Quantification of potential environmental impacts of electricity generation from the wood wastes using life cycle assessment approach / Choong Joo Ee

Choong, Joo Ee (2019) Quantification of potential environmental impacts of electricity generation from the wood wastes using life cycle assessment approach / Choong Joo Ee. Masters thesis, University of Malaya.

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Abstract

Waste-to-Energy technology emerged as a sustainable approach for solid waste management. It converts waste into energy in form of heat and electricity. However, implementation of WtE technology in Malaysia, a developing country is still very limited due to various factors. In order to quantify potential environmental impacts of electricity generation from wood wastes, life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used to evaluate the environmental impacts for a WtE plant which was currently involved in feed-in tariff (FiT) mechanism introduced by government under biomass-solid waste category located at Rasa, Selangor. Life cycle analysis of the biomass-fired power plant which utilized wood waste from industrial, commercial and institution (ICI) as fuel of 7 MW capacity was done covering various environmental impacts using SimaPro software. ReCiPe Midpoint (H) method was chosen for the assessment. The LCA results that showed environmental impacts for the plant in producing 1 kWh of electricity were compared to current national grid. The results showed a total contribution of 0.319 kg CO2 eq of greenhouse gas (GHG) was emitted for every kWh of electricity generated by the biomass-fired power plant based on climate change factor in the LCA analysis. The emission factor is 96.1% lower than the electricity generated by conventional power plant which is 0.82 kg CO2 eq of GHG emission in Malaysia. The biomass-fired power plant would produce lesser impacts to environment than national grid for every kWh of electricity generation in term of photochemical oxidant formation, particulate matter formation, human toxicity, terrestrial acidification, marine eutrophication, freshwater eco-toxicity, fossil depletion, metal depletion and water depletion. A scenario was created to show the relationship between the percentages of carbon emissions reduction that is in line with Malaysia's commitment to reduce GHG emissions by up to 45% by 2030, hence making the utilization of biomass and solid waste as a reliable source of renewable energy as targeted by SEDA Malaysia. In conclusion, WtE technology could simultaneously dispose solid waste, reduce GHG emissions and increase share of RE in Malaysia’s electricity mix.

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