Global Warming Potential Of A Waste Refinery Using Enzymatic Treatment

Decrease of fossil fuel dependence and resource saving has become increasingly important during the last years. In this perspective, higher recycling rates for valuable materials as well as energy recovery from waste streams could play a significant role substituting for virgin material production and fossil resources.

This is especially important with respect to the residual waste (i.e. the remains after source-separation and separate collection) which is typically incinerated or landfilled. In this paper the energy and Global Warming performance of a pilot-scale waste refinery for the enzymatic treatment of municipal solid waste (MSW) was presented.

The refinery produced a liquid (liquefied organic materials and paper) and a solid fraction (non-degradable materials) from the initial waste. A number of scenarios for the utilization of the two outputs were analyzed. Co-combustion in existing power plants and utilization of the liquid fraction for biogas production turned out to be the best options with respect to energy and Global Warming performance.