Carbon dioxide emission is a serious environmental issue that humankind must face soon. One of the promising technologies for reducing global CO2 emissions is oxy-fuel combustion (OFC) technology, ...which belongs to the carbon capture methods. OFC involves the use of oxygen and recirculated flue gas as an oxidizer in the combustion process. Application of oxy-fuel combustion in waste incineration can result in negative CO2 emission since some part of the carbon in municipal solid waste is biogenic. Such technology is often described as BECCS or Bio-CCS and it has attracted the attention of scientists recently. In addition to easier CO2 capture, oxy-fuel combustion of municipal solid waste offers other advantages, such as reduced flue gas volume, increased combustion temperature and the possibility of retrofit existing incineration plants. In the present paper, studies of oxy-fuel combustion of waste materials, in particular, municipal solid waste and sewage sludge are presented and summarized. The study shows the opportunities and challenges that have to be addressed to fully exploit the potential of the oxy-fired incineration plant.
•Incineration is the most mature and widely used thermal treatment technique.•The oxy-incinerator is potentially more effective than other WtE plants with CCS.•OFC increases process temperature, reduces flue gas volume and lower NOx emission.•New air separation methods should be developed to increase the efficiency of OFC.•Development of a waste oxy-incinerator chamber model is necessary.
Municipal solid waste incineration fly ash is classified as the hazardous waste because of its high levels of heavy metals alkali chlorides, and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins. Thermal treatment ...is widely used for fly ash treatment because of its advantages of reduction and harmless. The transformation behaviors of chlorine and metal ions during the thermal treatment of fly ash has a significant impact on the harmless and resource of fly ash. At present, the migration behaviors of chlorine and metal ions during thermal treatment of fly ash is not clearly demonstrated. In this manuscript, the phase compositions, transformation behaviors, the variation of mass and content of chlorine and various metal ions were analyzed through diverse characterization methods under different sintering temperatures to understand the migration behaviors of chlorine and metal ions during thermal treatment. Roasting experiments showed that the migration behaviors of heavy metals and chlorides were consistent. The chlorine, sodium, potassium and heavy metal ions can be removed sharply while the calcium, aluminum, magnesium and iron were decreased slightly when the roasting temperature was above 750 °C. The findings also suggested that removed chlorides were soluble chlorides and unstable crystals in municipal solid waste incineration fly ash were inclined to formed steady structure under high temperature. The structure of roasted fly ash became denser and generated ceramic-like particle due to thermal agglomeration and chemical reactions.
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•Soluble chlorides will be transformed into insoluble chlorides under high temperature.•Migration behaviors of chlorides and heavy metal ions were consistent.•Unstable crystals in MSWI FA were inclined to formed steady structure under high temperature.
The current work presents an initial approach of using a particle based method (Discrete Element Method, DEM) to simulate municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration on grates. Therefore, an in-house ...DEM code has been coupled with FLUENT. Models have been formulated for drying, volatile release and char conversion. The volatiles released are converted in the furnace above the waste bed which has been calculated with FLUENT. A comparison of simulations with measurements in an existing MSW incineration plant of CO2, O2, H2O and temperatures above the bed is presented. Agreement is fair considering the measurement uncertainties and the complexity of the process. In a sensitivity study concerning the influence of waste composition (heating value, number of waste fractions), waste particle size distribution and radiative flux onto the waste bed on conversion has been carried out. Finally, the most common grate systems, backward stoking, forward stoking and roller grates have been compared briefly, including different types of furnace geometries above the bed. The results demonstrate that the approach developed gives new insight into the complex interaction of waste movement, waste conversion and gas phase combustion above the bed which can’t be obtained with other approaches, like continuum models for the waste bed.
•Overview on regulations regarding bottom ash utilisation in 22 European countries.•Diverse regulation of bottom ash utilisation in the EU.•Utilisation rates vary between 0% and 100% between ...investigated countries.•Critical discussion of limit values and comparison between countries.•Proposal of key-points for a uniform legislation at EU level.
Almost 500 municipal solid waste incineration plants in the EU, Norway and Switzerland generate about 17.6 Mt/a of incinerator bottom ash (IBA). IBA contains minerals and metals. Metals are mostly separated and sold to the scrap market and minerals are either disposed of in landfills or utilised in the construction sector. Since there is no uniform regulation for IBA utilisation at EU level, countries developed own rules with varying requirements for utilisation. As a result from a cooperation network between European experts an up-to-date overview of documents regulating IBA utilisation is presented. Furthermore, this work highlights the different requirements that have to be considered. Overall, 51 different parameters for the total content and 36 different parameters for the emission by leaching are defined. An analysis of the defined parameter reveals that leaching parameters are significantly more to be considered compared to total content parameters. In order to assess the leaching behaviour nine different leaching tests, including batch tests, up-flow percolation tests and one diffusion test (monolithic materials) are in place. A further discussion of leaching parameters showed that certain countries took over limit values initially defined for landfills for inert waste and adopted them for IBA utilisation. The overall utilisation rate of IBA in construction works is approximately 54 wt%. It is revealed that the rate of utilisation does not necessarily depend on how well regulated IBA utilisation is, but rather seems to be a result of political commitment for IBA recycling and economically interesting circumstances.
In China, incineration is essential for reducing the volume of municipal solid waste arising in its numerous megacities. The evolution of incinerator capacity has been huge, yet it creates strong ...opposition from a small, but vocal part of the population. The characteristics of Chinese municipal solid waste are analysed and data presented on its calorific value and composition. These are not so favourable for incineration, since the sustained use of auxiliary fuel is necessary for ensuring adequate combustion temperatures. Also, the emission standard for acid gases is more lenient in China than in the European Union, so special attention should be paid to the issue of acidification arising from flue gas. Next, the techniques used in flue gas cleaning in China are reviewed and the acidification potential by cleaned flue gas is estimated. Still, acidification induced by municipal solid waste incinerators remains marginal compared with the effects of coal-fired power plants.
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•PLA can be burned as a fuel because the incineration is regard as carbon neutral.•Pyrolysis of PLA with MgO and its co-pyrolysis with biomass is very promising.•Alcoholysis of PLA is ...considered to be the most suitable method for chemical recovery of PLA.•The hydrolysis of PLA can upcycle lactic acid with low energy consumption compared to that from starch fermentation.•The products have higher added value and wider usages during ammonolysis of PLA.
Polylactic acid (PLA) is currently the highest production of all bio-based plastics globally. Its production will increase year by year to replace part of petroleum-based plastics to reduce environmental pollution and curb carbon emissions. However, the raw materials for synthesizing PLA mainly come from sugary foods, and mass production will pose a threat to food security. In addition, the degradation rate of PLA is slow, and a large amount of waste PLA accumulation still causes pollution. As a high-quality carbon source, compared with direct degradation, recycling PLA is a more green and environmentally friendly method. Because PLA can not only be depolymerized into raw materials for synthesizing PLA but also can be upcycled to chemicals required by various industries, which helps to reduce the use of petroleum resources. In addition, the recycling of PLA helps to reduce CO2 emissions, because the source of PLA does not consume petroleum resources, but rather fixes CO2 in the air. This review summarizes the works of upcycling waste PLA as an alternative carbon source for energy and other chemicals from the perspectives of tertiary and quaternary recycling, which provides a reference for the proper treatment of a large amount of waste PLA.
The aim of this research is to present the possibility of using the sewage sludge ash (SSA) generated in incineration plants as a secondary source of phosphorus (P). The importance of issues related ...to P recovery from waste materials results from European Union (UE) legislation, which indicated phosphorus as a critical raw material (CRM). Due to the risks of a shortage of supply and its impact on the economy, which is greater than other raw materials, the proper management of phosphorus resources is required in order to achieve global P security.
Based on available databases and literature, an analysis of the potential use of SSA for P-recovery in Poland was conducted. Currently, approx. 43,000 Mg/year of SSA is produced in large and small incineration plants and according to in the Polish National Waste Management Plan 2014 (NWMP) further steady growth is predicted. This indicates a great potential to recycle phosphorus from SSA and to reintroduce it again into the value chain as a component of fertilisers which can be applied directly on fields. The amount of SSA generated in installations, both large and small, varies and this contributes to the fact that new and different P recovery technology solutions must be developed and put into use in the years to come (e.g. mobile/stationary P recovery installations). The creation of a database focused on the collection and sharing of data about the amount of P recovered in EU and Polish installations is identified as a helpful tool in the development of an efficient P management model for Poland.
•Phosphorus recovery from waste materials has risen in importance in Europe.•Sewage sludge ash is one of underutilized source of phosphorus in Poland.•Phosphorus recovery installations should be constructed in Poland.•Mobile phosphorus recovery installations handling many operators are proposed.
Application of municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) products - fly ash (MSW-FA) and bottom ash (MSW-BA), is increasingly popular, mostly due to the need to reintroduce it in the industrial ...chain, but also because its technical performance is constantly enhanced by a growing research effort. This paper deals with the less popular application of these wastes without the addition of a more competent precursor. Several pastes based on MSW-FA, MSW-BA or MSW-FA+MSW-BA were prepared, using sodium silicate or sodium hydroxide. Their overall performance was then assessed through mechanical (uniaxial compressive strength - UCS and seismic wave velocity), environmental (leaching) and durability tests (freeze-thaw and wetting-drying). Cement stabilised MSW-BA pastes were also tested, for reference. Results showed that a preliminary mechanical activation, achieved by milling, is fundamental; the activation with silicate is more effective than with hydroxide, especially in the case of the MSW-BA pastes, when the UCS values are more than triplicated (3–10 MPa); the MSW-BA is a more competent precursor than the MSW-FA and the durability and leachability of the alkali activated pastes is similar to that obtained with cement. The most performing paste, in terms of UCS, was obtained with BA activated exclusively with sodium silicate, with an activator/precursor weight ratio of 0.5. In general, the low-cost solidification/stabilisation proposed in this study showed competitive with the alternative use of up to 30% cement and should be regarded as a valid alternative for simple storage or low-range applications, in substitution of Portland cement.
As primary anthropogenic emission source of toxic pollutants such as heavy metals and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs), municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration has ...caused worldwide concern. However, a comprehensive analysis of the pollution characteristics and health risks of PCDD/Fs and heavy metals in soils around MSW incineration plants is lacking. In this study, 17 PCDD/Fs and 11 heavy metals in soil samples collected near MSW incineration plants in Sichuan province were investigated to evaluate their pollution characteristics and potential health risk. Sichuan was selected as the study area because the MSW incineration amount in this province ranks first among all inland provinces in China. The PCDD/Fs concentrations ranged from 0.30 to 7.50 ng I-TEQ/kg, which were significantly below risk screening and intervention thresholds. Regarding heavy metals, principal component analysis suggested that Hg, Pb and Zn were the primary metals emitted from the MSW incineration plants. Cluster analysis of PCDD/Fs and heavy metals showed that of PCDD/Fs homologs and heavy metals (e.g., Hg, Pb, Zn and Cd) were clustered into one group, indicating the coexistence and coaccumulation of heavy metals (especially Hg, Pb, Zn, and Cd) and PCDD/Fs in soil. These heavy metals are thus candidate tracers for PCDD/Fs in soil near MSW incineration plants. A health risk analysis found that the carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks of PCDD/Fs and heavy metals (except for Ni) in the soil samples were all within acceptable levels. This study provides new insights into correlations and health risks of PCDD/Fs and heavy metals in surface soil near MSW incineration plants. The findings have implications for future studies of environmental and human health risk analysis related to waste incineration.
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•PCDD/Fs concentrations are below the risk screening and intervention thresholds.•Hg, Pb, Zn and Cd can help characterize the distribution of PCDD/Fs in soils.•Relative low health risks posed by PCDD/Fs and heavy metals (except for Ni).
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