Comparing and optimizing municipal solid waste (MSW) management focused on air pollution reduction from MSW incineration in China

Ming Zhang; Junxiao Wei; Huan Li; Yang Chen; Jianguo Liu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167952

Comparing and optimizing municipal solid waste (MSW) management focused on air pollution reduction from MSW incineration in China

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 10:907:167952. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167952. Epub 2023 Oct 19.

Authors

Ming Zhang¹, Junxiao Wei², Huan Li³, Yang Chen⁴, Jianguo Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Management, Guangdong University, Zhanjiang 524088, China.
² School of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China. Electronic address: wei.junxiao@gdou.edu.cn.
³ Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen 518055, China. Electronic address: li.huan@sz.tsinghua.edu.cn.
⁴ College of Electronic and Information Engineering, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China.
⁵ School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.

PMID: 37865250
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167952

Abstract

China is the largest developing country in the world, and its municipal solid waste (MSW) has increased with a compound annual growth rate of 5.1 % since 1980. Incineration, which has the advantages of mass- and volume-reduction as well as energy and heat recovery, has become the mainstream environmentally sound treatment method in China. However, air pollution emissions are the primary reason for limiting MSW incineration (MSWI). Currently, the Chinese government is devoted to comprehensively implementing MSW classification. However, the classification model and the future MSW reduction rate are not yet clear. In this study, we project scenarios of air pollution emissions until 2030 based on the different MSW classification models (MSW reduction rates) and diffusion rates of ultra-low emission technology. A total of 6011 tons (t) of particulate matter, 25,881 t of SO₂, 14,915 t of CO, 17,167 t of HCl, and 200,166 t of NO_x will be emitted in 2030 under the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, and air pollutants will not peak under this scenario. Air pollutants will reduce by 11 % of the BAU scenario by only implementing an MSW reduction of 20 % (JPN-model). The optimal scenario (DEU-model, increasing the efficiency of material recovery and upgrading air pollution control devices) means that air pollutants will be reduced by 83.2-96.2 % from the base amount under the BAU scenario. These results provide references for MSW management and air pollution emission reduction from the aspects of MSW classification and technology upgrades in China.

Keywords: Air pollution; Classification; Incineration; MSW management; Municipal solid waste.