An?lisis cr?tico y aplicaci?n de metodolog?as para la evaluaci?n de la sostenibilidad de sistemas de gesti?n de residuos
- Authors
- L?pez Karolys, Andrea Carolina
- Format
- MasterThesis
- Status
- publishedVersion
- Description
The worldwide demand for waste management services is increasing with the rise of the worldwide population. To fulfill this demand, cleaner and integrated waste management solutions are being developed. Assessment methods are required to assess the sustainability of such solutions regarding social, economic and environmental issues. These methods can be used to help choosing proper waste treatment and disposal options, optimizing material and energy recovery and reducing waste production. Several methods can be used in order to assess the sustainability of solid waste management systems (SWMSs). In this thesis, a critical analysis was performed to identify and compare the available sustainability assessment methods used in the waste management sector. Different methods used to analyze the three pillars of sustainability were identified. Among environmental assessment methods, the advantages and limitations of Life cycle assessment (LCA), material flow analysis (MFA), energy analysis (EA) and exergy analysis (ExA) were discussed. Life cycle assessment has been widely applied in waste management systems. Several specialized software tools have been developed in order to facilitate the assessment of these systems. In the economic context, methods such as full cost accounting and cost-benefit analysis are the most commonly applied methods to assess the economic performance of SWMSs. However, the use of life cycle costing is developing as it allows identifying the internal and external costs using the life cycle perspective. In order to evaluate the social aspects of SWMSs, the most common methodology is the social LCA, which is still under development. As an illustration, three methods were applied to assess the environmental sustainability of two waste treatment alternatives for municipal solid organic waste (OW) in Flanders. The assessed alternatives were anaerobic digestion (AD) and composting (C). The assessment was performed through a LCA, EA and ExA. The LCA study quantified the resource footprint of the two systems using the CEENE method (Cumulative Exergy Extracted from the Natural Environment) as well as their terrestrial acidification potential (ReCiPe midpoint method), and carbon footprint (IPCC 2007 method). The net CEENE for AD was 7 times lower than for C (-1 914 MJ/t of OW and -247 MJ/t of OW, respectively). The net terrestrial acidification potential was -0.29 and -0.18 kg SO2-eq/t of OW for AD and C respectively. The net carbon footprint was 24 and 16 kg CO2-eq/t of OW for AD and C respectively. Thus, AD performed better in most of the impact categories than C, by inducing important resources savings due the electricity production. The resource savings are also related to the production of compost in both waste treatment alternatives. EA and ExA were performed on both systems in order to identify the most efficient waste treatment. EA gives more insights in the case of AD than in C due to the fact that C does not produce any electricity. In addition, ExA gave information about the thermodynamic efficiency of processes. The universal exergy efficiency was 74% and 53% for AD and C respectively. The comparison of the three methods shows that EA and ExA can only be used as additional methods in order to optimize processes. The benefits obtained by biogas, digestate and compost can be better assessed through LCA.
En el presente estudio, se realiz? un an?lisis cr?tico para identificar y comparar los m?todos disponibles para la evaluaci?n de la sostenibilidad de los sistemas de gesti?n de residuos. Durante la investigaci?n, diferentes m?todos usados para los tres pilares (ambiental, econ?mico y social) de la sostenibilidad fueron identificados. Para la evaluaci?n desde el punto de vista ambiental, se identificaron las ventajas y limitaciones de; an?lisis de ciclo de vida (LCA), an?lisis de flujo de materiales (MFA), an?lisis de energ?a (EA) y an?lisis de exerg?a (ExA). En el contexto econ?mico, los m?todos estudiados fueron; contabilidad de los costos totales y an?lisis de costo-beneficio, que son los m?todos m?s com?nmente usados para evaluar el desempe?o econ?mico de los sistemas de gesti?n de residuos s?lidos. Para la evaluaci?n de los aspectos sociales de dichos sistemas, la metodolog?a m?s com?n es el an?lisis de ciclo de vida social (SLCA) el cual sigue en desarrollo e investigaci?n. Adem?s, en el presente estudio se realiz? la aplicaci?n de tres m?todos para evaluar la sostenibilidad ambiental de dos alternativas para la gesti?n de residuos s?lidos org?nicos municipales en Flandes, B?lgica. Las alternativas evaluadas fueron la digesti?n anaerobia y compostaje. La evaluaci?n se llev? a cabo mediante an?lisis de ciclo de vida, an?lisis de energ?a y an?lisis de exerg?a. El an?lisis del ciclo de vida permiti? cuantificar el consumo de recursos de ambos sistemas, usando el m?todo CEENE (Exerg?a acumulada extra?da del ambiente natural). Por otra parte el potencial de acidificaci?n terrestre fue determinada mediante el m?todo ReCiPe midpoint, y finalmente la huella de carb?n fuer determinada mediante el m?todo IPCC 2007.
- Publication Year
- 2015
- Language
- eng
- Topic
- CIENCIAS AMBIENTALES
SOSTENIBILIDAD
GESTI?N DE RESIDUOS S?LIDOS
AN?LISIS DE CICLO DE VIDA
- Repository
- Repositorio SENESCYT
- Rights
- openAccess
- License