Combined Gasification-Oxidation System for Waste Treatment with Supercritical Water: LCA and Performance Analysis

Pasquale Iannotta, Giuseppe Caputo, Francesca Scargiali, Sonia Longo, Maurizio Cellura and Alberto Brucato
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Pasquale Iannotta: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Sezione Chimica Biomedica Idraulica e dei Materiali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Giuseppe Caputo: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Sezione Chimica Biomedica Idraulica e dei Materiali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Francesca Scargiali: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Sezione Chimica Biomedica Idraulica e dei Materiali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Sonia Longo: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Sezione Energia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Maurizio Cellura: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Sezione Energia, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
Alberto Brucato: Dipartimento di Ingegneria, Sezione Chimica Biomedica Idraulica e dei Materiali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: In this study the environmental performance of a first-of-its-kind integrated process based on supercritical water gasification and oxidation (SCW-GcO), was evaluated using life cycle assessment (LCA). The process was applied to the treatment of carbon black and used oil as model wastes. Mass and energy balances were performed using Aspen Plus, and the environmental assessment was carried out through SimaPro. A “from cradle to grave” approach was chosen for the analysis, considering impact categories such as climate change, ozone depletion, human toxicity, particulate matter, land use, resource depletion, and other relevant indicators. The environmental profile of the SCW-GcO process was compared to other technologies for the treatment of dangerous wastes, solvent mixtures, and exhaust mineral oils by using the Ecoinvent database. It is shown that SCW-GcO allows for reduced impacts in different categories and the obtention of a favorable positive life cycle energy balance, achieving good environmental performance.

Keywords: supercritical water; life cycle assessment; waste treatments (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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