Cover Article: Calculation of carbon emissions of a small scale waste pyrolysis-gasification incineration plant

Cover Article: Calculation of carbon emissions of a small scale waste pyrolysis-gasification incineration plant

Highlights of this article

At present, the main calculation methods for carbon emissions from domestic waste incineration include: IPCC international accounting, life cycle assessment (LCA) and clean development mechanism (CDM) methodology. However, domestic power plants currently lack a large amount of basic data required for calculation. In addition, the composition of domestic garbage in my country is complex, uneven distribution, seasonality and regionality are obvious, and the accuracy of calculation data obtained by directly applying the default values provided by existing methodologies is insufficient. Considering the rapid development of the domestic waste incineration power generation industry and the continuous improvement of the carbon emission rights trading market, it is urgent to establish a convenient, accurate and fast carbon emission calculation method suitable for our country. This research will fill up the gap in this regard, innovatively apply the balance method proposed by the Vienna University of Technology in Austria to the calculation of carbon emissions of waste incineration power plants in my country, and test the applicability of the balance method to waste incineration plants in my country, with a view to helping my country The carbon emission calculation of waste incineration power plants provides a reference and a possible methodological reference for the construction of my country's carbon market.

Brief introduction and conclusion

Taking a waste pyrolysis gasification incineration plant in Zhoushan City as an example, the carbon emissions and carbon emission reductions in the plant were compared and calculated using the balance method and the CCER methodology. Calculated by the balance method, the plant’s unit waste carbon emission is 0.61 tCO2e/t, among which, the carbon emission from fossil-source carbon burning is 0.28 tCO2e/t, and the biological-source carbon emission is 0.33 tCO2e/t (this part can produce Carbon emission reduction benefits); the baseline emissions calculated by the CCER methodology are 0.53 tCO2e/t, the project emissions are 0.29 tCO2e/t, and the project emissions reductions are 0.24 tCO2e/t. The calculation results of the two methodologies are basically the same. The balance method can supplement the emission items generated by the waste incineration of the project emissions in the CCER methodology. At the same time, it is a simple, fast, accurate, and low-cost feasible method for online carbon emission analysis. However, it is still necessary to conduct a specific analysis of the composition of waste in my country to improve the balance method.

Cite：HUANG J Y, ZHANG H, TAN Q H, et al. Calculation of carbon emissions of a small scale waste pyrolysis-gasification incineration plant[J]. Environmental Sanitation Engineering, 2021, 29(4): 1-6.