Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Morocco: Co-Incineration of RDF as an Alternative Fuel in Cement Kilns

The management of municipal solid waste (MSW) is a major obstacle for the majority of municipalities in developing countries because of the impacts related to the landfilling of waste. Garbage is an energy-rich material. As a result, energy recovery is considered to be a sustainable waste management method. In Morocco, 7.4 million tons are produced annually; most of the waste is landfilled without any recovery despite the impacts related to this method of disposal. The objective of this chapter is to characterize combustible fractions (RDF) from household waste in Morocco and to study the economic and environmental benefits of their use as alternative fuels in cement kilns. The results of this research show that the combustible fractions contained in household waste in Morocco constitute a potential sustainable energy source with a high lower calorific value (4454 kcal/kg). The study of the advantages of co-incineration shows that the substitution of pet coke by 15% RDF reduces the pollution linked to gaseous emissions. In addition, the cement plant can make financial savings 389 USD/h by minimizing the use of fossil fuels.

Space-Borne Monitoring of NOx Emissions from Cement Kilns in South Korea

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from the South Korean cement industry are investigated with remote-sensing measurements, surface observations, and in situ aircraft measurements. In the Yeongwol, Danyang, and Jecheon regions of central South Korea, six closely located cement factories produce 31 million tons of cement annually. Their impact on the regional environment has been a public-policy issue, but their pollutants have not been continuously monitored nor have emissions inventories been fully verified. Using a newly developed downscaling technique, remote-sensing analyses show that Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) NO2 column densities over the cement kilns have more than twice the modeled concentrations, indicating that the kilns are one of the most dominant NOx emission point sources in South Korea. Observed NOx emissions are stronger in the spring, suggesting that these sources play an important role in the formation of surface ozone and secondary particulate matter. These emissions also slightly increased in recent years, even while most major South Korean cities posted a declining trend in NOx emissions. Photochemical models (during May to July 2015) demonstrate that emissions from the South Korean cement industry have significant environmental impacts, both on surface ozone (up to approximately 4 ppb) and PM2.5 (up to approximately 2 µg/m3).