Comparison of municipal solid waste treatment technologies from a life cycle perspective in China

Abstract

China has endured the increasing generation of municipal solid waste; hence, environmental analysis of current waste management systems is of crucial importance. This article presents a comprehensive life cycle assessment of three waste treatment technologies practiced in Hangzhou, China: landfill with and without energy recovery, and incineration with waste-to-energy. Adopting region-specific data, the study covers various environmental impacts, such as global warming, acidification, nutrient enrichment, photochemical ozone formation, human toxicity and ecotoxicity. The results show that energy recovery poses a positive effect in environmental savings. Environmental impacts decrease significantly in landfill with the utilization of biogas owing to combined effects by emission reduction and electricity generation. Incineration is preferable to landfill, but toxicity-related impacts also need to be improved. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis shows that the benefit of carbon sequestration will noticeably decrease global warming potential of both landfill scenarios. Gas collection efficiency is also a key parameter influencing the performance of landfill. Based on the results, improvement methods are proposed. Energy recovery is recommended both in landfill and incineration. For landfill, gas collection systems should be upgraded effectively; for incineration, great efforts should be made to reduce heavy metals and dioxin emissions.

Recycling of Communal Waste: Current State and Future Potential for Sustainable Development in the EU

“…For example, China is considered as a country where the concept of a circular economy is obtaining an inreasingly important position, not only in research areas, but also at the political level [54]. Dong et al [55] studied the development of municipal solid waste in China based on used technologies. However, as the circular economy has been defined for advanced economies primarily, it would not be entirely valid for the rest of the world, which must endure the externalities of developed economies [36].…”

Model development of sustainability assessment from a life cycle perspective: A case study on waste management systems in China

“…The total approximated amount of the released landfill gas is 125.6 m 3 per t-MSW. Methane accounts for 54.5% of the total gas (Dong et al, 2014a). The landfill gas in scenario 1 is emitted to atmosphere directly, whereas in scenario 2, 70% of landfill gas is collected and directed to a gas engine for electricity production with an efficiency of 39.1% (Dong et al, 2014a).…”

Environmental performance evolution of municipal solid waste management by life cycle assessment in Hangzhou, China

“…The carbon content of different waste types is summarized in Table A.2SM and the DOC f is assumed to be 1. In Tianziling landfill, 54.5% volume of the landfill gas is CH 4 (CO 2 45%) and 65% of generated CH 4 is recovered and converted into electricity at an efficiency of 39.1% by a gas engine (Dong et al, 2014). A set of wastewater treatment equipment is installed and leachate is directly discharged to the city's sewage treatment system after purification.…”

“…Until now, LCA has been conducted in various waste management systems. Dong et al (2014) compared the incineration, landfill with and without energy recovery and concluded the incineration was more suitable for MSWM. Havukainen et al (2017) suggested that refuse derived fuel (RDF) production could improve the environmental impacts on waste incineration based on LCA results.…”