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The Evaluation of Energy Consumption in Transportation and Processing of Municipal Waste for Recovery in A Waste-To-Energy Plant A Case Study of Poland

Piotr Nowakowski, Mariusz Wala

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Abstract

Abstract Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) can be produced from combustible materials contained in municipal waste. After pre-treatment of waste it is possible shipping RDF a waste-to-energy plant (WtE). This article investigates energy and material flow of waste for different scenarios for production of RDF from bulky waste, separately collected waste, and mixed municipal solid waste (MSW). We compare the proportion of energy consumption in transportation, handling waste, and processing using data from the waste collection company in the South of Poland. The findings show the components of the reverse supply chain consuming the highest value of the energy. A model of material and energy flow has taken into consideration collection of waste and transportation by two categories of waste collection vehicles light commercial vehicles and garbage trucks. The shipping of RDF from pre-treatment facility uses – tipper semi-trailers and walking floor trailers. The findings of the study show production of RDF from municipal solid waste is consuming almost 10% of energy potential in RDF. Less energy is required for the production of RDF from bulky waste 2.2% – 4.8% or separately collected waste 1.7% – 4.1% depending on the efficiency of collection and selected vehicles. The transportation is consuming greatest portion of energy. For mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) it can reach 79%, for separated collection waste 90% and for bulky waste up to 92% of the total energy consumed. Comparing emissions for two categories of the collection vehicles there is no significant difference for the bulky waste collections. For mixed MSW and separately collected waste the emissions are higher for garbage trucks. As a recommendation for practitioners is optimization of routing to achieve higher collection rate for minimized route length. Transportation of RDF to WtE plant the vehicles with higher loading capacity are essential.

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Abstract Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) can be produced from combustible materials contained in municipal waste. After pre-treatment of waste it is possible shipping RDF a waste-to-energy plant (WtE). This article investigates energy and material flow of waste for different scenarios for production of RDF from bulky waste, separately collected waste, and mixed municipal solid waste (MSW). We compare the proportion of energy consumption in transportation, handling waste, and processing using data from the waste collection company in the South of Poland. The findings show the components of the reverse supply chain consuming the highest value of the energy. A model of material and energy flow has taken into consideration collection of waste and transportation by two categories of waste collection vehicles light commercial vehicles and garbage trucks. The shipping of RDF from pre-treatment facility uses – tipper semi-trailers and walking floor trailers. The findings of the study show production of RDF from municipal solid waste is consuming almost 10% of energy potential in RDF. Less energy is required for the production of RDF from bulky waste 2.2% – 4.8% or separately collected waste 1.7% – 4.1% depending on the efficiency of collection and selected vehicles. The transportation is consuming greatest portion of energy. For mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) it can reach 79%, for separated collection waste 90% and for bulky waste up to 92% of the total energy consumed. Comparing emissions for two categories of the collection vehicles there is no significant difference for the bulky waste collections. For mixed MSW and separately collected waste the emissions are higher for garbage trucks. As a recommendation for practitioners is optimization of routing to achieve higher collection rate for minimized route length. Transportation of RDF to WtE plant the vehicles with higher loading capacity are essential.

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Available abstract

Abstract Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) can be produced from combustible materials contained in municipal waste. After pre-treatment of waste it is possible shipping RDF a waste-to-energy plant (WtE). This article investigates energy and material flow of waste for different scenarios for production of RDF from bulky waste, separately collected waste, and mixed municipal solid waste (MSW). We compare the proportion of energy consumption in transportation, handling waste, and processing using data from the waste collection company in the South of Poland. The findings show the components of the reverse supply chain consuming the highest value of the energy. A model of material and energy flow has taken into consideration collection of waste and transportation by two categories of waste collection vehicles light commercial vehicles and garbage trucks. The shipping of RDF from pre-treatment facility uses – tipper semi-trailers and walking floor trailers. The findings of the study show production of RDF from municipal solid waste is consuming almost 10% of energy potential in RDF. Less energy is required for the production of RDF from bulky waste 2.2% – 4.8% or separately collected waste 1.7% – 4.1% depending on the efficiency of collection and selected vehicles. The transportation is consuming greatest portion of energy. For mixed municipal solid waste (MSW) it can reach 79%, for separated collection waste 90% and for bulky waste up to 92% of the total energy consumed. Comparing emissions for two categories of the collection vehicles there is no significant difference for the bulky waste collections. For mixed MSW and separately collected waste the emissions are higher for garbage trucks. As a recommendation for practitioners is optimization of routing to achieve higher collection rate for minimized route length. Transportation of RDF to WtE plant the vehicles with higher loading capacity are essential.

Key concepts: Energy consumption, Waste management, Consumption (sociology), Waste-to-energy, Energy (signal processing), Municipal solid waste, Environmental science, Waste recycling

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