Variation of toxic pollutants emission during a feeding cycle from an updraft fixed bed gasifier for disposing rural solid waste

The variation of toxic pollutants emission during a feeding cycle was examined by field monitoring from a batch feeding updraft fixed bed gasifier for disposing rural domestic solid waste. Results showed that the content of oxygen in flue gas gradually increased, while SO_2 and HCl in flue gas decreased with time after feeding in a whole feeding cycle. Although large amount of CO was produced during the gasifying, low CO content in flue gas could be obtained after the heat treatment with an electric heating device. The distribution characteristics of dioxin congeners in flue gas indicted the re-synthesis of dioxins after flue gas heating, and the increase of oxygen promoted the synthesis of dioxins. The emission content of dioxins could meet the standard(0.1 ng I-TEQ·m^(-3),GB18458-2014) of China when the oxygen content was controlled below 8.3%. Hence, for a batch feeding gasifier,low oxygen condition should be offered by reducing air intake at the later stage of feeding cycle in order to decrease the re-synthesis of dioxins after the flue gas heating.

Optimal scenario balance of reduction in costs and greenhouse gas emissions for municipal solid waste management

To reduce carbon intensity, an improved management method balancing the reduction in costs and greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions is required for Tianjin's waste management system. Firstly, six objective functions, namely, cost minimization, GHG minimization, eco-efficiency minimization, cost maximization, GHG maximization and eco-efficiency maximization, are built and subjected to the same constraints with each objective function corresponding to one scenario. Secondly, GHG emissions and costs are derived from the waste flow of each scenario. Thirdly, the range of GHG emissions and costs of other potential scenarios are obtained and plotted through adjusting waste flow with infinitely possible step sizes according to the correlation among the above six scenarios. And the optimal scenario is determined based on this range. The results suggest the following conclusions. 1) The scenarios located on the border between scenario cost minimization and GHG minimization create an optimum curve, and scenario GHG minimization has the smallest eco-efficiency on the curve; 2) Simple pursuit of eco-efficiency minimization using fractional programming may be unreasonable; 3) Balancing GHG emissions from incineration and landfills benefits Tianjin's waste management system as it reduces GHG emissions and costs.

Comparative Study on Distributed Waste Pyrolysis Cold Emission Energy Station and Incineration Power Generation

The proper terminal disposal of organic solid waste such as domestic waste is a worldwide issue.Landfill covers a large area,with limited capacity,and a single landfill will be filled one day;incineration is costly to build and operate.These methods all need to transfer and centralized treatment,and secondary pollution is difficult to control,against the purification law of the nature."NIMBY effect"is very serious,and the social cost of treatment is increasing,becoming a heavy financial burden."The Distributed Waste Pyrolysis Cold Emission Energy Station"developed by Hunan Zhongzhou Energy-Saving Technology Co.,Ltd.overcomes these disadvantages and constructs a more appropriate environmental economic industrial chain for the treatment of organic solid waste such as urban and rural household waste.Based on its technical characteristics,this paper compares it with waste incineration power generation project in the aspects of secondary pollution control,treatment effect,energy utilization,investment and operation economy,etc.

An efficient methodology for utilization of K-feldspar and phosphogypsum with reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions

The issues of reducing CO_2 emissions, sustainably utilizing natural mineral resources, and dealing with industrial waste offer challenges for sustainable development in energy and the environment. We propose an efficient methodology via the co-reaction of K-feldspar and phosphogypsum for the extraction of soluble potassium salts and recovery of SO_2 with reduced CO_2 emission and energy consumption. The results of characterization and reactivity evaluation indicated that the partial melting of K-feldspar and phosphogypsum in the hightemperature co-reaction significantly facilitated the reduction of phosphogypsum to SO_2 and the exchange of K^+(K-feldspar) with Ca^(2+)(CaSO_4 in phosphogypsum). The reaction parameters were systematically investigated with the highest sulfur recovery ratio of ~ 60% and K extraction ratio of ~ 87.7%. This novel methodology possesses an energy consumption reduction of ~ 28% and CO_2 emission reduction of ~ 55% comparing with the present typical commercial technologies for utilization of K-feldspar and the treatment of phosphogypsum.

Characterization of odorous charge and photochemical reactivity of VOC emissions from a full-scale food waste treatment plant in China

Food waste treatment plants （FWTPs） are usually associated with odorous nuisance and health risks, which are partially caused by volatile organic compound （VOC） emissions. This study investigated the VOC emissions from a selected full-scale FWTP in China. The feedstock used in this plant was mainly collected from local restaurants. For a year, the FWTP was closely monitored on specific days in each season. Four major indoor treatment units of the plant, including the storage room, sorting/crushing room, hydrothermal hydrolysis unit, and aerobic fermentation unit, were chosen as the monitoring locations. The highest mean concentration of total VOC emissions was observed in the aerobic fermentation unit at 21,748.2-31,283.3 μg/m^3, followed by the hydrothermal hydrolysis unit at 10,798.1-23,144.4 μg/m^3. The detected VOC families included biogenic compounds （oxygenated compounds, hydrocarbons, terpenes, and organosulfur compounds） and abiogenic compounds （aromatic hydrocarbons and halocarbons）. Oxygenated compounds, particularly alcohols, were the most abundant compounds in all samples. With the use of odor index analysis and principal components analysis, the hydrothermal hydrolysis and aerobic fermentation units were clearly distinguished from the pre-treatment units, as characterized by their higher contributions to odorous nuisance. Methanthiol was the dominant odorant in the hydrothermal hydrolysis unit, whereas aldehyde was the dominant odorant in the aerobic fermentation unit. Terpenes, specifically limonene, had the highest level of propylene equivalent concentration during the monitoring periods. This concentration can contribute to the increase in the atmospheric reactivity and ozone formation potential in the surrounding air.

Greenhouse gas emission and its potential mitigation process from the waste sector in a large-scale exhibition

As one of the largest human activities, World Expo is an important source of anthropogenic Greenhouse Gas emission（GHG）, and the GHG emission and other environmental impacts of the Expo Shanghai 2010, where around 59,397 tons of waste was generated during 184 Expo running days, were assessed by life cycle assessment（LCA）. Two scenarios, i.e., the actual and expected figures of the waste sector, were assessed and compared, and 124.01 kg CO2-equivalent（CO2-eq.）, 4.43 kg SO2-eq., 4.88 kg NO-3-eq., and 3509 m3 water per ton tourist waste were found to be released in terms of global warming（GW）, acidification（AC）,nutrient enrichment（NE） and spoiled groundwater resources（SGWR）, respectively. The total GHG emission was around 3499 ton CO2-eq. from the waste sector in Expo Park, among which 86.47% was generated during the waste landfilling at the rate of 107.24 kg CO2-eq.,and CH4, CO and other hydrocarbons（HC） were the main contributors. If the waste sorting process had been implemented according to the plan scenario, around 497 ton CO2-eq.savings could have been attained. Unlike municipal solid waste, with more organic matter content, an incineration plant is more suitable for tourist waste disposal due to its high heating value, from the GHG reduction perspective.

Primary and secondary organic aerosol in an urban/industrial site: Sources, health implications and the role of plastic enriched waste burning

PM_(1)0 samples were collected from an urban/industrial site nearby Athens,where uncontrolled burning activities occur.PAHs,monocarboxylic,dicarboxylic,hydroxycarboxylic and aromatic acids,tracers from BVOC oxidation,biomass burning tracers and bisphenol A were determined.PAH,monocarboxylic acids,biomass burning tracers and bisphenol A were increased during autumn/winter,while BSOA tracers,dicarboxylic-and hydroxycarboxylic acids during summer.Regarding aromatic acids,different sources and formation mechanisms were indicated as benzoic,phthalic and trimellitic acids were peaked during summer whereas p-toluic,isophthalic and terephthalic were more abundant during autumn/winter.The Benzo[a]pyrene-equivalent carcinogenic power,carcinogenic and mutagenic activities were calculated showing significant(p<0.05)increases during the colder months.Palmitic,succinic and malic acids were the most abundant monocarboxylic,dicarboxylic and hydrocarboxylic acids during the entire sampling period.Isoprene oxidation was the most significant contributor to BSOA as the isoprene-SOA compounds were two times more abundant than the pinene-SOA(13.4±12.3 and 6.1±2.9 ng/m^3,respectively).Ozone has significant impact on the formation of many studied compounds showing significant correlations with:isoprene-SOA(r=0.77),hydrocarboxylic acids(r=0.69),pinene-SOA(r=0.63),dicarboxylic acids(r=0.58),and the sum of phthalic,benzoic and trimellitic acids(r=0.44).PCA demonstrated five factors that could explain sources including plastic enriched waste burning(30.8%),oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids(23.0%),vehicle missions and cooking(9.2%),biomass burning(7.7%)and oxidation of VOCs(5.8%).The results highlight the significant contribution of plastic waste uncontrolled burning to the overall air quality degradation.