Ang, P., Lim, L. H., Goh, W., Cheng, S., & Liu, W. (2026). Life Cycle Assessment of Post-Combustion Carbon Capture from Municipal Solid Waste Incinerators using Incineration Ashes via Calcium Looping. Energy Conversion and Management, 354, 121263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2026.121263
Abstract:
This study presents a calcium looping (CaL) system employing ash-derived sorbents aiming to capture approximately 674 kilotons of carbon dioxide (CO2) annually from the flue gas of a 200 MWth waste-to-energy (WtE) plant. A cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment was conducted with 1 kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity output from a steam turbine as the functional unit to assess environmental performance. The CO2 processing unit presented a slightly positive global-warming potential resulting from venting CO2-containing, nitrogen rich off gas to increase CO2 concentration in the product, but the entire system still achieved a net carbon abatement of 6.05 × 10^-1 kg CO2 eq./kWh. Sensitivity and Monte Carlo analysis performed with ±20% variation in electricity and thermal energy consumption showed that the solid recovered fuel (SRF) production process had high variability across most impact categories. In Monte Carlo simulations, electricity consumption strongly influenced Freshwater Aquatic Ecotoxicity Potential (FAETP) and Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential, while thermal energy affected Marine Aquatic Ecotoxicity Potential, Terrestrial Ecotoxicity Potential, and FAETP. A scenario analysis replacing grid electricity with steam turbine-generated electricity to power an industrial furnace and SRF process improved carbon abatement to 6.11 × 10^-1 kg CO2 eq./kWh. Overall, the CaL approach demonstrates strong potential for decarbonizing WtE operations while valorizing incineration residues and minimizing reliance on limestone.
License type:
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Funding Info:
This research / project is supported by the Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC), Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) - Low-Carbon Energy Research Funding Initiative
Grant Reference no. : U2102d2007