energise your waste! - ecat.ae · • waste incineration bref (wi bref) was published in 2006 =»wi...

European Suppliers of Waste to Energy Technology

International Legislation on Waste-to-Energy and Legislative Climate for

Environmental Protection

6th of May 2015

Envirocities 2015 ConferenceMedina, Saudi Arabia

Presented by Guillaume Perron-Piché

Energise your Waste!


Envirocities 2015 – International Legislation on WtE - Medina 2

Overview

1. Waste Management Hierarchy2. International Air Quality Legislation3. BREFs4. Energy & Climate legislation5. Conclusions

06.05.2015



Overview


06.05.2015


1.Waste Management Hierarchy

• Introduced by Dutch politician Ad Lansink in the 1970s

• Is part of EU legislation (Waste Framework Directive)

• Waste-to-Energy (WtE) intervenes after recycling, but is better than landfilling

• Efficient WtE plants perform a recovery operation (step 4)

=»The Waste Hierarchy and its waste treatment technologies are relevant worldwide too!

406.05.2015Envirocities 2015 – International Legislation on WtE - Medina



Overview


06.05.2015


2.International Air Quality Legislation


• Waste-to-Energy plants have to handle wastes that contain polluting substances

• Air Quality is a major concern worldwide, and WtE plants need to fulfil strict emission limit values to comply with international commitments on a variety of substances

• Many international instruments exist to ensure air quality

• How to avoid getting lost between Geneva, Gothenburg, Aarhus, Stockholm and Minamata???


2.“Classic” Pollutants: Geneva and Gothenburg

• “Classic” pollutants are abated by EU WtE plants:SOX, NOX, HCl, HF, Dust/PM, etc.

• 1979 Geneva Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (CLRTAP)

• Covers all Europe (incl. ex. USSR) and USA+CAN• Mandates reducing air pollution

• 1999 Gothenburg Protocol to Abate Acidification, Eutrophication and Ground-level Ozone mandates national ceilings of: SOX, NOX, VOC, NH3

• At the EU level, it translates into National Emissions Ceilings implying that such pollutants must be abated by the significant emission sources


Geneva Gothenburg


2.Persistent Organic Pollutants


• Dioxins are present in waste to be incineratedand some amounts are found in flue gases

• Various technologies, chiefly Activated Carbon, can capture them and avoid their release

• Of all known Dioxins sources, only WasteIncineration is strictly controlled in Europe

• 1998 Aarhus Protocol on POPs (including Dioxins) mandates its control from unintended production across Europe

• 2001 Stockholm Convention on POPs also covers it, and this convention applies globally, confirming the need for efficient flue gas cleaning on Waste-to-Energy plants nearly anywhere

Aarhus Stockholm


2.Heavy Metals, including Mercury


• Some Heavy Metals find their way to WtE plants• Efficient capture method exists,

e.g. fabric filters, scrubbers or activated carbon

• To minimise Heavy Metals emissions, the 1998 Aarhus Protocol on Heavy Metals supplements the CLRTAP and lists substances to abate: lead, cadmium and mercury. Focused on Europe

• In 2013, the Minamata Convention on Mercury brought this substance into the global spotlight, with restrictions on its use and a push to abate emissions

• Now Mercury is a focus substance worldwide. Solutions exist to capture it and should be implemented

Minamata


2.From theory to practice: the IED

• Emissions of classic pollutants, POPs and of heavy metals are regulated in Europe directly in the EU legislation

• National Emissions Ceiling Directive, now being revised, puts strict ceilings to limit emissions of classic pollutants in each MS

• For Waste-to-Energy, the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) sets Emission Limit Values on all the mentioned pollutants

• The requirements are implemented in all EU WtE plants

=»The IED can mandate such strict requirements because it is based on the development and implementation of the BREF




Overview


06.05.2015


3.BREFs

What is a BREF?• When issues of air quality were identified from industries, it

was decided to analyse how to technically reduce emissions• Result was the identification of Best Available Techniques

(BAT) to reduce air pollution, listed in a ReferenceDocument (BAT REF Document = BREF)

• BREFs exist for over 33 industrial sectors

• Waste Incineration BREF (WI BREF)was published in 2006

=»WI BREF is under revision at the moment and ESWET is a leading stakeholder


Stack and gas analyser


3.BREFs

Why is the WI BREF relevant?• The BREF identifies techniques minimising environmental

impact from Waste Incineration and mandates the use of Best Available Techniques

• For example, techniques exist to reduce the emissions of dust between raw flue gas and emitted gas by factor 1000

• Proven techniques enable plants to maintain very low emission levels, below the Emission Limit Values (ELVs)

• European ELVs are stricter for Waste Incineration than for any combustion industry; many countries worldwide also follow Europe’s lead in transposing its strict emission limit values

=»Result is that the European Technology is demanded worldwide to guarantee the best environmental performance




Overview


06.05.2015


4.Energy and Climate

Climate Change legislation• Under the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC)

reports, the waste sector is identified as one where greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced

• Main source of emissions: methane from landfilling• By contrast, when unrecyclable waste is sent to energy

recovery, methane emissions are avoided and the usage of fossil fuel is offset thanks to the energy generated from waste

• Improving waste management through more recycling and Waste-to-Energy while minimising landfilling helps fighting climate change


Harlingen, Netherlands



Kyoto Protocol• Clean Development Mechanisms (CDMs) allow a country with

an emission-reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (developed country) to implement an emission-reduction project in developing countries

• Waste-to-Energy was identified as one way of generating these emission-reductions, and some funds were used in Waste-to-Energy projects, particularly in Asia (e.g. China)

• CDMs have even been used in Saudi Arabia to reduce GHG emissions from waste management

=»CDMs have helped developing WtE (e.g. in China) because it provides tangible climate benefits




Other ways to help preserving global climate• For unrecyclable waste that must be treated, maximum

reliability (>8000 hours/year) is also needed• Energy efficiency should also be maximised. Waste contains a

lot of biomass, thus the recovered energy is partly renewable• Countries developing Waste-to-Energy need a reliable and

predictable energy source. Plants must be capable of working 24/7 with minimal consumption

• In favourable climatic conditions, District Heating and Cooling are an option to further extract energy from waste. In other locations, water desalination from cogeneration Waste-to-Energy plants is another possibility. A Climate Factor exists

=»The predictable, energy-efficient and proven grate-firing technology provides the best advantages at known costs




Overview


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5.Conclusion

• Guiding principles of Waste Management applied in Europe (Waste Hierarchy) are relevant worldwide

• International Air Quality legislation mandates clean Waste-to-Energy plants in Europe, and these legislations are being copied globally to keep the air clean

• European technology ensures compliance with the strictest air quality standards, a reassuring credential to citizens

• Climate benefits from Waste-to-Energy are a given in any location and the produced energy can fulfil multiple uses

• Then why is it not being implemented everywhere, even in Europe?



5.Conclusion

• European rules for better waste management, clean air, protected climate and more sustainable energy already exist. They enabled some countries to minimise landfilling and maximise recycling while maintaining clean air

• Green NGOs even praise Vienna or Zurich for their Air Quality (http://www.sootfreecities.eu/city); those cities have urban WtE plants heating entire city districts, maximising energy and climate benefits

=»How did they manage? The public got informed on Waste-to-Energy and there was strong political will to implement it



Thank you for your attention!

Guillaume Perron-PichéPolicy Officer

ESWETAvenue Adolphe Lacomblé 59/8

B-1030 [email protected]


energise your waste! - ecat.ae · • waste incineration bref (wi bref) was published in 2006 =»wi...

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