Life Cycle Assessment of Small-Scale Waste Gasification System in Vestmannaeyjar

• Main Author: Kutin-Mensah, Elvis Kojo, 1983-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Umhverfis- og auðlindafræði; Vestmannaeyjar; Álfsnes; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/38427

Waste generation and management are major issues confronting urban, small, and isolated communities in Iceland. Combined heat and power (CHP) gasification system provides the opportunity to convert waste wood to syngas, which can then be combusted to generate electricity and heat, thereby eliminating the need for landfilling or incineration. The study evaluates, for the first time, the life cycle GHG emissions and other environmental impacts of syngas production and energy generation from waste wood in comparison with incineration and landfill systems in the Vestmannaeyjar region in Iceland, using process life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. Using a functional unit of 1 kg of waste wood treatment, the CML 2001 and CED methods were applied to evaluate the environmental impacts. The CHP power pallet gasifier owned by the University of Iceland, the proposed stepped heath incinerator to be constructed in Vestmannaeyjar, and the methane recovery landfill in Álfsnes were the case study´s systems employed for the life cycle modeling. The gasification process appeared to be the most environmentally beneficial concerning global warming and eight other environmental impact categories. The final conversion processes, along with electricity generation, and diesel and oil production were the most environmental hotspots. The incineration process generated the optimum net energy of 11,093 GJ per annum as compared to gasification (3,902 GJ) and the landfill (241 GJ). The sensitivity analysis highlights the vital role of systems´ parameters to the environmental impacts. Future studies can assess different scenarios of integrated biomass technology pathways with the aims of achieving both environmental sustainability and higher cleaner energy generation. Uppsöfnun sorps og sorpumhirða er flókið viðfangsefni fyrir minni sveitarfélög og dreifða byggð. Með gösunarstöð gefst möguleiki á að breyta sorpi, þá sérstaklega viðarúrgangi, í afgas sem nota má í að knýja sprengjuhreyfil til að framleiða hita og rafmagn í heimabyggð. ...