Municipal Solid Waste Management Options Research Articles

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of emerging municipal solid waste management options: a case study in Thailand

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of emerging municipal solid waste management options: a case study in Thailand

Life cycle assessment of different municipal solid waste management options: a case study of Algiers (Algeria)

Life cycle assessment of different municipal solid waste management options: a case study of Algiers (Algeria)

Process contributions to life cycle impacts of municipal solid waste management options in Harare, Zimbabwe

This study assessed the process contributions to life cycle impacts of six developed municipal solid waste management (MSWM) options (A1-A6) for Harare. Results show that waste collection contributes to increased acidification, eutrophication and global warming of 0.012, 0.0002 and 0.065 species.yr respectively as well as human health impact potential of 34 DALYs across all the MSWM options. Anaerobic digestion contributed to increased acidification, eutrophication and global warming impact potentials of 0.053, 0,008 and 0.043 species.yr respectively and 52 DALYs under MSWM options A3 to A6. Overall, incineration performed better than landfilling. The recovery of 20% of the recoverable materials for reuse and recycle under MSWM options A5 and A6 contributes to impacts reductions of -0.05, -0.004 and -0.26 species.yr with regards to acidification, eutrophication and global warming respectively and -56 DALYs with regards to human health. Therefore, strategies earmarked at reducing the positive contributions need to be developed.

Process contributions to life cycle impacts of municipal solid waste management options in Harare, Zimbabwe

Process contributions to life cycle impacts of municipal solid waste management options in Harare, Zimbabwe

Comparative life cycle analysis of municipal waste management systems: Kırklareli/Turkey case study.

Waste-to-energy approaches are becoming increasingly important around the world, and municipal solid waste (MSW) as a renewable and sustainable energy source is of great importance to be considered in preventing climate change. On the other hand, since uncontrolled MSW is a threat to the environment and human health, sustainable municipal solid waste management should be evaluated to reduce negative environmental impacts. In this study, various municipal solid waste management options having energy production were selected and analysed by using SimaPro 9.0.0.49 to determine the most environmentally friendly waste management system. One-ton MSW in Kırklareli/Turkey was chosen as the functional unit. Environmental impacts were calculated via the CLM-IA method; impact groups were abiotic depletion, abiotic depletion (fossil fuels), global warming, ozone layer depletion, human toxicity, freshwater, marine and terrestrial ecotoxicities, photochemical oxidation, acidification and eutrophication. The first results indicated that energy recovery reduces the environmental impacts and future waste management plant of Kırklareli (material separation for recycling, biomethanisation and landfilling) is the best option within the scope of the environment at present.

Assessment of the Synergy between Recycling and Thermal Treatments in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Europe

In 2018, the production of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in EU-28 reached 250.6 Mt, with the adoption of different management strategies, involving recycling (48 wt %), incineration and thermal valorization (29 wt %) and landfilling (23 wt %). This work was based on the analysis of the baseline situation of MSW management in EU-28 in 2018, considering its progress in 2008–2018, and discussed the possible improvement perspectives based on a framework involving incineration and recycling as the only possible alternatives, specifically evaluating the capability of already-existing incineration plants to fulfill the EU needs in the proposed framework. The results of the assessment showed two main crucial issues that could play a pivotal role in the achievement of Circular Economy action plan targets: the need to increase the recycling quotas for specific MSW fractions through the separate collection, and therefore the improvement of definite treatment process chains; the optimization of the recovery of secondary raw materials from incineration bottom ash, involving the recycling of ferrous and nonferrous metals and the mineral fraction. Both issues need to find an extensive application across all member states to decrease the actual differences in the adoption of sustainable MSW management options.

Application of life cycle assessment for municipal solid waste management options in Hohhot, People's Republic of China.

With increasing population and urbanization levels in the People's Republic of China, environmental problems related to the management of municipal solid waste (MSW) are inevitable. This study aimed to determine the environmental impact of the current MSW management system in Hohhot City and to establish an optimum future strategy for it by applying life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Four scenarios were compared using the CML-IA impact characterization method, which took into account their potential contribution to global warming, ozone depletion, human toxicity, photochemical ozone creation, acidification, and eutrophication potentials. The system boundaries included the collection and recycling, transfer and transportation of MSW, and its disposal by incineration, landfilling, and carbon dioxide (CO2) capture methods. The results showed that the scenario involving landfill and incineration in a ratio of 1:5 was the optimal waste management option; however, increasing the proportion of waste incinerated led to a significant increase in global warming potential. Additional technologies are thus required to overcome this problem, and it was found that the use of CO2 capture technology resulted in a 30% reduction in the total environmental impact potential. This study's results indicate that LCA is a valuable and practical tool to support decision-making that can be used to suggest problematic areas in current waste management strategies and to determine an optimal alternative to the solid waste management option.

The analysis of electricity production and greenhouse-gas emission reduction from municipal solid waste sector in Oman

Oman has witnessed a steady growth in greenhouse-gas emissions due to the increase in population and generation of municipal solid waste. Therefore, with the growing greenhouse-gas emissions, waste and energy demands, establishing waste-to-energy technologies is becoming an absolute necessity in Oman. The opportunities to mitigate greenhouse gas from the waste sector in Oman are not exploited or studied, and therefore, this study proposes a holistic quantification model to analyze future municipal solid waste management options. The quantification model is created through a set of assessment tools, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change models and emissions factors, and inputs to the model are based on the conditions of Oman. Total emissions from the disposal of municipal solid waste in landfills are estimated to increase from 2849 GgCO2eq in 2010 to 5565 GgCO2eq in 2030, whereas implementation of incineration, gasification and anaerobic digestion could reduce a total of 6257, 5489 and 4958 GgCO2eq in 2030, respectively, and could simultaneously generate 2096, 1205 and 136 GWh of electricity, respectively. Therefore, through carbon credits and sale of electricity, incineration could attract a total revenue of US$192 million, higher than gasification (US$139 million) and anaerobic digestion (US$81 million) in 2030. The higher potential of incineration to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions is attributed to its ability of treating higher amounts of waste and generating higher energy than gasification and anaerobic digestion. Therefore, this study concludes that incineration is the most optimum technology for Oman in terms of reducing volume of waste and greenhouse-gas emissions and generating energy and revenue.

Life-cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management options: A case study of refuse derived fuel production in the city of Brasilia, Brazil

In Brazil, municipal solid waste (MSW) is mainly treated by landfilling. The underutilization of solid waste resources, from the viewpoint of their heating value, contributes to increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and abiotic resources depletion. MSW as a resource, however, is capable of a coupe with the existing demand of the local cement industry as refuse-derived fuel (RDF). This paper analyzes the application of life-cycle assessment as the basis for improved MSW management in the Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. This study compared four scenarios of MSW management, in which three of them are characterized as an expansion of the ongoing practice by incorporating RDF production while another considers only the landfilling of solid waste. The results indicated that the current MSW management system contributes 267.44 Gg CO2-eq/year to GHG emissions, and the study showed that scenarios based on RDF production imply an increase in energy demand, with higher total GHG emissions, compared to the current management practice. However, gains are archived in environmental terms when the avoided emissions resulting from the substitution of fossil fuels are included in the analysis. The production and use of RDF outperformed the conventional systems by providing emission reductions of 2% to about 23%. Besides, this implies that the implementation of RDF oriented management could significantly reduce the impact on current disposal capacity at the local landfill site. From the perspective of impact related to abiotic resource depletion, it has been found that recycling and composting in the current scenario produces a reduction of 0.12 Gg Sb-eq/year. It constitutes a minimal fraction compared to the reduction in fossil fuel when considering the avoided coke extraction, that provides reductions from 3.63 to 13.73 Gg Sb-eq/year. It was concluded that the environmental advantages of RDF base scenarios in this context arise when the assessment is expanded to include the reduction of GHG indirect emissions and the use of resources.

An evaluation of alternatives to energy recovery from municipal solid waste part 1: waste flow and energy potential

ABSTRACT This two-part paper, which consists of Part 1: waste flow and energy potential, and Part 2: energy balance and carbon footprint, respectively, aims to evaluate alternatives to energy recovery from Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) in Pyongyang. This first part focuses on an evaluation of alternatives to energy recovery from MSW in terms of waste flow and energy potential analysis. This paper proposes three alternatives to energy recovery from MSW, and conducts an evaluation of energy potential for the alternatives, based on an analysis of the existing MSW management options (i.e., recycling & reuse, incineration, landfill, and composting) in the municipality, inclusive of MSW composition and characteristics of waste flow (i.e., refuse-derived fuel) being fed to energy recovery. The results show that alternative 3 (i.e., gasification reactor) could produce the largest electricity, followed by alternative 1 (i.e., grate combustor and fixed dome reactor) and alternative 2 (i.e., fluidized bed combustor). In the meanwhile, alternative 1 accounts for 29.9% of the largest gross efficiency, followed by alternative 3 and alternative 2, as 29.7% and 28.0%, respectively. This study can provide a possibility of energy recovery from MSW to the local planners in Pyongyang.

Life cycle assessment of municipal solid waste management options for India

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) tool can be used for environmental assessment of Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) system. The present study aims to evaluate the impact of MSWM system in Nagpur city, India under four different scenarios. i.e., composting combined with landfilling (S1), material recovery facility (MRF) & composting combined with landfilling (S2), MRF & anaerobic digestion (AD) combined with landfilling (S3) and MRF, AD & composting combined with landfilling (S4) using LCA tool. The sensitivity analysis was also performed for evaluating the influence of recycling rate of valuable resources in all the considered scenarios. The scenarios were compared using Gabi 8.5.0.79 model and CML-1A impact characterization method. S2 was found to have the least environmental impacts on global warming, human toxicity, eutrophication, and photochemical ozone creation potential categories. The sensitivity analysis indicated an inversely proportional relation between change in recycling rate and total environmental burdens.

LCA-based Comparison of Two Organic Fraction Municipal Solid Waste Collection Systems in Historical Centres in Spain

Municipal solid waste (MSW) collection is an important issue in the development and management of smart cities, having a significant influence on environmental sustainability. Door-to-door and pneumatic collection are two systems that represent a way of arranging waste collection in city´s historic areas in Spain where conventional street-side container collection is not feasible. Since door-to-door collection generates significant direct greenhouse gas emissions from trucks, pneumatic collection emerges as an alternative to the trucking system. While this technology apparently reduces local direct air emissions, it suffers from a large energy demand derived from vacuum production for waste suction. The introduction of new normative frameworks regarding the selective collection of the biodegradable fraction makes necessary a comprehensive analysis to assess the influence of this fraction collection and its subsequent recycling by anaerobic digestion. As a novelty, this work compares both conventional door-to-door and pneumatic collection systems from a life cycle approach focusing on the biodegradable waste. Results indicate that, in spite of the fact electricity production and consumption have a significant influence on the results, the energy savings from the recycling of the organic fraction are higher than the energy requirements. Therefore, the pneumatic collection could be an environmentally-friendly option for MSW management under a circular economy approach in Spanish city´s historic areas, since wastes could be a material or energy source opportunity.

Economic analysis and life cycle impact assessment of municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal: A case study of Mumbai, India.

Municipal solid waste (MSW) management is a major concern in Indian cities. This work rigorously assesses the relative costs and the environmental and health benefits of alternative MSW management methods. Management of MSW over the next 20 years for the city of Greater Mumbai was considered. A generic model was developed to determine the costs for (i) dumping on open ground, (ii) sanitary landfill without leachate treatment, (iii) landfilling with leachate treatment and (iv) regional composting and landfilling. LandGEM was used to quantify the gaseous emissions from landfill, while emissions from leachate and composting were taken from literature. The life cycle impact model of one tonne of MSW was developed using OpenLCA software and the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) 2011 method was used for impact assessment. The cost of disposal of one tonne of waste was found to be INR344 (US$5.17), INR741 (US$11.13) and INR1367 (US$20.53), respectively, for the first three scenarios. As compared to open dumping, landfill gas flaring reduced the global warming potential by 32% and leachate treatment reduced freshwater ecotoxicity and total human toxicity marginally, by 20% and 60%, respectively. Composting-landfilling was the most preferred option, with a cost of INR531 tonne-1 (US$7.97), leading to a reduction in global warming potential by 79% and a slight decrease in freshwater ecotoxicity by 64%. Further, emissions due to accidental fires were also quantified. The study provides valuable insights for the selection of MSW management options for large metropolitan cities in developing countries.

Improving waste to energy rate by promoting an integrated municipal solid-waste management system

As a means of converting waste to energy, improvement of energy recovery efficiency from municipal solid waste (MSW) has taken on great importance and necessity. Previous studies have focused on the waste-to-energy potential from the viewpoints of technology, such as waste power generation (WPG); however, there is large room for improvement in WPG efficiency. Moreover, with reduction in population in some developed countries, the potential for further improvement of energy recovery from waste needs to be investigated, considering both geographical characteristics and future trends. To fill this research gap, this study proposes four efficient MSW management options through integrating MSW management and an urban symbiosis network. The Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, was selected as a case study, and the costs and benefits, effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction, and energy recovery efficiency of each option were quantitatively analyzed. The results showed that Option 4 (urban symbiosis without source separation) has the highest energy recovery efficiency (65.95%), followed by Option 3 (urban symbiosis with source separation) and Option 2 (MSW centralized treatment) in 2030. Compared with Option 1 (business as usual), Option 3 will slightly increase the total cost, while Option 4 is the most profitable option, and the benefit will rise to 1.81 × 1010 JPY in 2030. Reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 will be greatest with Option 3, which will eliminate 9.44 × 105 tonnes of CO2e emissions. Also by 2030, Option 4 and Option 2 will reduce the CO2e emissions by 6.58 × 105 tonnes and 2.27 × 105 tonnes, respectively. To promote the transition to a low carbon city, Tokyo must improve the energy recovery efficiency of MSW and use more renewable and recycled energy resources to substitute for fossil fuels. This study provides a practical guide for establishing a more efficient MSW management system toward the goal of a low carbon society.

A critical review of the life cycle assessment studies on solid waste management in Asian countries

Abstract Life cycle assessment (LCA) technique has been used extensively to evaluate the environmental performance of various municipal solid waste management (MSWM) technologies. Present study has analysed 91 LCA studies (LCAs) of MSWM belonging to Asian countries from the year “2006 to 2017”. All Asian countries have been categorised into 3 different groups (Group A, B and C) on the basis of the number of available LCAs related to MSWM of each of the Asian countries. The study analysed the growth of number of LCAs in Asian countries and reviewed the methodology applied in each LCA study. The study summarised the use of different functional units, LCA computer models, MSWM options, impact assessment categories and the results of the selected LCAs. The study also identified the MSW composition, MSWM options and the challenges in applications of LCA in Asian countries. The present study found the gap in the number of available LCAs and analysed the reasons behind this gap in different group of countries (A to C). 45 Asian countries came under Group A countries. 1 t MSW was used as functional unit by maximum number of LCAs. 51% of the LCAs did not mention about the computer model used in their studies. Global warming potential was found as the widely used environmental impact category. Landfilling was found as the most used option in scenarios and was found as the least preferred MSWM option by 70% of the reported LCAs. The possible reasons found for less number of LCAs in Group A countries are lack of awareness of LCA in scientific community, lack of reliable and informative inventory data, weak economy, weak political desire, inactive communication and weak LCA network.

Assessment of environmental burdens for municipal solid waste management options

This paper aimed to conduct an assessment of environmental burdens for recycling, incineration and landfilling, which are the municipal solid waste management options in Pyongyang, in the Democrati...

Environmental impact assessment of municipal solid waste management options using life cycle assessment: a case study.

The goal of this study is to use life cycle assessment (LCA) tool to assess possible environmental impacts of different municipal solid waste management (MSWM) scenarios on various impact categories for the study area Dhanbad City, India. The scenarios included in the present study are collection and transportation (denoted as S1); baseline scenario consisting of recycling, open burning, open dumping, and finally unsanitary landfilling without energy recovery (denoted by S2); composting and landfilling (denoted by S3); and recycling and composting followed by landfilling of inert waste without energy recovery (denoted by S4). One ton of municipal solid waste (MSW) was selected as the functional unit. The primary data were collected through sampling, surveys, and literatures. Background data were obtained from Eco-invent data of SimaPro 8.1 libraries. The scenarios were compared using the CML 2 baseline 2000 method, and the results indicated that the scenario S1 had the highest impact on marine aquatic ecotoxicity (1.86E+04 kg 1,4-DB eq.) and abiotic depletion (2.09E+02kg Sb eq.). S2 had the highest impact on global warming potential (9.42E+03kg CO2 eq.), acidification (1.15E+01kg SO2 eq.), eutrophication (2.63E+00kg PO43- eq.), photochemical oxidation (2.12E+00kg C2H4 eq.), and human toxicity (2.25E+01kg 1,4-DB eq.). However, S3 had the highest impact on abiotic depletion (fossil fuels) (2.71E+02MJ), fresh water aquatic ecotoxicity (6.54E+00kg 1,4-DB eq.), terrestrial ecotoxicity (3.36E-02kg 1,4-DB eq.), and ozone layer depletion (2.73E-06kg CFC-11eq.). But S4 did not have the highest impact on any of the environmental impact categories due to recycling of packaging waste and landfilling of inert waste. Landfilling without energy recovery of mixed solid waste was found as the worst disposal alternative. The scenario S4 was found as the most environmentally suitable technology for the study area and recommended that S4 should be considered for strategic planning of MSWM for the study area.

Bury, burn, or gasify: assessing municipal solid waste management options in Indian megacities by exergy analysis

With increasing consumption propelled by economic prosperity, waste generation per capita in developing countries is growing quickly. Traditional approaches of open dumping and landfilling are encountering physical constraints, particularly in megacities, and the need for alternate municipal solid waste (MSW) management strategies is urgent. Among alternatives that are commonly considered are waste-to-energy technologies including incineration and plasma gasification. Previous studies convey the benefits of such technologies, but most do not consider the waste and environmental conditions in tropical megacities such as Mumbai, India, making these studies of limited use to developing countries. This article evaluates the exergetic potential of converting MSW to useful work by thermal and biochemical conversion technologies in the Indian context, considering the facts that the scale of production, composition, climate, segregation practices, moisture content of MSW, etc. in a developing tropical country like India differ significantly from those in developed societies in temperate climate locations. Both, exergy and economic analysis find gasification to be attractive in terms of its monetary return and thermodynamic efficiency. However, this analysis also identifies major hurdles in adopting advanced waste-to-energy technologies including lack of waste segregation, high moisture content, and high capital cost of the most thermodynamically efficient technology.

Comparative Assessment of the Environmental Implication of Management Options for Municipal Solid Waste in Nigeria

The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) sector contributes to global Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission. GHG emissions from current MSW treatment options and alternative options were examined for Nigeria using the Solid Waste Management Greenhouse Gas (SWM GHG) model. Alternative scenarios considered a combination of options including collection of recyclable materials, dumping in unmanaged disposal sites, landfill without and without biogas collection, and incineration for electricity production. The results showed that the contribution of the current management strategies to global warming is 10.7 Mt CO2 eq/yr. MSW management options featuring primary material recycling and energy recovery had reductions in GHG emissions of between 22-67% compared to the current scenario - highlighting the important contribution of recycling and energy production from MSW treatment options in reducing GHG contribution of the MSW sector.

An integrated life cycle costing and human health impact analysis of municipal solid waste management options in Hong Kong using modified eco-efficiency indicator

This paper quantifies and compares the private and external costs of the proposed landfill extension (LFE) and advanced incineration facility (AIF) in Hong Kong using life cycle costing methodology. In addition, a modified eco-efficiency indicator is developed in order to integrate the life cycle cost and life cycle human health impact associated with these two proposed waste disposal facilities. With the inclusion of private and external costs, the life cycle costs of AIF and LFE are 1619.2 HKD/tonne MSW and 1782.4 HKD/tonne MSW, respectively. The AIF has a slightly lower life cycle cost (i.e., 163.2 HKD/tonne MSW or 9.2% lower) than the LFE. However, if only private cost is considered, the result is reversed, in which the LFE has a lower life cycle cost than the AIF. The life cycle cost of the AIF is mainly contributed by the capital cost and operating cost, while the life cycle cost of the LFE is mainly attributed to the capital cost and disamenity cost. The modified eco-efficiency indicator shows that the AIF is more eco-efficient relative to the LFE, revealing that the AIF is advantageous over the LFE in both life cycle human health impact and life cycle cost perspectives. The integration of environmental and economic aspects of the proposed waste disposal facilities from a life cycle perspective facilitates the stakeholders in developing policy guidelines for pursuing a sustainable management of MSW disposal in Hong Kong.