Possibilities and limitations of life cycle assessment (LCA) in the development of waste utilization systems - Applied examples for a region in Northern Germany
- Institute for Recycling and Environmental Protection at Bremen University of Applied Sciences GmbH, Neustadtswall 30, 28199 Bremen (Germany)
Against the background of increasing concerns about climate change, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions has become an integral part of processes in both the waste management and the energy industries. This is reflected in the development of new waste treatment concepts, in which domestic and commercial waste is treated with the aim of utilizing its energy content, while at the same time recycling as much of its material content as possible. Life cycle assessment (LCA) represents a method of assessing the environmental relevance of a waste management system, the basis of which is a material flow analysis of the system in question. GHG emissions from different options for thermal treatment and energy recovery from waste as applied to a region in Northern Germany have been analyzed by the LCA approach and an indicative LCA, which only considers those emissions resulting from operating stages of the system. Operating stages have the main share of emissions compared to pre-processing stages. Results show that through specific separation of waste material flows and highly efficient energy recovery, thermal treatment and energy generation from waste can be optimized resulting in reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases. There are also other areas of waste utilization, currently given little attention, such as the solar drying of sewage sludge, which can considerably contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
- OSTI ID:
- 21217172
- Journal Information:
- Waste Management, Vol. 29, Issue 5; Conference: 1. international conference on environmental management, engineering, planning and economics (CEMEPE), Skiathos (Greece), 24-28 Jun 2007; Other Information: DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2008.11.004; PII: S0956-053X(08)00393-0; Copyright (c) 2008 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands, All rights reserved; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0956-053X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
CLIMATIC CHANGE
EMISSION
ENERGY RECOVERY
FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY
GREENHOUSE GASES
HEAT TREATMENTS
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT
REFUSE DERIVED FUELS
SEWAGE SLUDGE
SOLID WASTES
WASTE PROCESSING
WASTE WATER
WATER TREATMENT