Journal of Environmental Engineering · 2009 · 19 citations · 15 references
ManagementEnvironmental EngineeringEnvironmental SciencesLife Cycle AssessmentSolid Waste ManagementWaste ManagementLandfill Gas ManagementLandfill ManagementLife Cycle Carbon AssessmentMunicipal Solid Waste ManagementWaste Management ModelingWaste Management SystemsCombustorsGaseous EmissionsGreenhouse Gas Emissions From WasteGreenhouse Gas Emissions From Waste ManagementLandfill Gas EmissionsLandfill Life-cycle AssessmentLandfill Methane CaptureMunicipal Solid Waste Landfills
This paper compares life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from two municipal solid waste (MSW) management options, municipal waste combustion, and landfilling, using a U.S. EPA life-cycle assessment (LCA) model, the MSW Decision Support Tool. Unlike previously reported LCAs, key combustion model inputs—total MSW carbon content and its biogenic/fossil split—are determined not from MSW composition studies, but from measurements taken at operating municipal waste combustors (MWCs). MWC measurement data show U.S. MSW carbon content averages of 30% with a biogenic/fossil split of 66%/34%. The LCA also considers a range of landfilling scenarios which account not only for alternative landfill gas (LFG) management techniques, but also for the variability of landfill methane generation and capture. The LCA found that for the range of inputs and scenarios considered, municipal waste combustion outperforms landfilling in terms of GHG emissions, regardless of the LFG management technique.
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