Development of Particulate Matter Emission Factor in Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators

In the case of sewage sludge, as direct landfilling was recently prohibited, it is treated through incineration. Among the air pollutants discharged through the incineration of sewage sludge, NOx and SOx are considered secondary substances of PM2.5 and are being managed accordingly. However, NH3, another of the secondary substances of PM2.5, is not well managed, and the amount of NH3 discharged from sewage sludge incineration facilities has not been calculated. Therefore, in this study, we sought to determine whether NH3 is discharged in the exhaust gas of a sewage sludge incineration facility, and, when discharged, the NH3 emission factor was calculated, and the necessity of the development of the emission factor was reviewed. As a result of the study, it was confirmed that the amount of NH3 discharged from the sewage sludge incineration facility was 0.04 to 4.47 ppm, and the emission factor was calculated as 0.002 kg NH3/ton. The NH3 emission factor was compared with the NH3 emission factor of municipal solid waste proposed by EMEP/EEA (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme/European Environment Agency) because the NH3 emission factor of the sewage sludge incineration facility had not been previously determined. As a result of the comparison, the NH3 emission factor of EMEP/EEA was similar to that of municipal solid waste, confirming the necessity of developing the NH3 emission factor of the sewage sludge incineration facility. In addition, the evaluation of the uncertainty of the additionally calculated NH3 emission factor was conducted quantitatively and the uncertainty range was presented for reference. In the future, it is necessary to improve the reliability of the NH3 emission factor of sewage sludge incineration facilities by performing additional analysis with statistical representation. In addition, the development of NH3 emission factors for industrial waste incineration facilities should be undertaken.

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Major Elements to Consider in Developing Ammonia Emission Factor at Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Incinerators

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13042197 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 2197

Author(s):

Seongmin Kang ◽

Joonyoung Roh ◽

Eui-chan Jeon

Keyword(s):

Municipal Solid Waste ◽

Solid Waste ◽

Emission Factor ◽

Waste Incineration ◽

Emission Factors ◽

Major Elements ◽

Ammonia Emission ◽

Nh3 Emission ◽

The Difference ◽

The One

NH3 is one of the major substances contributing to the secondary generation of PM2.5; therefore, management is required. In Korea, the management of NH3 is insufficient, and the emission factor used by EPA is the same as the one used when calculating emissions. In particular, waste incineration facilities do not currently calculate NH3 emissions. In the case of combustion facilities, the main ammonia emission source is the De-NOx facility, and, in the case of a power plant with a De-NOx facility, NH3 emission is calculated. Therefore, in the case of a Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) incinerator with the same facility installed, it is necessary to calculate NH3 emissions. In this study, the necessity of developing NH3 emission factors for an MSW incinerator and calculating emission was analyzed. In addition, elements to be considered when developing emission factors were analyzed. The study found that the NH3 emission factors for each MSW incinerator technology were calculated as Stoker 0.010 NH3 kg/ton and Fluidized Beds 0.004 NH3 kg/ton, which was greater than the NH3 emission factor 0.003 NH3 kg/ton for the MSW incinerator presented in EMEP/EEA (2016). As a result, it was able to identify the need for the development of NH3 emission factors in MSW incinerators in Korea. In addition, the statistical analysis of the difference between the incineration technology of MSW and the NH3 emission factor by the De-NOx facility showed a difference in terms of both incineration technology and De-NOx facilities, indicating that they should be considered together when developing the emission factor. In addition to MSW, it is believed that it will be necessary to review the development of emission factors for waste at workplaces and incineration facilities of sewage sludge.

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