Comparison of Waste-to-Energy Processes by Means of Life Cycle Analysis Principles regarding the Global Warming Potential Impact: Applied Case Studies in Greece, France and Germany

Kourkoumpas, Dimitrios-Sotirios; Karellas, Sotiriοs; Kouloumoundras, Spiros; Koufodimos, G.; Grammelis, Panagiotis; Kakaras, E.

doi:10.1007/s12649-015-9367-2

Cited by 40 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…a size of around 100 mm in practice). The estimated energy use for mechanical treatment is set at 100 kWh of electricity and 25 kWh of natural gas per ton of MSW (Kourkoumpas et al, 2015). The waste then undergoes drying to a final moisture content of around 10%.…”

Section: Msw Pre-treatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of pyrolysis, gasification and incineration waste-to-energy technologies: Theoretical analysis and case study of commercial plants

Dong

Tang

Nzihou

et al. 2018

Science of The Total Environment

227

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Municipal solid waste (MSW) pyrolysis and gasification are in development, stimulated by a more sustainable waste-to-energy (WtE) option. Since comprehensive comparisons of the existing WtE technologies are fairly rare, this study aims to conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) using two sets of data: theoretical analysis, and case studies of large-scale commercial plants. Seven systems involving thermal conversion (pyrolysis, gasification, incineration) and energy utilization (steam cycle, gas turbine/combined cycle, internal combustion engine) are modeled. Theoretical analysis results show that pyrolysis and gasification, in particular coupled with a gas turbine/combined cycle, have the potential to lessen the environmental loadings. The benefits derive from an improved energy efficiency leading to less fossil-based energy consumption, and the reduced process emissions by syngas combustion. Comparison among the four operating plants (incineration, pyrolysis, gasification, gasification-melting) confirms a preferable performance of the gasification plant attributed to syngas cleaning. The modern incineration is superior over pyrolysis and gasification-melting at present, due to the effectiveness of modern flue gas cleaning, use of combined heat and power (CHP) cycle, and ash recycling. The sensitivity analysis highlights a crucial role of the plant efficiency and pyrolysis char land utilization. The study indicates that the heterogeneity of MSW and syngas purification technologies are the most relevant impediments for the current pyrolysis/gasification-based WtE. Potential development should incorporate into all process aspects to boost the energy efficiency, improve incoming waste quality, and achieve efficient residues management.

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Section: Msw Pre-treatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life cycle assessment of pyrolysis, gasification and incineration waste-to-energy technologies: Theoretical analysis and case study of commercial plants

Dong

Tang

Nzihou

et al. 2018

Science of The Total Environment

227

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“…The examined WtE systems allow for the recovery of energy as electricity and/or heat. The "multi-functional" processes are addressed by the use of system expansion: a same quantity of "avoided" emissions are subtracted from the system, which equal to the emissions that would be emitted, if energy was not recovered by WtE (Kourkoumpas et al, 2015). In appliance with the attributional LCA approach, a mix or average of energy sources in a specified region are used.…”

Section: System Boundaries Functional Unitmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of waste-to-energy technologies of gasification and incineration using life cycle assessment: Case studies in Finland, France and China

Dong

Tang

Nzihou

et al. 2018

Journal of Cleaner Production

145

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Waste-to-Energy (WtE) has gradually constituted one of the most important options to achieve energy recovery from municipal solid waste (MSW). However, the environmental sustainability of a specific WtE system varies with used technologies and geographic differences. As a result, three representative WtE systems are compared using life cycle assessment (LCA): a gasification-based WtE plant in Finland, mechanical-grate incineration in France, and circulating fluidized bed incineration in China. Results show that the overall environmental performance of the gasification system is better than incineration. The use of gasification technology, attributed to an intermediate syngas purification step, can provide benefits of both reducing the stack emissions and increasing the energy efficiency. Regional waste management, especially related to MSW caloric value and emission regulation, are determining factors for a preferable performance of the incineration in France over that in China. Sensitivity and uncertainty analyses further address key variations such as choice of MSW composition, basis of displaced electricity, energy recovery mode, and application of "best-available technology" dedicated to incineration. It is found that the most sensitive parameters influencing the LCA results are: electricity recovery, CO 2 emission, and NO x emission. In the future, use of the source-separated high caloric waste combined with a more stringent emission standard can efficiently improve MSW incineration in China. Bottom ash recycling for metals and materials is highly applicable regarding incineration in France. This presented study can overall contribute to the development of specific WtE technology and local waste management plan for decision-makers.

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“…Table 12. Total energy consumption, annual CO2 emission (using the emission factor 1058.95 kgCO2/MWh e) per electricity mix of Greece [73,74]) and energy savings comparisons between the examined scenarios for the period from 5 February, 2020 to 13 February, 2020.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Tunnel 5a 5a 5b 5b 6a 6a --S1 3857 992 296 0 4604 2942 --S2 3282 3868 1416 0 919 1485 --S3 226 677 302 1056 426 604 --S4 0 0 178 104 0 37 --S5 0 0 50 67 21 16 --Total 7364 5536 2241 1226 5970 5083 --Table 12. Total energy consumption, annual CO 2 emission (using the emission factor 1058.95 kgCO 2 /MWh e) per electricity mix of Greece [73,74]) and energy savings comparisons between the examined scenarios for the period from 5 February, 2020 to 13 February, 2020.…”

Section: Energy Calculationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revision of Threshold Luminance Levels in Tunnels Aiming to Minimize Energy Consumption at No Cost: Methodology and Case Studies

Doulos

Sioutis²,

Tsangrassoulis

et al. 2020

Energies

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Because of the absence of lighting calculation tools at the initial stage of tunnel design, the lighting systems are usually over-dimensioned, leading to over illumination and increased energy consumption. For this reason, a fine-tuning method for switching lighting stages according to the traffic weighted L20 luminance is proposed at no additional cost. The method was applied in a real –case scenario, where L20 luminance of the access zone at eleven (11) existing tunnels was calculated. The traffic weighted method of CR14380 was used in order to calculate the actual luminance levels for the entrance zone. The new transition zone, which decreases luminance curves, was produced and compared with the existing ones. Thus, a new switching control was proposed and programed for the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system of the tunnel. The signals of the corresponding eleven L20 meters for a period of eight days were used and the corresponding annual energy consumptions were calculated using the proposed switching program for each tunnel. The results were compared with a number of scenarios in which the existing lighting system was retrofitted with Lighting Emitting Diodes (LED) luminaires. In these scenarios, the new luminaire arrangement was based not only on the existing luminance demand value for the threshold zone, but also on the newly proposed one with two different control techniques (continuous dimming and 10% step dimming). The fine-tuning method for switching resulted in energy savings between 11% and 54% depending on the tunnel when the scenario of the existing installation at no extra cost was used. Energy savings, when LED luminaires were installed, varied between 57% (for the scenario with existing luminance demand value for the threshold zone and 10% step dimming) and 85% (for the scenario with the new calculated luminance demand and continuous dimming).

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Comparison of Waste-to-Energy Processes by Means of Life Cycle Analysis Principles regarding the Global Warming Potential Impact: Applied Case Studies in Greece, France and Germany

Cited by 40 publications

References 37 publications

Life cycle assessment of pyrolysis, gasification and incineration waste-to-energy technologies: Theoretical analysis and case study of commercial plants

Life cycle assessment of pyrolysis, gasification and incineration waste-to-energy technologies: Theoretical analysis and case study of commercial plants

Comparison of waste-to-energy technologies of gasification and incineration using life cycle assessment: Case studies in Finland, France and China

Revision of Threshold Luminance Levels in Tunnels Aiming to Minimize Energy Consumption at No Cost: Methodology and Case Studies

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