Study on the Emission Characteristics of Pollutants During the Waste-to-Energy Process of Landfill Waste and Municipal Solid Waste

Zongao Zhen, Xianchao Xiang and Xiaodong Li ()
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Zongao Zhen: State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Institute for Thermal Power Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Xianchao Xiang: State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Institute for Thermal Power Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China
Xiaodong Li: State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, Institute for Thermal Power Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-24

Abstract: As landfill mining becomes more widely applied, growing attention is being paid to the waste-to-energy conversion of landfill waste. Co-disposal of landfill waste with municipal solid waste represents one of the primary strategies for achieving energy recovery of landfill waste. In this paper, the emission characteristics of pollutants were systematically analyzed during the co-disposal of landfill waste and municipal solid waste in a full-scale municipal solid waste incineration. The study investigated the formation patterns of toxic PCDD/Fs and gaseous pollutants under different co-disposal ratios of landfill waste (0%, 15%, 25%, 35%, and 45%). In total, 136 PCDD/Fs were analyzed to investigate the influence of co-disposal ratios on PCDD/F formation in both flue gas and fly ash. The influence of varying co-disposal ratios on the phase and elemental composition of fly ash was also investigated. Co-disposal led to a significant reduction in the toxic PCDD/F concentration at the boiler outlet, mainly attributed to the higher sulfur content of LW compared to MSW. With increasing co-disposal ratios, the annual emission amounts of toxic PCDD/Fs in fly ash significantly increased. The ∑PCDD/∑PCDF ratio in both flue gas of boiler outlet and fly ash also increased, indicating an enhancement of the precursor formation pathway, while the de novo synthesis pathway was relatively suppressed. The fly ash exhibited a high proportion of highly chlorinated dioxins (degree of chlorination: 7.19–7.23), likely due to their low saturated vapor pressure. According to the Hagenmaier congener distribution, high co-disposal ratios (25–45%) suppressed the chlorination of DD/DF in fly ash but promoted the formation of gas-phase PCDFs. Different co-disposal ratios significantly influenced both the emission concentrations and removal efficiencies of air pollutants, including NOx, SO 2 , and HCl. Although co-disposal did not alter the crystalline phase composition of fly ash, it led to an increased content of heavy metals such as Cu, Hg, and Pb.

Keywords: municipal solid waste; landfill waste; waste-to-energy; pollutant emission; PCDD/F formation (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: 2025
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