012
Original Article
Waste Management & Research
30(4) 432441
The Author(s) 2012
Reprints and permission:
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DOI: 10.1177/0734242X11433530
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Abstract
Although municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal in Europe and other developed countries has led to a widespread production of
solid recovered fuel (SRF) and its incineration in various technical combustion processes, such developments have not yet occurred
that widely in developing and transitional economies. This article puts mass-burn technologies and SRF into a China perspective,
reviewing issues from technology application problems to emerging trends and future perspectives. Over the last two decades, growing
waste volumes have prompted a move to waste incineration, especially in the large densely populated first-tier cities. However, with
an organic fraction above 70% and a resulting water content of up to 65%, it is still argued that MSW in China is too moist for
incineration. The introduction of mechanical biological treatment (MBT) or mechanical physical stabilization (MPS) technology for
SRF production could provide the solution, either by offering further pre-drying options to mass-burn incinerators or by creating SRF
to be burnt in co-incineration plants. First experiences of MBT and MPS technologies show promising results in terms of the capacity
to deal with organic waste fractions, but the further disposal/utilization of the plants output stream has not yet been fully addressed.
Keywords
Energy recovery, China, MSW disposal, solid recovered fuel, mechanical biological treatment, mechanical physical stabilization,
technology transfer
and second- or third-tier municipalities. For example, MSW generation lies at 310 kg capita1 year1 in Beijing (Li et al., 2009),
or 405 kg capita1 year1 in Shanghai (Zhu et al., 2009), 394 kg
capita1 year1 in Chongqing (Yuan et al., 2006), 427 kg capita1
year1 in Hangzhou (Zhao et al., 2009) and 485 kg capita1 year1
in Hong Kong (Ko and Poon, 2009). Also contrary to most
European countries, municipal waste in China is not segregated
in the household and collected separately. MSW in China contains cooking briquette ashes, household waste, kitchen residues,
garden waste from public parks and green areas, street cleaning
waste and even rubble from construction sites (Figure 1). In a
2009 study comparing Chinese to European MSW fractions,
Raninger (2009) found that wet organic waste (food and kitchen
waste) accounted for 78% of MSW (compared to the respective
European figure of 12%), dry organic waste (wood, paper, yard
waste, composites) made up for 10% versus 47 % in Europe, and
non-biodegradable waste (plastic, metal, glass, ash) came to 12%
compared to a share of 41 % in European MSW (Raninger, 2009).
1Universitt
2Fachhochschule
Corresponding author:
Thomas Dorn, Celebrity Garden C 58, Che Xin Rd. 2, 201612
Shanghai, P. R. China
Email: Thomas.dorn@uni-rostock.de
433
Dorn et al.
One reason for this waste characteristic is the efficient recycling rate achieved by private waste pickers working in the informal recycling sector. The vast majority of materials with a
commercial value (cardboard, paper, plastic, wood, glass, etc.), is
collected prior to entering the MSW stream (Dorn et al., 2010b).
The commercial value of these recyclables is shown in Table 1.
The consequence is that the public sanitation bureaus in
charge of MSW disposal are left with the non-valuable kitchen
and street cleaning waste. This is a strain on their financial
resources as money is required to dispose of the waste, but hardly
any revenue can be achieved.
From 2003 to 2006 the number of waste treatment and disposal facilities shrank by 27%, from 574 to 413 facilities. Total
Figure 1. Residual waste composition in Shanghai & Hefei (Source: Chen et al., 2005; Dorn et al., 2010b).
Table 1. Market prices for recyclables (Source: Dorn et al., 2010b).
Material
aPrices
bPrices
434
Table 2. Waste incineration plants for MSW in China 2009 (Source: Dorn et al., 2010a; Yang, 2007).
Technology
Plants
Furnaces
Output (MW)
Generators
Stoker Grate
international
local
Fluidized-bed
international
local
Others
Total
32
27
5
15
4
11
14
61
28 200
24 470
3 730
11 300
4 300
7 000
7 225
46 725
83
68
15
36
12
24
32
151
441
386
55
261
75
186
25
702
46
39
7
26
8
18
5
77
435
Dorn et al.
Figure 2. Waste-to-energy with grate and fluidized bed furnaces (Source: Dorn et al., 2010b).
436
Figure 3. Schematic diagram of Changchun incineration facility (Reproduced from Cheng et al., 2007 with permission from
American Chemical Society).
through the waste inlet. In order to allow for further drying and
longer combustion time, an extension in the length of the stoker
grates is usually found in Chinese WTE plants, from the standard
European 78 m to up to 12 m in length. Last but not least, insulation walls have been reinforced to up to double their European
thickness in order to keep thermal losses to a minimum.
Parallel to these developments, the effective localization of
the manufacturing of components led to a significant reduction in
costs. Stoker grate technology made in China (e.g. Weiming) is
now available at 29 000 Mg1 day1 (at September 2011
exchange rates), about 40% of the initial cost.
Similar to the grate technology, and as an innovative response
to the implementation problems described above, China adapted
fluidized bed furnaces to implement waste-co-firing. Beijing
Qinghua University (Dorn et al., 2008) and Hangzhou Zhejiang
University (Buekens et al., 2011) are leaders in that field. At
Beijing Qinghua University, innovative incineration technology
has been developed by local engineers adapting Western technology to enhance the operational efficiency of equipment in China.
The developments led to the creation of four new patented technologies. The potential impact of these innovations along with
other Chinese innovations in this sector spans beyond China,
enhancing waste treatment options for the developing world as a
whole. The technology designed at Qinghua University and
implemented in Changchun combines the best of both models:
the foreign stoker grate technology as well as the fluidized bed
design. This results in a technology that can cope with high water
content while requiring only minimal waste sorting and that
makes it highly relevant for application not just in China, but also
in other developing countries. The grate design of the integrated
dryer and feeder in Changchun allows MSW to be fed and dried
simultaneously. Cheng et al. (2007) describe the three drying
stages used to reduce moisture content to less than 10% before
437
Dorn et al.
438
Table 3. Combustibles in ten-year-old MSW from Laogang Landfill (dry basis, impurities included) (Chen et al., 2007).
Component
C (%)
N (%)
H (%)
S (%)
Cl (%)
O (%)
Plastic
Rubber
Wood and bamboo
Clothes and fabric
77.21
46.54
42.67
57.78
< 0.3
< 0.3
1.035
< 0.3
12.36
5.2
6.01
6.72
3.305
4.235
3.19
2.305
0.425
0.407
0.365
0.184
14.52
40.85
25.59
MBT plants
One pilot project started in 2007 is the biological treatment plant
for MSW in Gaobeidian city (Hebei Province). It was contracted
by a German-Chinese joint venture, designed by the Technical
University of Braunschweig (Department of Waste and Resources
Management), and financed with assistance from the KfW development bank. The facility was approved as a lighthouse project
for GHG mitigation by the German Federal Ministry of
Environment in 2009, and funded by the German governments
439
Dorn et al.
international climate initiative. The facility is scheduled to go
into operation in 2011, with an annual treatment capacity of
40000 Mg MSW. The total emission reduction is expected to
amount to 80 000250 000 Mg CO2 equivalents over a 10-year
period (Klsch et al., 2011).
The MBT plant will consist of a mechanical and a biological
treatment step to segregate valuable fractions (paper, plastics),
and enrich the organic content. The waste stream is to be split
into three fractions (fine, medium, and coarse). Based on the
waste analysis conducted, the medium fraction is expected to
consist mainly of organic materials after going through manual
sorting stations along with the coarse fractions. This is to be converted into compost. The fine fraction will undergo biological
treatment (aerobic, actively ventilated stabilization) prior to final
disposal, potentially as an additional landfill cover. Biological
treatment will generate a stabilized biomass with an expected respiration activity of less than 5 mg O2 kg1. The coarse fraction is
to be crushed and fed back into the waste stream or directly disposed of at the landfill site (Klsch et al., 2011). Earlier experiences by agricultural enterprises with waste-derived compost
have been disappointing, as the non-segregated collection leads
to a high contamination with pollutants and heavy metals. As
such, it is highly unlikely that compost from Gaobeidian will be
further utilized, for example as a fertilizer. At best, it may be used
as backfill material or end up in a landfill.
In 2009 Shanghai city started its own MBT project in the
south-western district of Songjiang, with design and engineering
input by Tongji University experts. The author, living just 3 km
east of the plant, got a chance to visit the nearly finished plant in
July 2011. A 64 000 m plot to house the newly built plant was
chosen adjacent to the Songjiang landfill. The plant is comprised
of a waste delivery section and a bag cutting section with a pre-
separation line to sort out inert waste fractions as well as nonorganics. The non-organic material is further led through sieves
and separation steps, so that plastic materials can be gathered for
recycling in the plastics industries. Other waste fractions such as
paper, rubber, textiles and wood chips are used for SRF production. Organic materials are transferred to the large rotting hall
where, heaped into clamps, the waste rots for a period of 17 days.
Ventilation is provided through a grate system on the floor, which
is also used to drain leachate. To avoid foul odours, the halls air
is extracted via a suction system installed under the roof and fed
into bio-filters filled with wood chips. Following this treatment,
material is sieved again and packed as compost. Leakage water
from the organics is collected underground and channelled into a
wastewater treatment plant with bio-gas generation. It is envisaged that the biogas can fuel a gas engine and generate power to
lower the electricity costs of the plant (Lu et al., 2011).
The plant capacity is designed to dispose of up to 1500 Mg
day1 of MSW. The expected output of SRF is between 100 and
200 Mg day1, plastic material for recycling 100 to 200 Mg d1,
and up to 100 Mg d1 of compost. The water treatment plant is
designed to clean up to 800 Mg d1 of leachate, reflecting the
needs brought on by waste which can show a water content of up
to 70%. Operators are still unsure what will become of the
MPS plants
Another German company is about to conclude a partnership with
the Shenyang and the Hefei municipal governments to establish a
MPS plant using mechanical physical treatment. Aim of the technology is to produce high calorific SRF out of Chinese MSW with
non-separated organic fractions that contain a high humidity prior
to treatment. After treatment, during which an important step is the
drying of wet organic fractions in a revolving drum dryer by hot
flue gases from a power station, and production of SRF, the SRF is
to be burned in the neighbouring coal-fired power station. As coalfired power stations generate a lot of heat that otherwise would be
wasted, such waste-heat is well suited to being utilized for the
mechanical-physical processes, meaning no additional fuel is
required to dry the wet organic waste fractions. This further
enhances the climatic efficiency as well as the energy efficiency of
the whole waste treatment system. Reference plants of the German
supplier are already in operation in the north of Germanys capital,
Berlin (Schu and Schu, 2007).
In Shenyang as well as Hefei, processes are being adapted to
consider the particularities of Chinese MSW and reach commercial viability. This relates to both, the waste-heat utilization in the
drying of wet organic components, as well as reducing energy
consumption in the shredding and blending processes.
Furthermore, the SRF should substitute costly primary fuel; pricing versus the coal costs will have to be fixed between the
partners.
440
particular, SRF is still at the very beginning of market penetration. First studies have been undertaken by Tongji University and
others, and several European waste disposal entities are considering the technical and economic viability (Lu et al., 2011). The
conditioning steps for the waste input, both before and after biological treatment, have been an area of performance enhancement too. Improvements in biodegradability and the drying of
wet bio-organics have enabled the efficient exploitation of the
high calorific fraction in industrial combustion plants (Nelles et al.,
2011). The first results look promising, with SRF potentially
offering a solution to chronically wet municipal waste, enhancing
calorific value, and getting rid of organic content. Other input
improvements have come in the form of optimization of MSW
separation prior to the creation of the SRF (e.g. separating ferrous
and non-ferrous metals), thereby enhancing the energy efficiency
of the entire process and making it more environmentally friendly.
Beyond the economic view, the resulting climate and resource
protection should also be factored into the equation. Indeed, the
most energy-effective design should be the aim. The degree of
efficiency of a combustion facility is an essential part of this, as
the higher the effectiveness, the more energy will be converted
into electricity and steam. The efficiency of industrial combustion plants or large power plants is usually higher than the efficiency of waste incineration plants. As such, the co-incineration
of SRF should be further developed. Present ecological balance
studies also conclude that CO2 reduction is higher when the
energy input is used more efficiently (Plchl et al., 2008).
Nevertheless, one must not forget that incineration and
mass-burning (energy-from-waste) incinerators, a term coined
by the local Chinese media, are controversial issues today. Even
in China, where public opposition to government projects is
scarce, an anti-incineration movement has formed in many of
the large first-tier cities. In industrialized countries, several
jurisdictions have decided against incineration, instead looking
to other emerging thermal treatment methods such as fixed-bed
gasification, fluidized bed gasification, and pyrolysis. Critics
state that these options have similar drawbacks to regular incinerators and energy-from-waste plants. All of these technologies
emit exhaust gases into the environment, thus requiring an elaborate flue gas cleaning process to mitigate risks from pollutants.
The transfer and implementation of these technologies must not
be forgotten or underestimated when promoting MBT and MPS
technologies to further SRF incineration or SRF co-incineration
in China.
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in
the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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