Environmental And Thermoeconomic Analysis Of A Waste-To-Energy Facility- Case Study Of Zabalgarbi/Bilbao Plant Adapted To The Brazilian Reality

Maria Luisa Nerys de Moraes Carneiro¹; Marcos Sebastião de Paula Gomes¹

¹ PUC-Rio

doi:10.20906/CPS/COB-2015-0246

Resumo

The final disposal of municipal solid waste in landfills or dumps is a regular problem to the municipalities in Brazil. It involves environmental degradation, high costs and the shortage of available and appropriated areas to build landfills. Therefore, the development of new technologies to properly treat and dispose the urban solid waste is necessary and urgent. In addition, the use of municipal waste in processes of thermal treatment with energy recovery meets the search for alternative and renewable sources of energy production. In that context, waste-to-energy facilities are presented as a solution to both the waste disposal problem and the growing energy demand in the cities. Even though this practice stands out in the world among one of the most coherent alternatives for municipal solid waste management, in Brazil it is still incipient. This work presents a feasibility study of a waste-to-energy facility based on the Zabalgarbi/Bilbao (Spain) plant. It is performed an energetic and exergetic analysis along with a cost estimate influenced by an eco-efficiency indicator that takes into account the air pollution emissions. The conclusion shows the capacity of the proposed facility to treat the municipal solid waste of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and supply its electricity demand at a competitive cost.

Palavras-chave: incineration; municipal solid waste; biomass; waste-to-energy; waste treatment; thermoeconomic analysis; atmospheric emissions; exergetic analysis