Steps towards more environmentally sustainable municipal solid waste management – A life cycle assessment study of São Paulo
Liikanen, Miia; Havukainen, Jouni; Ednilson, Viana; Horttanainen, Mika (2018)
Publishers version
Liikanen, Miia
Havukainen, Jouni
Ednilson, Viana
Horttanainen, Mika
2018
Journal of Cleaner Production
196
20 September 2018
150-162
Elsevier
School of Energy Systems
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2018062626459
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2018062626459
Tiivistelmä
Landfill disposal has thus far been the predominant treatment method for municipal solid waste (MSW) throughout Brazil, including São Paulo city. Environmentally sustainable development of MSW management in São Paulo necessitates a stepwise reduction of landfilling. However, ever increasing MSW generation poses the challenge of managing increasing MSW volumes while simultaneously modernizing the MSW management system. In this study, the environmental impacts of the current MSW management system and future alternatives in the city were assessed by means of life cycle assessment (LCA) to determine a pathway towards more environmentally sustainable MSW management. The assessed impact categories were global warming, acidification and eutrophication potentials. Potential future alternatives included the stepwise reduction of landfilling by the introduction of composting, anaerobic digestion and mechanical-biological treatment (MBT). The results of the study indicated that the environmental impacts of MSW management in São Paulo can be most effectively diminished by anaerobic digestion of source separated organic waste and MBT of MSW, on condition that the produced refuse-derived fuel (RDF) is utilized in cement production as a substitute for coal. The other utilization option for RDF, incineration, would increase the environmental impacts of MSW management due to the low amount of avoided emissions resulting from electricity substitution since average electricity production in Brazil is dominated by hydropower. Sensitivity analyses indicated, however, that the environmental impacts of incineration might decrease with different modeling assumptions, e.g. the modeling assumption regarding the kind of electricity production substituted by electricity production from MSW. Nevertheless, the main findings of the study remained the same and they are in line with the previous literature.
Lähdeviite
Liikanen, M., Havukainen, J., Ednilson, V., Horttanainen, M. (2018). Steps towards more environmentally sustainable municipal solid waste management – A life cycle assessment study of São Paulo, Brazil. Journal of Cleaner Production, Vol 196, Sep. p. 150-162. DOI:10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.06.005.
Alkuperäinen verkko-osoite
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652618316536?via%3DihubKokoelmat
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