A Two-stage Model on Optimal Location and Operation of Waste-to-Energy Plants: Influence of Waste Composition Uncertainty

abstract

en

Waste management is geared towards a circular economy with the aim to increase the sustainability of the system by reducing waste production, reduce landfilling and increasing recycling. More efficient management of municipal waste thus leads to higher material utilisation. On the other hand, high recycling is associated with the formation of residual waste flows that represent a significant energy potential. The composition of waste is very variable. However, it has a major effect on energy amount from its recovery. To ensure the operability and economic sustainability of Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants, a real change in the composition of the waste must be considered. The energy amount, which could be obtained from waste recovery, varies between waste producers and should be included in strategic decisions. Herein, a twostage stochastic mixed-integer linear programming model is developed to support strategic capacity planning for waste energy recovery. It captures waste composition uncertainty and allows to include several scenarios of possible future development. The first stage decision suggests the location of WtE capacities, while the second stage includes the solution of the proposed scenarios. The developed approach is applied to the case study in the Czech Republic for waste management in 2030. The result suggests to build 13 WtE plants to support 4 already existing which increases the annual treatment capacity by almost four times and satisfies EU directives.

Waste management is geared towards a circular economy with the aim to increase the sustainability of the system by reducing waste production, reduce landfilling and increasing recycling. More efficient management of municipal waste thus leads to higher material utilisation. On the other hand, high recycling is associated with the formation of residual waste flows that represent a significant energy potential. The composition of waste is very variable. However, it has a major effect on energy amount from its recovery. To ensure the operability and economic sustainability of Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants, a real change in the composition of the waste must be considered. The energy amount, which could be obtained from waste recovery, varies between waste producers and should be included in strategic decisions. Herein, a twostage stochastic mixed-integer linear programming model is developed to support strategic capacity planning for waste energy recovery. It captures waste composition uncertainty and allows to include several scenarios of possible future development. The first stage decision suggests the location of WtE capacities, while the second stage includes the solution of the proposed scenarios. The developed approach is applied to the case study in the Czech Republic for waste management in 2030. The result suggests to build 13 WtE plants to support 4 already existing which increases the annual treatment capacity by almost four times and satisfies EU directives.

optimal location; waste-to-energy; waste composition; two-stage model

11.07.2021

978-618-85079-1-3

31st European Conference on Operational Research Conference Handbook

53–53

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