Waste Manag Res. 2021 Nov 25;734242X211060607. doi: 10.1177/0734242X211060607. Epub 2021 Nov 25.

Mini-review of waste-to-energy related air pollution and their limit value regulations in an international comparison.

Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA

Isla Hodgkinson, Roman Maletz, Franz-Georg Simon, Christina Dornack

PMID: 34823392 DOI: 10.1177/0734242X211060607

Abstract

The concept of circular economy supports mitigation of climate change and other environmental pressures to the planet. Circulating materials in anthropogenic processes come with the risk of accumulating hazardous substances and compounds. In this concept, waste incineration or waste-to-energy (WtE) is a necessary technology to remove these compounds from the life cycle. In this mini-review, contaminants of major importance in the flue gas from waste incineration plants and their environmental impact are discussed. Air pollution of WtE is often seen as the most relevant environmental impact of this treatment option. The emission values parameter set for different countries is presented and compared. The most stringent legally set of emission values could be found in parts of Europe and South Korea. Japan also permits similar strict values when authorising individual incineration plants. In North America, the values are partially less strict as the best available technologies in Europe suggest being possible. Emerging economies, such as India and China, have shown efforts to improve their environmental protection standards but still have room to improve. This could be set in relation to other industrial emitting processes and therefore could be used to assess the relevance of this industry sector to the national emission inventories.

Keywords: Waste incineration; air pollution control; emission; limit values; regulation; waste-to-energy

Publication Types

• Journal Article