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Emergy Evaluation of the Urban Solid Waste Handling in Liaoning Province, China

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  • Gengyuan Liu

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Zhifeng Yang

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Bin Chen

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Yan Zhang

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Meirong Su

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Lixiao Zhang

    (State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

Abstract

Waste management is a distinct practice aimed at reducing its effects on health and the environment and increasing energy and material recovery. The urban waste management industry has been slow to adopt new technologies, such as sanitary landfills and incineration, which enable better treatment results. The aim of a thorough ecological-economic evaluation of different treatment technologies is to extract the maximum practical benefits from investments and to ensure the minimum environmental impacts of wastes. This paper compares four garbage treatment systems, including sanitary landfills systems, fluidized bed incineration system, grate type incineration system and the current landfills system in Liaoning Province, China. By considering the economic and environmental impacts of waste treatment and disposal, impact of emissions, and contribution of wastes input, this paper constructed an emergy-based urban solid waste model for evaluating the sustainability of the holistic systems. The results in Liaoning indicate that the human health losses caused by the harmful air emissions are ranked in this order: fluidized bed incineration > grate type incineration > current landfills > sanitary landfills, while the ecosystem losses are ranked: grate type incineration > fluidized bed incineration > sanitary landfills > current landfills. The electricity yield ratios are ranked: grate type incineration > fluidized bed incineration > sanitary landfills > current landfills. Taken together this suggests that in considering the incineration option, decision makers must weigh the benefits of incineration against the significant operating costs, potential environmental impacts, and technical difficulties of operating. Emergy analysis of the urban solid treatment systems can provide a set of useful tools which can be used to compare the comprehensive performances of different waste treatment processes for decision-making and optimizing the whole process.

Suggested Citation

  • Gengyuan Liu & Zhifeng Yang & Bin Chen & Yan Zhang & Meirong Su & Lixiao Zhang, 2013. "Emergy Evaluation of the Urban Solid Waste Handling in Liaoning Province, China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-21, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:6:y:2013:i:10:p:5486-5506:d:29764
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    3. Zhang, XiaoHong & Wei, Ye & Li, Min & Deng, ShiHuai & Wu, Jun & Zhang, YanZong & Xiao, Hong, 2014. "Emergy evaluation of an integrated livestock wastewater treatment system," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 95-107.
    4. Fengjiao Ma & A. Egrinya Eneji & Yanbin Wu, 2018. "An Evaluation of Input–Output Value for Sustainability in a Chinese Steel Production System Based on Emergy Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-19, December.
    5. Dongliang Zhang & Guangqing Huang & Yimin Xu & Qinghua Gong, 2015. "Waste-to-Energy in China: Key Challenges and Opportunities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-15, December.
    6. Xingpeng Chen & Jiaxing Pang & Zilong Zhang & Hengji Li, 2014. "Sustainability Assessment of Solid Waste Management in China: A Decoupling and Decomposition Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(12), pages 1-14, December.
    7. Gala, Alba Bala & Raugei, Marco & Ripa, Maddalena & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2015. "Dealing with waste products and flows in life cycle assessment and emergy accounting: Methodological overview and synergies," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 315(C), pages 69-76.
    8. Ana Ramos & Carlos Afonso Teixeira & Abel Rouboa, 2018. "Environmental Analysis of Waste-to-Energy—A Portuguese Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-26, March.
    9. Chen, Qiuwen & Ma, Xiaohan & Hu, Jiayu & Zhang, Xiaohong, 2023. "Comparison of comprehensive performance of kiwifruit production in China, Iran, and Italy based on emergy and carbon emissions," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 483(C).
    10. Jing Zhao & Zirui Zhang & Bo Li & Xiaolin Wei, 2021. "Formation and Growth Behavior Analysis of Slagging Rings in Rotary Kiln-Type Hazardous Waste Incineration Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-14, November.
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