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Energy Recovery from Waste Incineration—The Importance of Technology Data and System Boundaries on CO 2 Emissions

Author

Listed:
  • Ola Eriksson

    (Faculty of Engineering and Sustainable Development, Department of Building, Energy and Environmental Engineering, University of Gävle, SE 801 76 Gävle, Sweden)

  • Göran Finnveden

    (Division of Environmental Strategies Research–fms, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Sciences and Engineering (SEED), School of Architecture and the Built Environment, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE 100 44 Stockholm, Sweden)

Abstract

Previous studies on waste incineration as part of the energy system show that waste management and energy supply are highly dependent on each other, and that the preconditions for the energy system setup affects the avoided emissions and thereby even sometimes the total outcome of an environmental assessment. However, it has not been previously shown explicitly which key parameters are most crucial, how much each parameter affects results and conclusions and how different aspects depend on each other. The interconnection between waste incineration and the energy system is elaborated by testing parameters potentially crucial to the result: design of the incineration plant, avoided energy generation, degree of efficiency, electricity efficiency in combined heat and power plants (CHP), avoided fuel, emission level of the avoided electricity generation and avoided waste management. CO 2 emissions have been calculated for incineration of 1 kWh mixed combustible waste. The results indicate that one of the most important factors is the electricity efficiency in CHP plants in combination with the emission level of the avoided electricity generation. A novel aspect of this study is the plant by plant comparison showing how different electricity efficiencies associated with different types of fuels and plants influence results. Since waste incineration typically have lower power to fuel ratios, this has implications for further analyses of waste incineration compared to other waste management practises and heat and power production technologies. New incineration capacity should substitute mixed landfill disposal and recovered energy should replace energy from inefficient high polluting plants. Electricity generation must not be lost, as it has to be compensated for by electricity production affecting the overall results.

Suggested Citation

  • Ola Eriksson & Göran Finnveden, 2017. "Energy Recovery from Waste Incineration—The Importance of Technology Data and System Boundaries on CO 2 Emissions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:10:y:2017:i:4:p:539-:d:95894
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Antonio Sánchez Cordero & Sergio Gómez Melgar & José Manuel Andújar Márquez, 2019. "Green Building Rating Systems and the New Framework Level(s): A Critical Review of Sustainability Certification within Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-25, December.
    3. Karlsson, Johan & Brunzell, Lena & Venkatesh, G., 2018. "Material-flow analysis, energy analysis, and partial environmental-LCA of a district-heating combined heat and power plant in Sweden," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 31-40.
    4. 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.
    5. Ana Ramos & Carlos Afonso Teixeira & Abel Rouboa, 2019. "Environmental Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste by Two-Stage Plasma Gasification," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    6. Carmen Callao & M. Pilar Latorre & Margarita Martinez-Núñez, 2021. "Understanding Hazardous Waste Exports for Disposal in Europe: A Contribution to Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-14, August.
    7. Barbara Mendecka & Lidia Lombardi & Paweł Gładysz & Wojciech Stanek, 2018. "Exergo-Ecological Assessment of Waste to Energy Plants Supported by Solar Energy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-20, March.
    8. Dinko Đurđević & Paolo Blecich & Željko Jurić, 2019. "Energy Recovery from Sewage Sludge: The Case Study of Croatia," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, May.
    9. Broberg, Thomas & Dijkgraaf, Elbert & Meens-Eriksson, Sef, 2022. "Burn or let them bury? The net social cost of producing district heating from imported waste," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    10. Stergios Vakalis & Konstantinos Moustakas, 2019. "Applications of the 3T Method and the R1 Formula as Efficiency Assessment Tools for Comparing Waste-to-Energy and Landfilling," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-11, March.

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