Emission characteristics and impact factors of air pollutants from municipal solid waste incineration in Shanghai, China

Xiaojia Chen; Junxiang Li; Qizhen Liu; Huan Luo; Bin Li; Jinping Cheng; Yuandong Huang

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114732

Emission characteristics and impact factors of air pollutants from municipal solid waste incineration in Shanghai, China

J Environ Manage. 2022 May 15:310:114732. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114732. Epub 2022 Feb 26.

Authors

Xiaojia Chen¹, Junxiang Li², Qizhen Liu³, Huan Luo⁴, Bin Li⁴, Jinping Cheng⁵, Yuandong Huang⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Environment and Architecture, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093, China. Electronic address: chenxiaojia@usst.edu.cn.
² Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Design, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.
³ Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center, Shanghai, 200235, China.
⁴ School of Environment and Architecture, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, 200093, China.
⁵ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China.

PMID: 35228164
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.114732

Abstract

The emission of air pollutants from the municipal solid waste (MSW) incineration is one of the major concerns in air pollution. The up-to-date emission situation for Chinese MSW incineration is largely unknown. The emission factors (EFs) are the key parameters to estimate the emissions from MSW incineration. The localized EFs from MSW incineration in Shanghai, China were established using continuous emission monitoring system data from 2017 to 2019. Our results showed that the EFs were 9.80 g t^-1 of PM, 46.62 g t^-1 of SO₂, 812.68 g t^-1 of NO_x, 25.84 g t^-1 of CO, and 17.49 g t^-1 of HCl for the period 2017-2019, nearly 1.7-24.2 times lower than those in 2010, implying that the current EFs should be updated to avoid overestimation of MSW emissions in China. Compared with 2010, the emissions of PM, SO₂, CO, and HCl in 2019 were significantly reduced by 84%, 69%, 47%, and 72%, respectively, except for NO_x with a 106% increase, although the corresponding MSW incineration amount increased by 356%. The current levels of air pollutants from MSW incineration have already met the current national emission standard as well as the stricter standard of the European Union (98.87%-99.91%). Our findings suggest that China should update the current standards of MSW incineration, which can be a benefit for the prevention and control of MSW incineration in the future. It is still challenging to control NO_x emissions from MSW incineration for Shanghai and even greater China.

Keywords: Air pollutant control devices; Continuous emission monitoring system; Emission factors; Emission inventory; Municipal solid waste incineration.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants* / analysis
Air Pollution* / prevention & control
China
Incineration / methods
Solid Waste / analysis

Substances

Air Pollutants
Solid Waste