A comparative assessment of waste incinerators in the UK

The uptake in Europe of Energy from Waste (EfW) incinerator plants has increased rapidly in recent years. In the UK, 25 municipal waste incinerators with energy recovery are now in operation; however, their waste supply chains and business practices vary significantly. With over a hundred more plant developments being considered it is important to establish best business practices for ensuring efficient environmental and operational performance. By reviewing the 25 plants we identify four suitable case study plants to compare technologies (moving grate, fluidised bed and rotary kiln), plant economics and operations. Using data collected from annual reports and through interviews and site visits we provide recommendations for improving the supply chain for waste incinerators and highlight the current issues and challenges faced by the industry. We find that plants using moving grate have a high availability of 87–92%. However, compared to the fluidised bed and rotary kiln, quantities of bottom ash and emissions of hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide are high. The uptake of integrated recycling practices, combined heat and power, and post incineration non-ferrous metal collections needs to be increased among EfW incinerators in the UK. We conclude that one of the major difficulties encountered by waste facilities is the appropriate selection of technology, capacity, site, waste suppliers and heat consumers. This study will be of particular value to EfW plant developers, government authorities and researchers working within the sector of waste management.     

Environmental impacts of residual Municipal Solid Waste incineration: A comparison of 110 French incinerators using a life cycle approach

Incineration is the main option for residual Municipal Solid Waste treatment in France. This study compares the environmental performances of 110 French incinerators (i.e. 85% of the total number of plants currently in activity in France) in a Life Cycle Assessment perspective, considering 5 non-toxic impact categories: climate change, photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, terrestrial acidification and marine eutrophication. Mean, median and lower/upper impact potentials are determined considering the incineration of 1 tonne of French residual Municipal Solid Waste. The results highlight the relatively large variability of the impact potentials as a function of the plant technical performances. In particular, the climate change impact potential of the incineration of 1 tonne of waste ranges from a benefit of ?58 kg CO₂-eq to a relatively large burden of 408 kg CO₂-eq, with 294 kg CO₂-eq as the average impact. Two main plant-specific parameters drive the impact potentials regarding the 5 non-toxic impact categories under study: the energy recovery and delivery rate and the NO_x process-specific emissions. The variability of the impact potentials as a function of incinerator characteristics therefore calls for the use of site-specific data when required by the LCA goal and scope definition phase, in particular when the study focuses on a specific incinerator or on a local waste management plan, and when these data are available.     

Combined Municipal Solid Waste and biomass system optimization for district energy applications

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) disposal has been a controversial issue in many countries over the past years, due to disagreement among the various stakeholders on the waste management policies and technologies to be adopted. One of the ways of treating/disposing MSW is energy recovery, as waste is considered to contain a considerable amount of bio-waste and therefore can lead to renewable energy production. The overall efficiency can be very high in the cases of co-generation or tri-generation. In this paper a model is presented, aiming to support decision makers in issues relating to Municipal Solid Waste energy recovery. The idea of using more fuel sources, including MSW and agricultural residue biomass that may exist in a rural area, is explored. The model aims at optimizing the system specifications, such as the capacity of the base-load Waste-to-Energy facility, the capacity of the peak-load biomass boiler and the location of the facility. Furthermore, it defines the quantity of each potential fuel source that should be used annually, in order to maximize the financial yield of the investment. The results of an energy tri-generation case study application at a rural area of Greece, using mixed MSW and biomass, indicate positive financial yield of investment. In addition, a sensitivity analysis is performed on the effect of the most important parameters of the model on the optimum solution, pinpointing the parameters of interest rate, investment cost and heating oil price, as those requiring the attention of the decision makers. Finally, the sensitivity analysis is enhanced by a stochastic analysis to determine the effect of the volatility of parameters on the robustness of the model and the solution obtained.     

Composting of waste algae: A review

Although composting has been successfully used at pilot scale to manage waste algae removed from eutrophied water environments and the compost product applied as a fertiliser, clear guidelines are not available for full scale algae composting. The review reports on the application of composting to stabilize waste algae, which to date has mainly been macro-algae, and identifies the peculiarities of algae as a composting feedstock, these being: relatively low carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio, which can result in nitrogen loss as NH₃ and even N₂O; high moisture content and low porosity, which together make aeration challenging; potentially high salinity, which can have adverse consequence for composting; and potentially have high metals and toxin content, which can affect application of the product as a fertiliser. To overcome the challenges that these peculiarities impose co-compost materials can be employed.     

Minimizing leakage from a smelter off-gas system by enhanced control

The off-gas handling system is a vital component of a smelter and it is essential that it operates in accordance with environmental regulations. A key feature of the off-gas management system is maintaining a slightly negative system pressure to prevent gas leakage, such as SO₂, out into the work and external environments. To enhance sustainable development, there is also growing interest in capturing and reusing the significant amount of heat and CO₂ contained within off-gas. The potential incorporation of heat and CO₂ recovery systems places importance on enhancing control to minimize the risk of both gas leakage and disturbance of the smelting process. With these requirements in mind, an easily implementable feedforward control enhancement to existing control schemes is proposed to help provide improved performance.     

兰炼烷基化废酸处理工艺选择

对目前四种烷基化硫酸处理工艺进行了分析比较，认为兰炼应依托现有硫酸装置，采用裂解制硫酸工艺来处理烷基化废酸。     

废弃电池能否进入废弃电器电子产品处理目录（第二批）管理的筛选评估分析

2009年2月,国务院发布《废弃电器电子产品回收处理管理条例》,成为我国废弃电器电子产品回收处理的纲领性文件。在《废弃电器电子产品处理目录（第一批）》中,明确将电视机、电冰箱、洗衣机、房间空调器、微型计算机等5种产品纳入第一批目录。同时,为了为了能够及时、客观地与经济发展、技术进步以及电器电子产品行业的发展变化等相适应,《目录》管理委员会起草了《制订和调整废弃电器电子产品处理目录的若干规定》,明确随着经济发展变化及电子产品废弃形势调整电器电子产品处理目录的原则。废弃电池在近几年来在我国增长速度很大,将来的管理形势十分紧迫。本文在此分析我国几种废弃电池（铅酸电池、镍氢电池及锂电池）的产生量、再生处理处置情况及管理政策导向。并在目录一批筛选原则的基础上利用权重分析法,筛选评估废弃电池能否进入废弃电器电子产品处理目录（第二批）管理的可能,研究显示铅酸电池已具备进入管理目录的资质。     

福州CRT产业集群废物产生特征及管理模式研究

根据对福州开发区阴离子射线管(CRT)产业集群进行调查、访谈和统计分析,实证研究了该产业集群的废物产生特征和管理模式.结果发现,福州CRT产业集群在不断发展壮大的同时,随着主导产品生产规模的扩大以及配套企业的进入,废物的产生总量不断增加,单位主导产品的废物产生强度持续上升,废物种类也逐渐丰富,给区域环境带来的压力不断增大;但同时,产业集群借助其规模和集聚效应,不仅为废物交换和工业共生体系的构建提供了基础平台,而且为专营性废物回收组织和处理处置设施的良好运转营造了外部环境.     

废旧家电产品回收性能评价指标体系的建立

针对家电产品回收工艺流程决策评价的多阶段、多目标的特点,以及不同类型家电产品和不同回收工艺过程的动态特性,采用层次分类方法建立了以经济指标和环境指标为主要内容的回收工艺流程评价指标体系,对指标体系的组成进行了较为详细的分析,讨论了应该考虑的因素及有关计算方法。以电冰箱为例,用改进的模糊层次分析法与遗传算法相结合,介绍了回收工艺流程的优化决策方法。建立的指标体系不仅可以根据评价对象进行动态修改,而且具有较强的可操作性。     

小型废电池填埋焚烧处置的健康风险分析

对废电池采取填埋、焚烧处置所引起的健康风险进行了分析，采用3种模型，分别研究了废电池随城市固体废物一起完全填埋处置，一起完全焚烧处置，一起部分填埋处置和部分焚烧处理时，可能引起的健康风险，由分析可知，镉镍电池焚烧过程将引起不可接受的致癌风险，填埋废电池也会引起重金属非致癌风险，提出在现阶段没有单独收集分类管理的条件下，对于小型废电池应采取填埋焚烧联合处置的办法，但应避免镉镍电池的焚烧，在建立了收集体系后，应该分类进行资源化和无害化管理。