Determining the biomass fraction of mixed waste fuels: A comparison of existing industry and (14)C-based methodologies

Waste Manag. 2015 Jan:35:293-300. doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2014.09.023. Epub 2014 Oct 13.

Abstract

(14)C analysis of flue gas by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and liquid scintillation counting (LSC) were used to determine the biomass fraction of mixed waste at an operational energy-from-waste (EfW) plant. Results were converted to bioenergy (% total) using mathematical algorithms and assessed against existing industry methodologies which involve manual sorting and selective dissolution (SD) of feedstock. Simultaneous determinations using flue gas showed excellent agreement: 44.8 ± 2.7% for AMS and 44.6 ± 12.3% for LSC. Comparable bioenergy results were obtained using a feedstock manual sort procedure (41.4%), whilst a procedure based on selective dissolution of representative waste material is reported as 75.5% (no errors quoted). (14)C techniques present significant advantages in data acquisition, precision and reliability for both electricity generator and industry regulator.

Keywords: (14)C (AMS/LSC) methods; Bioenergy; Energy-from-waste (EfW) plant; Manual sort; Selective dissolution.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Biofuels / analysis*
  • Biomass
  • Carbon Radioisotopes
  • Equipment Design
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods*
  • United Kingdom
  • Waste Management / instrumentation
  • Waste Management / methods*
  • Waste Products / analysis*

Substances

  • Biofuels
  • Carbon Radioisotopes
  • Waste Products