Energy recovery from waste in India:an evidence-based analysis

Abstract

The uptake of Waste-to-Energy (WtE) in India has not been successful and the majority of plants have failed to sustain operations. There is a lack of detailed on-the-ground research examining the causes of plant failures and the issues regarding the WtE supply chain. Thus, this study set out to identify how WtE practices in India can be improved by gathering and evaluating empirical evidence. Local government officers, industry practitioners and academics involved in waste management in India were consulted. Quantitative data were collected on three case study plants: an incinerator, a gasification plant and a plant co-firing waste with coal. The gathered information was evaluated by making a comparison with two European waste incinerators. The major problem with WtE in India has typically been perceived to be poor source segregation; however, the case study plants highlight that severe contamination has been occurring during transport and storage. In comparison to the European incinerators, the WtE plants in India had a low capital cost (around 1–2 million €/MW), but total particulate matter emissions were a hundred times higher, ranging from 65 to 75 mg/Nm3. We conclude with recommendations for delivery contracts, financial incentives and regulations on dumpsites, ash disposal and stack emission measurements.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2017.04.003
Divisions: College of Business and Social Sciences > Aston Business School > Operations & Information Management
College of Business and Social Sciences > Aston Business School > Aston India Foundation for Applied Research
College of Business and Social Sciences > Aston Business School
Additional Information: © 2017, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Uncontrolled Keywords: waste-to-energy,municipal solid waste,energy-from-waste,energy policy,waste management,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment,Energy Engineering and Power Technology
Publication ISSN: 2213-1388
Last Modified: 30 Sep 2024 11:09
Date Deposited: 10 May 2017 13:25
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: http://www.scop ... tnerID=8YFLogxK (Scopus URL)
PURE Output Type: Article
Published Date: 2017-06
Published Online Date: 2017-04-24
Accepted Date: 2017-04-18
Submitted Date: 2016-11-25
Authors: Nixon, J.D.
Dey, P.K. (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-9984-5374)
Ghosh, S.K.

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