IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v12y2019i1p137-d194245.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental Assessment of Municipal Solid Waste by Two-Stage Plasma Gasification

Author

Listed:
  • Ana Ramos

    (INEGI-FEUP, Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal)

  • Carlos Afonso Teixeira

    (CITAB, Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Trás-Os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal)

  • Abel Rouboa

    (INEGI-FEUP, Institute of Science and Innovation in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
    CITAB, Centre for the Research and Technology of Agro-Environmental and Biological Sciences, University of Trás-Os-Montes and Alto Douro, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal)

Abstract

Plasma gasification is a thermal treatment successfully applied to waste streams, especially for solid residues. It sets an upgrade to more common waste-to-energy (WtE) techniques as incineration or gasification, granting lower levels of pollutant emissions, less landfilled materials and higher conversion efficiencies and producer gas quality. A life cycle assessment (LCA) of plasma gasification for one ton of a defined stream of solid waste is presented and compared to the hypothetical outcomes of incineration, highlighting the need to implement such sustainable techniques rather than more polluting ones. CML 2001 methodology was applied, enabling the evaluation of eleven impact categories, all of them depicting avoided burdens for the environment. Enhanced efficiency and cleanliness were seen due to the plasma step and to the replacement of part of the electrical grid mix by the produced electricity. Plasma gasification presented an overall better performance than incineration, portraying savings in energy and material resources as well as lower emissions to freshwater. Additionally, lower amounts of air contaminants were seen as well as almost triple of the produced electricity.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:137-:d:194245
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/1/137/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/1/137/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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.
    2. Changkook Ryu & Donghoon Shin, 2012. "Combined Heat and Power from Municipal Solid Waste: Current Status and Issues in South Korea," Energies, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Münster, Marie & Meibom, Peter, 2011. "Optimization of use of waste in the future energy system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1612-1622.
    4. Aime Hilaire Tchapda & Sarma V. Pisupati, 2014. "A Review of Thermal Co-Conversion of Coal and Biomass/Waste," Energies, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-51, February.
    5. Lucio Zaccariello & Maria Laura Mastellone, 2015. "Fluidized-Bed Gasification of Plastic Waste, Wood, and Their Blends with Coal," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-17, August.
    6. 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.
    7. Tabasová, Andrea & Kropáč, Jiří & Kermes, Vít & Nemet, Andreja & Stehlík, Petr, 2012. "Waste-to-energy technologies: Impact on environment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 146-155.
    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. Ajay Kumar & David D. Jones & Milford A. Hanna, 2009. "Thermochemical Biomass Gasification: A Review of the Current Status of the Technology," Energies, MDPI, vol. 2(3), pages 1-26, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lui, Jade & Chen, Wei-Hsin & Tsang, Daniel C.W. & You, Siming, 2020. "A critical review on the principles, applications, and challenges of waste-to-hydrogen technologies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    2. Mimica, Marko & Krajačić, Goran, 2021. "The Smart Islands method for defining energy planning scenarios on islands," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    3. Xiongchao Lin & Wenshuai Xi & Jinze Dai & Caihong Wang & Yonggang Wang, 2020. "Prediction of Slag Characteristics Based on Artificial Neural Network for Molten Gasification of Hazardous Wastes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-18, October.
    4. Matheus Oliveira & Ana Ramos & Tamer M. Ismail & Eliseu Monteiro & Abel Rouboa, 2022. "A Review on Plasma Gasification of Solid Residues: Recent Advances and Developments," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-21, February.
    5. Ramos, Ana & Rouboa, Abel, 2022. "Life cycle thinking of plasma gasification as a waste-to-energy tool: Review on environmental, economic and social aspects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    6. Hosseinzadeh, Ahmad & Zhou, John L. & Li, Xiaowei & Afsari, Morteza & Altaee, Ali, 2022. "Techno-economic and environmental impact assessment of hydrogen production processes using bio-waste as renewable energy resource," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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.
    2. Xia Liu & Juntao Wei & Wei Huo & Guangsuo Yu, 2017. "Gasification under CO 2 –Steam Mixture: Kinetic Model Study Based on Shared Active Sites," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-10, November.
    3. Ramos, Ana & Monteiro, Eliseu & Rouboa, Abel, 2019. "Numerical approaches and comprehensive models for gasification process: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 188-206.
    4. María Pilar González-Vázquez & Roberto García & Covadonga Pevida & Fernando Rubiera, 2017. "Optimization of a Bubbling Fluidized Bed Plant for Low-Temperature Gasification of Biomass," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-16, March.
    5. Hossein Nami & Amjad Anvari-Moghaddam & Ahmad Arabkoohsar & Amir Reza Razmi, 2020. "4E Analyses of a Hybrid Waste-Driven CHP–ORC Plant with Flue Gas Condensation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-21, November.
    6. Carlos Vargas-Salgado & Elías Hurtado-Pérez & David Alfonso-Solar & Anders Malmquist, 2021. "Empirical Design, Construction, and Experimental Test of a Small-Scale Bubbling Fluidized Bed Reactor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-22, January.
    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. Burra, K.G. & Gupta, A.K., 2018. "Synergistic effects in steam gasification of combined biomass and plastic waste mixtures," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 230-236.
    9. Anukam, Anthony & Mamphweli, Sampson & Reddy, Prashant & Meyer, Edson & Okoh, Omobola, 2016. "Pre-processing of sugarcane bagasse for gasification in a downdraft biomass gasifier system: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 775-801.
    10. Andrzej Greinert & Maria Mrówczyńska & Wojciech Szefner, 2019. "The Use of Waste Biomass from the Wood Industry and Municipal Sources for Energy Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, May.
    11. Ramos, Ana & Rouboa, Abel, 2020. "Syngas production strategies from biomass gasification: Numerical studies for operational conditions and quality indexes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 1211-1221.
    12. Masnadi, Mohammad S. & Grace, John R. & Bi, Xiaotao T. & Lim, C. Jim & Ellis, Naoko & Li, Yong Hua & Watkinson, A. Paul, 2015. "From coal towards renewables: Catalytic/synergistic effects during steam co-gasification of switchgrass and coal in a pilot-scale bubbling fluidized bed," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 918-930.
    13. Song, Jinbo & Sun, Yan & Jin, Lulu, 2017. "PESTEL analysis of the development of the waste-to-energy incineration industry in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 276-289.
    14. Bujak, Janusz Wojciech, 2015. "Production of waste energy and heat in hospital facilities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 350-362.
    15. Islam, K.M. Nazmul, 2018. "Municipal solid waste to energy generation: An approach for enhancing climate co-benefits in the urban areas of Bangladesh," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2472-2486.
    16. 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.
    17. Herlander Mata-Lima & Deborah Wollmann Silva & Deborah Cristina Nardi & Samanta Andrize Klering & Thays Car Feliciano de Oliveira & Fernando Morgado-Dias, 2021. "Waste-to-Energy: An Opportunity to Increase Renewable Energy Share and Reduce Ecological Footprint in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-20, November.
    18. Mancarella, Pierluigi, 2014. "MES (multi-energy systems): An overview of concepts and evaluation models," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 1-17.
    19. Domenico Borello & Antonio M. Pantaleo & Michele Caucci & Benedetta De Caprariis & Paolo De Filippis & Nilay Shah, 2017. "Modeling and Experimental Study of a Small Scale Olive Pomace Gasifier for Cogeneration: Energy and Profitability Analysis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, November.
    20. Santiago Alzate & Bonie Restrepo-Cuestas & Álvaro Jaramillo-Duque, 2019. "Municipal Solid Waste as a Source of Electric Power Generation in Colombia: A Techno-Economic Evaluation under Different Scenarios," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-16, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:137-:d:194245. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.