•Digitalisation & intelligent robotics are tools in value chain of waste management.•Municipal waste management development is defined by Circular Economy Package.•4 segments: Collection & Logistics, ...Machines & WTP, Business Models and Data Tools.•Extensive survey of (inter)national data (period 2001–2019): 114 sources utilized.•Smart Waste Factory: Machines are digitally connected and communicate with waste.
The general aim of circular economy is the most efficient and comprehensive use of resources. In order to achieve this goal, new approaches of Industry 4.0 are being developed and implemented in the field of waste management. The innovative K-project: Recycling and Recovery of Waste 4.0 - “ReWaste4.0” deals with topics such as digitalisation and the use of robotic technologies in waste management. Here, a summary of the already published results in these areas, which were divided into the four focused topics, is given: Collection and Logistics, Machines and waste treatment plants, Business models and Data Tools. Presented are systems and methods already used in waste management, as well as technologies that have already been successfully applied in other industrial sectors and will also be relevant in the waste management sector for the future. The focus is set on systems that could be used in waste treatment plants or machines in the future in order to make treatment of waste more efficient. In particular, systems which carry out the sorting of (mixed) waste via robotic technologies are of interest. Furthermore “smart bins” with sensors for material detection or level measurement, methods for digital image analysis and new business models have already been developed. The technologies are often based on large amounts of data that can contribute to increase the efficiency within plants. In addition, the results of an online market survey of companies from the waste management industry on the subject of waste management 4.0 or “digital readiness” are summarized.
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•Carriers of 9 elements in waste are identified based on literature.•Concentrations and expected ranges of elements in carriers are listed.•Metals, inerts, composites and plastics are important ...contaminant carriers.•Some important carriers (metals etc.) are often not reflected by chemical analyses.•Removing contaminant carriers can improve waste fuel quality and decrease emissions.
Antimony, arsenic, cadmium, chlorine, chromium, cobalt, lead, mercury, nickel and their compounds are commonly used in the industrial production of various goods. At the end of the product life cycle, these elements enter the waste system as constituents of the products. Mixed municipal and commercial wastes are landfilled, biologically treated, incinerated, and/or processed in mechanical treatment plants to yield solid recovered fuel (SRF). In all these cases, inorganic contaminants that are present in the input waste material play a significant role. In mechanical waste treatment, materials containing high concentrations of these elements (contaminant carriers) can be selectively removed (e.g. by infrared sorters) to improve the output quality, but prior knowledge about the contaminant carriers is required.
This paper reviews several waste-related publications in order to identify carriers of Sb, As, Cd, Cl, Cr, Co, Pb, Hg, and Ni in mixed municipal and commercial waste. Identified contaminant carriers are listed alongside ranges for expected concentrations. Furthermore, the data are combined with information on industrial applications and contaminant concentrations in products in order to discuss the reasons for the presence of the respective elements in the carriers. Generally, besides inerts or metals, identified contaminant carriers often include plastics, composite materials, leather products, textiles, rubber, electronic waste, and batteries. Moreover, it is evaluated how individual contaminant carriers are reflected by chemical waste analyses. While the findings of the paper can be applied to different waste treatment options, the discussion focuses on SRF, which is the main output of mechanical treatment plants.
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•Three types of visualization for MWM perf.: positioning, dynamics and development.•Eurostat table-form data of all 28 member states of the EU has been visualised.•“Multi-speed” EU may be devided in: ...Recovery, Transition and Landfilling Countries.•Dynamic visualisation of MWM perf. for the EU 28, Austria, Germany, UK and SK.•Linked development of recycling & composting (60–65%) with incineration (40–35%).
This contribution describes the dynamic visualisation of European (EU 28) municipal waste management performance, using the Ternary Diagram Method. Municipal waste management performance depends primarily on three treatment categories: recycling & composting, incineration and landfilling. The framework of current municipal waste management including recycling targets, etc. is given by the Waste Framework Directive – 2008/98/EC. The proposed Circular Economy Package should stimulate Europe's transition towards more sustainable resources and energy oriented waste management. The Package also includes a revised legislative proposal on waste that sets ambitious recycling rates for municipal waste for 2025 (60%) and 2030 (65%). Additionally, the new calculation method for monitoring the attainment of the targets should be applied.
In 2014, ca. 240 million tonnes of municipal waste were generated in the EU. While in 1995, 17% were recycled and composted, 14% incinerated and 64% landfilled, in 2014 ca. 71% were recovered but 28% landfilled only. Considering the treatment performance of the individual EU member states, the EU 28 can be divided into three groups, namely: “Recovery Countries”, “Transition Countries” and “Landfilling Countries”.
Using Ternary Diagram Method, three types of visualization for the municipal waste management performance have been investigated and extensively described. Therefore, for better understanding of municipal waste management performance in the last 20years, dynamic visualisation of the Eurostat table-form data on all 28 member states of the EU has been carried out in three different ways: 1. “Performance Positioning” of waste management unit(s) at a specific date; 2. “Performance dynamics” over a certain time period and; 3. “Performance development” expressed as a track(s).
Results obtained show that the Ternary Diagram Method is very well suited to be used for better understanding of past developments and coherences, for monitoring of current situations and prognosis of future paths. One of the interesting coherences shown by the method is the linked development of recycling & composting (60–65%) with incineration (40–35%) performance over the last 20years in the EU 28.
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•Origins of Al, Ca, Fe, Si, Ti, Mg, S, Na, K, and P are discussed using literature.•Ash contents and compositions of sorted SRF fractions are determined.•Contributions of material fractions to the ...recyclable share of SRF is investigated.•The main SRF fraction recycled in the cement kiln is the fine fraction.•The cement industry therefore offers a way to complement conventional recycling.
Solid recovered fuel (SRF) ash consists of element oxides, which are valuable materials for cement manufacturers. When SRF is co-processed in the cement industry, its mineral content is incorporated into the clinker. Therefore, from a technical perspective, SRF ash is recycled. However, since recycling processes for materials that may be present in SRF exist, and since recycling goals are defined for different waste types, understanding the origin of these ash constituents and the contribution of different materials to the Recycling-index (R-index, i.e., the material-recyclable share of SRF) is important. In this work, the origins of Al, Ca, Fe, Si, Ti, Mg, Na, K, S, and P were first reviewed. Subsequently, ten SRF samples were sorted, and the ash content and composition of the sorting fractions (e.g., <10 mm, plastics, paper&cardboard) determined. Additionally, selected samples of polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), liquid packaging board (LPB), wood, and paper&cardboard (P&C) extracted from SRF were investigated. The results demonstrated that the materials that contributed most of the valuable oxides and ash content, and thereby to the R-index of SRF, are mixed or composite fractions, for example, the fine fraction, composites, and the sorting residues. Except for the composite LPB, no other material recovery options exist for most of these fractions. For this reason, the recycling of mixed and soiled materials or residues in the cement industry may be considered a complementary option to existing recycling processes.
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•The effects of screening, sorting, and combinations are given for 29 elements.•Combining screening and NIR sorting can reduce all contaminant concentrations.•Removing PVC and fine ...fractions causes a concentration decrease for all 29 elements.•Removing black&grey materials may further reduce concentrations of Sb, Co, and Cl.•Removing only PET and/or PVC can increase the concentration of certain heavy metals.
Solid recovered fuels (SRF) have increasingly substituted primary fuels in the cement industry, even up to 100%. However, contaminants originating from the discarded consumer products are transferred into waste and SRF. With increasing amounts of SRF being utilized, closely monitoring contaminant concentrations – as is already state of the art in several countries and the cement industry – is gaining importance. SRF producers may need to take measures assuring that quality criteria are met, contaminant concentrations are kept at a low level, or to produce contaminant-depleted SRF. This work investigates and discusses the potential measures to reduce contaminant concentrations: removing the fine fractions, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and black&grey materials. Five streams of mixed commercial waste were coarsely comminuted, screened, PET and PVC were removed using an industrial near-infrared sorter, and black&grey materials were manually removed and further sorted by fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Concentrations of Ag, Al, As, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cl, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Sb, Si, Sn, Sr, Ti, V, W, and Zn in the fractions are reported, and the effect of single and combined measures is presented. Results show that black&grey materials contain significant shares of the total Sb, Cl, and Co in the waste stream. Furthermore, the concentration of several contaminants is increased when only PET and PVC is removed. Removing the fine fraction together with PVC can lead to a concentration decrease of all investigated analytes, enabling the production of a contaminant-depleted SRF.
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•Plastic potential and types in commercial and municipal waste are investigated.•Plastic type by using NIR-sensor and a FTIR-spectrometer is analysed.•Dimension specific (2D & 3D) plastic ...distribution in different grain sizes is shown.•Identification of grain sizes for targeted practical removal of valuable plastics.•Grain size dependent sorting supports material recycling and circular economy.
The Waste Framework Directive regulates the recycling of waste in Europe. The definition of waste is specified in different guidelines and regulations. Mixed Commercial Waste is waste from industry which is not collected separately. Currently there is little known about its composition. Mixed Municipal Waste, on the other hand, is household waste that cannot be attributed to any separately collected waste fraction (AdSLR, 2012). Both wastes are currently treated focussing on the generation of refuse-derived fuel rather than on the separation of recyclables (mainly performed for metals).
The purpose of this paper is to characterise the amounts of various plastic types contained in different grain sizes of two-dimensional and three-dimensional plastics sorting fractions of both waste types. Nine types of plastics were identified as potential recycling materials for which recycling processes as well as a market are available. Both wastes were shredded, sampled and sieved into nine grain size classes (GSC). Fractions coarser than 20 mm were sorted, generating a ‘plastics-2D’ and a ‘plastics-3D’ fraction among others. The two plastics fractions were further characterised as plastic types using a near-infrared sensor and a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer. The results reveal a potential for plastic recycling through mechanical and feedstock recycling options for the examined wastes. Certain types of plastics, of certain dimensionality, tend to come in certain grain sizes, which is essential for mechanical enrichment and discharge.
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Sensor-based sorting in waste management is a method to separate valuable material or contaminants from a waste stream. Depending on the separation property different types of sensors are used. ...Separation properties and their corresponding sensors are e.g. molecular composition with near-infrared sensors, colour with visual spectroscopy or colour line scan cameras, or electric conductivity with electromagnetic sensors.
The methods described in this paper deal with the development of sorting models for a specific near-infrared, a visual spectroscopy and an induction sensor. For near-infrared and visual spectroscopy software is required to create sorting models, while for induction only machine settings have to be adjusted and optimized for a specific sorting task. These sensors are installed in the experimental sensor-based sorting setup at the Chair of Waste Processing Technology and Waste Management located at the Montanuniversitaet Leoben. This sorting stand is a special designed machine for the university to make experiments on sensor-based sorting in lab scale. It can be used for a variety of waste streams depending on the grain size and the pre-conditioning for the sensor-based sorting machine. In detail the methods to create these sorting models are described and validated with plastic, glass and metal waste.•Near-infrared spectroscopy measures the molecular composition of near-infrared-active particles.•Visual spectroscopy measures the absorption of visible light by chemical compounds.•Induction sensors use induced currents to detect nearby metal objects.
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Production, quality and quality assurance, as well as co-incineration of solid recovered fuels in cement industry, have become state-of-the-art in the European cement industry. At the global level, ...average thermal substitution rate is about 17%, whereby, only 13% in Canada and in the USA 16%, while in the European Union 28 it is about 44% (i.e. 11,300,000 t waste fuels utilised in 2016). In Austria, thermal substitution rate was ca. 80% in 2017, which was worldwide the highest one. Regarding solid recovered fuels for the cement industry, two types are relevant, namely solid recovered fuels PREMIUM Quality and solid recovered fuels MEDIUM Quality. In the case study shown, solid recovered fuels PREMIUM Quality from 11 and solid recovered fuels MEDIUM Quality from nine different solid recovered fuels production plants have been investigated. Investigations consist of sorting and sieving analyses (for PREMIUM), as well as physical–chemical analyses (for both solid recovered fuels types) according to the (inter)national standards (i.e. Austrian ‘ÖNORM’, European ‘EN’ standards and CEN TC 343 guidelines). The results gained from the first investigation were published in 2014 and here, results of further investigations are updated for 2016 and 2018 and confronted with legal and market relevant requirements. During the investigation, not enough parallel samples could be investigated and therefore no adequate scientific statistical analyses could be elaborated but a more practical indicative interpretation has been made. Finally, it can be confirmed, that all investigated solid recovered fuels fulfil the Austrian legal and international solid recovered fuels and co-incineration market requirements.
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This paper describes the requirements for the production, quality, and quality assurance of solid recovered fuels (SRF) that are increasingly used in the cement industry. Different aspects have to be ...considered before using SRF as an alternative fuel. Here, a study on the quality of SRF used in the cement industry is presented. This overview is completed by an investigation of type and properties of input materials used at waste splitting and SRF production plants in Austria. As a simplified classification, SRF can be divided into two classes: a fine, high-calorific SRF for the main burner, or coarser SRF material with low calorific value for secondary firing systems, such as precombustion chambers or similar systems. In the present study, SRFs coming from various sources that fall under these two different waste fuel classes are discussed. Both SRFs are actually fired in the grey clinker kiln of the Holcim (Slovensko) plant in Rohožnik (Slovakia). The fine premium-quality material is used in the main burner and the coarse regular-quality material is fed to a FLS Hotdisc combustion device. In general, the alternative fuels are used instead of their substituted fossil fuels. For this, chemical compositions and other properties of SRF were compared to hard coal as one of the most common conventional fuels in Europe. This approach allows to compare the heavy metal input from traditional and alternative fuels and to comment on the legal requirements on SRF that, at the moment, are under development in Europe.
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