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Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of emerging municipal solid waste management options: a case study in Thailand

  • SPECIAL FEATURE: ORIGINAL ARTICLE
  • 8th 3R International Scientific Conference (8th 3RINCs 2022)
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Abstract

Landfilling is the main technology for municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal in Thailand. Semi-aerobic landfill and mechanical biological treatment (MBT) are the emerging options for MSW management. Nevertheless, their direct and indirect impacts on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are still unclear. In this study, life cycle analysis was used to analyze GHG emissions from three MSW management scenarios. For landfill options, three operating phases including transportation, landfill operation, and biodegradation from landfill were considered. The emissions from landfills operated under anaerobic and semi-aerobic conditions were evaluated using country-specific emission data. Meanwhile, MBT was considered with additional phases of refused derived fuel (RDF) production and transportation from landfill to power plant for electricity production. The results revealed a significant GHG emission reduction of 68% when replacing anaerobic landfills with semi-aerobic landfills. The use of RDF products in MBT options as power plant fuel could offset all emissions during their upstream phases yielding a positive impact in terms of GHG emission provided that the RDF was transported to power plants located within 150 km from the MBT plant. The study could be used to support the MSW management plan to achieve zero net emissions in the waste sector of the country.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, [CC], upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out in collaboration between Kasetsart University (KU), King Mongkut's University of Technology (KMUTT), Thailand, and the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kasetsart University, 50 Ngam Wong Wan Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand

    Noppharit Sutthasil, Chart Chiemchaisri & Wilai Chiemchaisri

  2. Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan

    Noppharit Sutthasil & Tomonori Ishigaki

  3. The Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment, King’s Mongkut University of Technology Thonburi, Bangkok, 10140, Thailand

    Shabbir H. Gheewala

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  1. Noppharit Sutthasil
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  2. Chart Chiemchaisri
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  5. Shabbir H. Gheewala
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Correspondence to Chart Chiemchaisri.

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Sutthasil, N., Chiemchaisri, C., Chiemchaisri, W. et al. Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of emerging municipal solid waste management options: a case study in Thailand. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 25, 662–673 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-022-01584-6

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