Evaluation of municipal solid waste final disposal scenarios through life cycle assessment and analytic hierarchy process methods (Case study: Tehran)
Subject Areas : environmental management
Somayeh Khan Pouraghdam
1
,
Mehdi Ghanbarzadeh Lak
2
,
Mehrdad Mohtadi
3
,
Mohammad Reza Sabour
4
1 - MSc. in Civil Engineering, Iran. Institute of Water and Energy, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Assistant Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran. * (Corresponding Author)
3 - PhD, Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Maryland, MD, USA.
4 - Associate Professor, Department of Civil & Environmental, K.N. Toosi University of Technology, Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: Municipal Solid Waste Manageme, life cycle assessment, Analytic Hierarchy Process, Greenhouse Gas Emission, Tehran,
Abstract :
Background and Objective: An integrated model of life cycle assessment and hierarchical analysis was developed to determine the best practical method for municipal solid waste disposal. The model used for environmental and technical assessments of scenarios included (A) landfilling of wastes without energy extraction; (B) waste incineration with energy recovery and ash burial; and (C) production of compost from the organic components and landfilling other wastes. Method: In order to conduct environmental assessments, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) was estimated by life cycle of the disposal method. Technical evaluations were carried out based on the hierarchical analysis method and a survey of experts. In order to analyze the results of the proposed model, Tehran city in Iran was selected as a case study. Findings: The highest greenhouse gas emissions occurred in scenario A, and the lowest was associated with scenario B. Maximum discounts on emissions from burning putrescible wastes, paper and cardboards were obtained in scenario B. In contrast, landfilling of such wastes in scenarios A and C was the main source of methane production. Although the incineration of plastic wastes might lead to more energy extraction in scenario B, the generation of non-biological CO2 had an incremental effect on GHG emissions. Scenarios A and C had a relatively high superiority over scenario B from the perspective of most technical criteria, but the probability of leachate in these scenarios reduced their technical advantages. Discussion and Conclusion: Based on the combination of evaluations, the method of landfilling without energy extraction is the most inappropriate option, and waste incineration with energy extraction leads to the lowest greenhouse gas emissions and is technically acceptable.
1- Banar, M., Cokygil, Z., Ozkan, A., 2008, Life cycle assessment of solid waste management options for Eskisehir Turkey, Journal of waste management, pp 1-9.
2- Larry, W., Canter, 1997, Environmental Impact Assessment 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, USA
3- Ghodsypour, S.H., 2007, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), AmirKabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) Publications (In Persian).
4- Zebardast, A., 2002, Application of Analytical Hierarchy Process in Urban and Regional Planning, Honar-Ha-Ye-Ziba, 10, pp 13-21(In Persian).
5- Boroumandi, M., Khamechiyan, M., Nikoodel, M., 2008, Locating hazardous waste landfills using GIS and Multivariate analysis in Zanjan province, 4TH National Congress on Civil Engineering, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran (In Persian).
6- Rebitzer, G., Ekvall, T., Frischknecht, R., Hunkeler, D., Norris, G., Rydberg, T., Schmidt, W.P., Suh, S., Weidema, B.P., Pennington, D.W., 2004, Life cycle assessment Part 1: Framework, goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, and applications, Environment International, 30, pp 701– 720.
7- Arena, U., Mastellone, M.L., Perugini, F., 2003, The environmental performance of alternative solid waste management options: a life cycle assessment study, Chemical Engineering Journal, 96, pp 207–222.
8- Cherubini, F., Bargigli, S., Ulgiati, S., 2008, Life cycle assessment (LCA) of waste management strategies: Landfilling, sorting plant and incineration, Energy, doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2008.08.023.
9- Liamsanguan, C., Gheewala, S.H., 2008, LCA: A decision support tool for environmental assessment of MSW management systems, Journal of Environmental Management, 87, pp 132–138.
10- Rieradevall, J., Domenech, X., Fullana, P., 1997, Application of Life Cycle Assessment to Landfilling, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2 (3), pp 141-144.
11- Weitz, K., Barlaz, M., Ranjithan, R., Brill, D., Thorneloe, S., Ham, R., 1999, Life Cycle Management of Municipal Solid Waste, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 4 (4), pp 193-201.
12- White, P.R., Franke, M.; Hindle, P., 1995, Integrated Solid Waste Management: A Life-cycle Inventory, Aspen Publishers Inc., USA.
13- Chen, T.C., Lin, C.F., 2008, Greenhouse gases emissions from waste management practices using Life Cycle Inventory model, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 155, pp 23–31.
14- Blengini, G.A., 2008, “Using LCA to evaluate impacts and resources conservation potential of composting: A case study of the Asti District in Italy,” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 52, pp 1373–1381.
15- Tehran Waste Management Organization (TWMO), 2003, Statistical Articles of Solid Waste Management in Tehran (In Persian).
16- Riitta Pipatti (Finland), Per Svardal (Norway) & others, 2006, IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Volume 5, Available on: http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol5.html.
17- USEPA, 2002, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks, US Environmental Protection Agency, USA.
18- Pennington, D.W., Potting, J., Finnveden, G., Lindeijer, E., Jolliet, O., Rydberg, T., Rebitzer, G., 2004, Life cycle assessment Part 2: Current impact assessment practice, Environment International, 30, pp 721–739.
19- Goedkoop, M., Oele, M., Schryver, A., Vieira, M., 2008, SimaPro Database Manual Methods library, PRé Consultants, Report version: 2.1, Netherlands.
20- Blengini, G.A., 2008, Using LCA to evaluate impacts and resources conservation potential of composting: A case study of the Asti District in Italy, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 52, pp 1373–1381.
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1- Banar, M., Cokygil, Z., Ozkan, A., 2008, Life cycle assessment of solid waste management options for Eskisehir Turkey, Journal of waste management, pp 1-9.
2- Larry, W., Canter, 1997, Environmental Impact Assessment 2nd ed., McGraw-Hill, USA
3- Ghodsypour, S.H., 2007, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), AmirKabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic) Publications (In Persian).
4- Zebardast, A., 2002, Application of Analytical Hierarchy Process in Urban and Regional Planning, Honar-Ha-Ye-Ziba, 10, pp 13-21(In Persian).
5- Boroumandi, M., Khamechiyan, M., Nikoodel, M., 2008, Locating hazardous waste landfills using GIS and Multivariate analysis in Zanjan province, 4TH National Congress on Civil Engineering, Tehran University, Tehran, Iran (In Persian).
6- Rebitzer, G., Ekvall, T., Frischknecht, R., Hunkeler, D., Norris, G., Rydberg, T., Schmidt, W.P., Suh, S., Weidema, B.P., Pennington, D.W., 2004, Life cycle assessment Part 1: Framework, goal and scope definition, inventory analysis, and applications, Environment International, 30, pp 701– 720.
7- Arena, U., Mastellone, M.L., Perugini, F., 2003, The environmental performance of alternative solid waste management options: a life cycle assessment study, Chemical Engineering Journal, 96, pp 207–222.
8- Cherubini, F., Bargigli, S., Ulgiati, S., 2008, Life cycle assessment (LCA) of waste management strategies: Landfilling, sorting plant and incineration, Energy, doi: 10.1016/j.energy.2008.08.023.
9- Liamsanguan, C., Gheewala, S.H., 2008, LCA: A decision support tool for environmental assessment of MSW management systems, Journal of Environmental Management, 87, pp 132–138.
10- Rieradevall, J., Domenech, X., Fullana, P., 1997, Application of Life Cycle Assessment to Landfilling, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 2 (3), pp 141-144.
11- Weitz, K., Barlaz, M., Ranjithan, R., Brill, D., Thorneloe, S., Ham, R., 1999, Life Cycle Management of Municipal Solid Waste, The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, 4 (4), pp 193-201.
12- White, P.R., Franke, M.; Hindle, P., 1995, Integrated Solid Waste Management: A Life-cycle Inventory, Aspen Publishers Inc., USA.
13- Chen, T.C., Lin, C.F., 2008, Greenhouse gases emissions from waste management practices using Life Cycle Inventory model, Journal of Hazardous Materials, 155, pp 23–31.
14- Blengini, G.A., 2008, “Using LCA to evaluate impacts and resources conservation potential of composting: A case study of the Asti District in Italy,” Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 52, pp 1373–1381.
15- Tehran Waste Management Organization (TWMO), 2003, Statistical Articles of Solid Waste Management in Tehran (In Persian).
16- Riitta Pipatti (Finland), Per Svardal (Norway) & others, 2006, IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, Volume 5, Available on: http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol5.html.
17- USEPA, 2002, Solid Waste Management and Greenhouse Gases A Life-Cycle Assessment of Emissions and Sinks, US Environmental Protection Agency, USA.
18- Pennington, D.W., Potting, J., Finnveden, G., Lindeijer, E., Jolliet, O., Rydberg, T., Rebitzer, G., 2004, Life cycle assessment Part 2: Current impact assessment practice, Environment International, 30, pp 721–739.
19- Goedkoop, M., Oele, M., Schryver, A., Vieira, M., 2008, SimaPro Database Manual Methods library, PRé Consultants, Report version: 2.1, Netherlands.
20- Blengini, G.A., 2008, Using LCA to evaluate impacts and resources conservation potential of composting: A case study of the Asti District in Italy, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 52, pp 1373–1381.
