Network Flow Models and Local Environmental Impacts

abstract

en

Network flow models are considered a useful decision-supporting tool for processing infrastructure planning. There are various models for such plants and flow allocations. They differ in terms of complexity and demand on input data. Typically, the goal of the calculation is minimized cost or minimized environmental impacts. Sometimes both are combined within bi-objective functions. Whereas global environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas production are commonly used in objective functions, local environmental impacts tightly connected to human health are rare. The contribution introduces a new approach, where emissions and their dispersions are addressed in the network flow model for waste processing infrastructure planning. The approach extends the existing tool NERUDA. NERUDA proposes locations and capacities of waste-to-energy plants considering the production of waste not suitable for material recovery in 203 microregions of the Czech Republic. Collection areas of individual projects and transportation systems are proposed at the same time. The extended model calculates emissions produced in the waste-to-energy plants and saved in fossil-based utilities thanks to heat and power delivery from waste-to-energy first. Then these emissions are dispersed in the surrounding and resulting ground concentrations are interfered with the population exposed to these concentrations. Suitable criteria (human toxicity, disability-adjusted life years DALY, etc.) entering objective function will be discussed.

Network flow models are considered a useful decision-supporting tool for processing infrastructure planning. There are various models for such plants and flow allocations. They differ in terms of complexity and demand on input data. Typically, the goal of the calculation is minimized cost or minimized environmental impacts. Sometimes both are combined within bi-objective functions. Whereas global environmental impacts such as greenhouse gas production are commonly used in objective functions, local environmental impacts tightly connected to human health are rare. The contribution introduces a new approach, where emissions and their dispersions are addressed in the network flow model for waste processing infrastructure planning. The approach extends the existing tool NERUDA. NERUDA proposes locations and capacities of waste-to-energy plants considering the production of waste not suitable for material recovery in 203 microregions of the Czech Republic. Collection areas of individual projects and transportation systems are proposed at the same time. The extended model calculates emissions produced in the waste-to-energy plants and saved in fossil-based utilities thanks to heat and power delivery from waste-to-energy first. Then these emissions are dispersed in the surrounding and resulting ground concentrations are interfered with the population exposed to these concentrations. Suitable criteria (human toxicity, disability-adjusted life years DALY, etc.) entering objective function will be discussed.

NERUDA; Waste; Waste-to-energy; Emissions

30.08.2021

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Thessaly

Volos, Greece

2653-8911

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