Life cycle assessment of an innovative waste‐to‐energy technology

Abstract

The amount of waste generated is inevitably aligned with the increasing population and socio‐economic development, which needs innovative solutions for waste management. These solutions should reduce the negative environmental impacts of waste, as well as convert waste into useful products such as biogas, bio‐oil, hydrogen, and biochar. This paper studies the life cycle environmental impacts of an innovative waste heating technology at low temperature being piloted in Vietnam. It is identified that the technology has low environmental impacts over its life cycle, for example emitting 56.6 kg CO ₂ eq of greenhouse gasses, consuming 1 kg of oil eq of fossil fuels, and 0.3 kg Cu eq of minerals and metals per t of waste treated. Apart from waste treated, there are useful co‐products such as syngas, bio‐oil, and biochar obtained from the waste treatment process. These products not only bring economic value but also provide renewable energy sources and are potential for applying ecolabels, assisting the fulfillment of the corporate social responsibility in the waste management sector.