Dataset Information

Determining the amount of waste plastics in the feed of Austrian waste-to-energy facilities.

ABSTRACT: Although thermal recovery of waste plastics is widely practiced in many European countries, reliable information on the amount of waste plastics in the feed of waste-to-energy plants is rare. In most cases the amount of plastics present in commingled waste, such as municipal solid waste, commercial, or industrial waste, is estimated based on a few waste sorting campaigns, which are of limited significance with regard to the characterisation of plastic flows. In the present study, an alternative approach, the so-called Balance Method, is used to determine the total amount of plastics thermally recovered in Austria's waste incineration facilities in 2014. The results indicate that the plastics content in the waste feed may vary considerably among different plants but also over time. Monthly averages determined range between 8 and 26?wt% of waste plastics. The study reveals an average waste plastics content in the feed of Austria's waste-to-energy plants of 16.5?wt%, which is considerably above findings from sorting campaigns conducted in Austria. In total, about 385?kt of waste plastics were thermally recovered in all Austrian waste-to-energy plants in 2014, which equals to 45?kg?plastics cap^-1. In addition, the amount of plastics co-combusted in industrial plants yields a total thermal utilisation rate of 70?kg?cap^-1?a^-1 for Austria. This is significantly above published rates, for example, in Germany reported rates for 2013 are in the range of only 40?kg of waste plastics combusted per capita.

SUBMITTER: Schwarzbock T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5367575 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Determining the amount of waste plastics in the feed of Austrian waste-to-energy facilities.

Schwarzböck Therese T Van Eygen Emile E Rechberger Helmut H Fellner Johann J

Waste management & research : the journal of the International Solid Wastes and Public Cleansing Association, ISWA 20160729 2

Although thermal recovery of waste plastics is widely practiced in many European countries, reliable information on the amount of waste plastics in the feed of waste-to-energy plants is rare. In most cases the amount of plastics present in commingled waste, such as municipal solid waste, commercial, or industrial waste, is estimated based on a few waste sorting campaigns, which are of limited significance with regard to the characterisation of plastic flows. In the present study, an alternative ...[more]

PMID: 27474393

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Dataset Information

Determining the amount of waste plastics in the feed of Austrian waste-to-energy facilities.

Publications

Determining the amount of waste plastics in the feed of Austrian waste-to-energy facilities.

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