Determining the biomass fraction of mixed waste fuels: A comparison of existing industry and 14C-based methodologies

Muir, G.K.P. , Hayward, S., Tripney, B.G. , Cook, G.T. , Naysmith, P. , Herbert, B.M.J., Garnett, M. and Wilkinson, M. (2015) Determining the biomass fraction of mixed waste fuels: A comparison of existing industry and 14C-based methodologies. Waste Management, 35, pp. 293-300. (doi: 10.1016/j.wasman.2014.09.023)

Abstract

14C analysis of flue gas by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and liquid scintillation counting (LSC) were used to determine the biomass fraction of mixed waste at an operational energy-from-waste (EfW) plant. Results were converted to bioenergy (% total) using mathematical algorithms and assessed against existing industry methodologies which involve manual sorting and selective dissolution (SD) of feedstock. Simultaneous determinations using flue gas showed excellent agreement: 44.8 ± 2.7% for AMS and 44.6 ± 12.3% for LSC. Comparable bioenergy results were obtained using a feedstock manual sort procedure (41.4%), whilst a procedure based on selective dissolution of representative waste material is reported as 75.5% (no errors quoted). 14C techniques present significant advantages in data acquisition, precision and reliability for both electricity generator and industry regulator.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Tripney, Dr Brian and Naysmith, Mr Phillip and Garnett, Dr Mark and Cook, Professor Gordon and Muir, Dr Graham
• Authors: Muir, G.K.P., Hayward, S., Tripney, B.G., Cook, G.T., Naysmith, P., Herbert, B.M.J., Garnett, M., and Wilkinson, M.
• Subjects: Q Science > QD Chemistry
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre
• Journal Name: Waste Management
• Publisher: Elsevier Ltd.
• ISSN: 0956-053X
• ISSN (Online): 1879-2456