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

Ola Eriksson and Göran Finnveden
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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

Energies, 2017, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-18

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.

Keywords: waste; incineration; CHP; efficiency; avoided fuel; natural gas; biofuel; CO 2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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