Sensor Technology Options for Municipal Solid Waste Characterization for Optimal Operation of Waste-to-Energy Plants

Abstract

Reuse, refurbishing, and recycling are the most sustainable options for handling waste materials. However, for municipal solid waste (MSW) that is highly heterogenic, crude, contaminated, and decrepit, thermal conversion in waste-to-energy (WtE) plants is an option. In such plants, the fuel quality of MSW is difficult to predict and the substantial changes expected are challenging for incineration stability. Development of new online sensor technologies for monitoring waste properties prior to incineration is therefore needed. Sensors may contribute to increase WtE process stability, as well as reducing the probability of incineration stops or emissions exceeding legal limits. In this work, the operating principles of potential sensor systems for waste monitoring are categorized and assessed to be implemented for providing parameters for process control or indicators for process alarms in the waste incineration process. For transmissive settings, the use of inductance and hard X-ray sensors are most promising, whereas for reflective settings, utilization of photonic, inductive, soft and hard X-ray, as well as low-frequency radiowave sensors, are most promising. The analytic capacity of single-point measurements with inductance, radiowave, photonic, or X-ray sensors are limited to providing indicators for process alarms, whereas spectral imaging with X-ray or photonic techniques are feasible for providing parameters for both process control and indicators for process alarms. The results obtained in this sensor assessment will be important as a first step in guiding the evolution of monitoring waste properties in the WtE industry to increase repeatability, performance of energy production, and manual labor safety in controlling the waste incineration.

Research and Innovation Needs for the Waste-To-Energy Sector towards a Net-Zero Circular Economy

“…The possibility of improving material recovery in thermal processes starts from a more detailed knowledge of the waste feed, as well as in view of the evolving nature of the waste streams destined for thermal treatment in the transition to a circular economy framework. In particular, the inherent variability of the waste feed, even on short timeframes, is the key to stabilize the operation of the boiler and the FGT alike to achieve a time-resolved measurement of waste properties by developing advanced sensor systems for waste characterization [46]. Eventually, as mentioned in Section 2.2, machine learning algorithms can help put together the measurements of sensors and probes on both waste feed and flue gas to devise potential predictive tools for process control and asset management.…”

MSW Management in Two Italian Mountainous Areas

“…The second indication is the tight connection to reuse in order to give a second life to the produced waste. For achieving these goals, it is necessary to have a good knowledge on the Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) composition, production and final use taking into account also the interaction between production, selective collection (SC) and potential final thermal treatments [7]- [9]. The main purpose in the MSW management in the last decade concerns the intelligent and extended use of the products to comply with the CE requirements [10]- [12].…”