  
Wide Range

The management of municipal solid wastes (MSW) in Puerto Rico is becoming increasingly challenging. In recent years, several of the older landfills have closed due to lack of compliance with federal landfill requirements. Puerto Rico is an island community and there is limited space for construction of new landfills. Furthermore, Puerto Rico residents generate more waste per capita than people living on the continental US. Thermal treatment, or waste to energy (WTE) technologies are therefore a promising option for MSW management. It is critical to consider environmental impacts when making decisions related to MSW management. In this paper we quantify and compare the environmental implications of thermal treatment of MSW with modern landfilling for Puerto Rico from a life cycle perspective. The Caguas municipality is currently considering developing a thermal treatment plant. We compare this to an expansion of a landfill site in the Humacao municipality, which currently receives waste from Caguas. The scope of our analysis includes a broad suite of activities associated with management of MSW. We include: (i) the transportation of MSW; (ii) the impacts of managing waste (e.g., landfill gas emissions and potential aqueous run-off with landfills; air emissions of metals, dioxins and greenhouse gases) and (iii) the implications of energy and materials offsets from the waste management process (e.g., conversion of landfill gas to electricity, electricity produced in thermal treatment, and materials recovered from thermal treatment ash). We developed life cycle inventory models for different waste management processes, incorporating information from a wide range of sources — including peer reviewed life cycle inventory databases, the body of literature on environmental impact of waste management, and site-specific factors for Puerto Rico (e.g. waste composition, rainfall patterns, electricity mix). We managed uncertainty in data and models by constructing different scenarios for both technologies based on realistic ranges of emission factors. The results show that thermal treatment of the unrecyclable part of the waste stream is the preferred option for waste management when compared to modern landfilling. Furthermore, Eco-indicator 99 method is used to investigate the human health, ecosystem quality and resource use impact categories.

scholarly journals Reuse of Barley Straw for Handmade Paper Production

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alma Delia Delia Román Gutiérrez ◽  
Juan Hernandez Avila ◽  
Antonia Karina Vargas M. ◽  
Eduardo Cerecedo Saenz ◽  
Eleazar Salinas-Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Barley Straw ◽  
Handmade Paper ◽  
Organic Solid Waste ◽  
Organic Solid ◽  
Spent Grain

Usually in the manufacture of beer by fermentation of barley, in both industrialized and developing countries significant amounts of organic solid waste are produced from barley straw. These possibly have an impact on the carbon footprint with an effect on global warming. According to this, it is important to reduce environmental impact of these solid residues, and an adequate way is the recycling using them as raw material for the elaboration of handmade paper. Therefore, it is required to manage this type of waste by analyzing the environmental impact, and thus be able to identify sustainable practices for the treatment of this food waste, evaluating its life cycle, which is a useful methodology to estimate said environmental impacts. It is because of this work shows the main results obtained using the life cycle analysis (LCA) methodology, to evaluate the possible environmental impacts during the waste treatment of a brewery located in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. The residues evaluated were barley straw, malt residues and spent grain, and at the end, barley straw was selected to determine in detail its environmental impact and its reuse, the sheets analyzed presented a grammage that varies from 66 g/m2 and 143 g/m2, resistance to burst was 117 to 145 kpa, with a crystallinity of 34.4% to 37.1%.

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