This Article Full Text (OnlineFirst PDF) All Versions of this Article: 0734242X09350787v1 27/9/928    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Papageorgiou, A. Articles by Barton, J. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Papageorgiou, A. Articles by Barton, J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Municipal solid waste management scenarios for Attica and their greenhouse gas emission impact

¹ Laboratory of Heat Transfer and Environmental Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
² School of Civil Engineering The University of Leeds

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: apapa{at}aix.meng.auth.gr.

	Abstract

Disposal of municipal solid waste in sanitary landfills is still the main waste management method in the Attica region, as in most regions of Greece. Nevertheless, diversion from landfilling is being promoted by regional plans, in which the perspectives of new waste treatment technologies are being evaluated. The present study aimed to assess the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions impact of different municipal solid waste treatment technologies currently under assessment in the new regional plan for Attica. These technologies are mechanical–biological treatment, mass-burn incineration and mechanical treatment and have been assessed in the context of different scenarios. The present study utilized existing methodologies and emission factors for the quantification of GHG emissions from the waste management process and found that all technologies under assessment could provide GHG emission savings. However, the performance and ranking of these technologies is strongly dependent on the existence of end markets for the waste-derived fuels produced by the mechanical–biological treatment processes. In the absence of these markets the disposal of these fuels would be necessary and thus significant GHG savings would be lost.

First published on October 16, 2009, doi:10.1177/0734242X09350787

Waste Management & Research 2009;27:928.

A more recent version of this article appeared on November 1, 2009


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?