Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813

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Journal of Cleaner Production

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Analysis of greenhouse gas emission reductions by collaboratively

updating equipment in sewage treatment and municipal solid waste
incineration plants
Toyohiko Nakakubo a, *, Noboru Yoshida b, Yuuka Hattori c
a
Faculty of Core Research, Natural Science Division, Ochanomizu University, 2-1-1 Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8610, Japan
b
Faculty of Systems Engineering, Wakayama University, 930 Sakaedani, Wakayama-city, Wakayama 640-8510, Japan
c
Bureau of Sewerage, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, 2-1-8 Kuramae, Taito-ku, Tokyo 111-0051, Japan

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: An analysis of energy balance and greenhouse gas emissions was conducted to compare alternative
Received 4 April 2017 systems for the disposal and recycling of sewage sludge and food waste. Although the conversion of
Received in revised form dewatered sludge to solid fuel has been a recent research focus, it is difficult to ensure that the solid fuel
11 August 2017
is needed and can be delivered to plants that can use it, such as coal-fired power plants. We therefore
Accepted 5 September 2017
Available online 8 September 2017
evaluated the effects of introducing various collaborative systems when updating existing sewage
treatment plants and municipal solid waste incineration plants in Japan. Several cases were proposed
Handling Editor: Yutao Wang and compared with a base case. In case Y, low-temperature carbonization equipment is introduced into a
sludge conversion plant and dewatered sludge is converted into solid fuel. In case Z, dewatered sludge is
Keywords: dried to a moisture content of 40% with useable steam heat in a municipal solid waste incineration plant;
Co-combustion the dried sludge is then combusted with municipal solid waste. Relative to the base case, greenhouse gas
Co-digestion emissions were reduced by 25% in case Y and 26% in case Z. Therefore, a similar level of greenhouse gas
Sewage sludge reduction can be achieved by introducing a co-combustion system in a municipal solid waste inciner-
Heat balance analysis
ation plant, even if there is no production of solid fuel to use in collaboration with coal-fired power
Greenhouse gases
plants.
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction aggregated, can be converted into energy production centers.

The use and application of renewable energy has become an
exceedingly important policy matter in Japan since the Great East
Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011, which destroyed the Fukush-
ima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, particularly because of the re-
ductions in current and predicted future power production from
nuclear power facilities. The use and application of biomass formed
from municipal solid waste (MSW) and sewage sludge as a poten-
tial energy source are promising. A stable supply of waste biomass
is produced from domestic activities, and it is a source of renewable
energy in areas where energy demands and supply resources are
concentrated near each other. Ideally, the environmental infra-
structure formed by sewage treatment plants (STPs) and MSW
incinerating plants (MSW-IPs), where this waste biomass is
* Corresponding author. 2-1-1, Otsuka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-8610, Japan.
E-mail address: nakakubo.toyohiko@ocha.ac.jp (T. Nakakubo).
Fig. 1 shows technological options for sludge disposal and uti-
lization in Japan. Sewage sludge has three components: water,
organic matter, and ash. Organic matter and ash are considered to
be dry materials. The sludge recycling rate, defined by the Ministry
of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MOLITT), is an in-
dicator for assessing the recycling rate on a dry solid matter basis,
especially ash. The recycling rate in Japan has increased over the
past 20 years and was estimated to be 78% in FY2010 (MOLITT,
2016). Although the recycling rate decreased in FY2011 because of
low-level radioactive contamination of incinerated ash caused by
the Fukushima accident, the rates recovered to 68% in FY2015.
Under the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Biomass Utilization,
proposed by the cabinet in September 2016, the aim is to bring the
recycling rate in Japan up to 85% by FY2025 by encouraging the use
of sewage sludge as a biomass resource. In terms of reduction of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from sludge disposal, the recy-
cling rate of biomass contained in sewage sludge is viewed as an
important indicator. This recycling rate is calculated by dividing the

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.058
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804 T. Nakakubo et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813
Abbreviations
GHG greenhouse gas
MOE Ministry of Environment
MOLITT Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and
Tourism
MSW municipal solid waste
MSW-IP municipal solid waste incinerating plant
SCP sludge conversion plant
STP sewage treatment plant
“utilization volume of sludge as biomass energy and fertilizer” by
the “amount of generated thickened sludge” on the basis of organic
matter content. In FY2015, the recycling rate was 26%: 13% as
biogas, 3% as solid fuels, and 10% as fertilizer (MOLITT, 2016). The
amount recovered as biogas indicates that energy recovery from
organic matter contained in sewage sludge is mainly accomplished
by using digestion tanks with thickened sludge. Other energy re-
covery options, however, exist for dewatered sludge (shown in
Fig. 1).
The two main technological systems for energy recovery from
sludge in Japan are conversion to solid fuel and sludge-specific
incineration with power generation, although they have yet to be
introduced in Japan on a large scale. To introduce a solid fuel con-
version technology, a sewage company has to establish a relation-
ship with an industrial sector that consumes solid fuel on a massive
scale, such as coal-fired power plants. Therefore, a constraint for
introducing a conversion technology to solid fuel is whether the
sewage company can find a consumer for its solid fuel to at least
partially replace its use of coal. To increase the acceptability of solid
fuel and promote its use, Japanese Industrial Standards of solid fuel
derived from sludge were established by MOLITT in September
2014. Through following the standards, the improved quality of
solid fuel (e.g., lower heating value, water content) should be
guaranteed, which in turn will improve the market value of solid
Fig. 1. Technological options for sludge disposal and utilization. The organic matter content of solid material in thickened sludge is set at 80%, and the half of organic matter in the
thickened sludge is set to be degraded in a digestion tank.
fuel.
On the other hand, sludge-specific incineration with power
generation can be introduced without a partner in the industrial
sector using coal. The sewage sludge treatment system in Japan is
divided into two types: with and without digestion at the stage of
intermediate treatment of thickened sludge. In a system without
digestion, the organic matter content in solid material is about 80%
(MOLITT and JSW Association, 2004). To implement sludge-specific
incineration with an energy recovery system (i.e., power genera-
tion), a sludge treatment system without digestion is necessary.
When a digestion system is used, the organic content is relatively
low because of degradation in digestion tanks, and sludge-specific
incineration with power generation is not an option.
Because of the limitations of the two technical systems for en-
ergy recovery from sludge, in this research, we examined an
alternative approach for energy recovery, namely the co-
combustion of dewatered sludge with MSW in MSW-IPs. In Japan,
STPs fall under the jurisdiction of MOLITT and MSW-IPs under that
of the Ministry of Environment (MOE). Due to the different juris-
dictions, policies for updating technology collaboratively have not
yet been implemented on a broad scale. Several sewage works in
Japan have started to use co-digestion of kitchen waste with
thickened sludge in STPs, however, and some collaborative mea-
sures between STPs and MSW-IPs have been implemented.
The incineration process is one of the best known waste treat-
ment processes for reducing volume of disposed sewage sludge
significantly, and it is an important technology for densely popu-
lated regions where people have to deal with problem of high
quantities of sludge generation and little available land (Cie
slik
et al., 2015). Improvement of the sludge-specific incineration
without energy recovery is also a key issue for several other
countries that use combustion of dewatered sludge, including
Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Greece
(Alexandros and Athanasios, 2012). For these countries, updating
systems to introduce co-incineration in coal-fired plants, cement
kilns plants, or MSW incinerators is also an important issue.
There have been several life cycle assessment case studies of
collaborative plans between sewage works and other sectors.
 T. Nakakubo et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813
Nakakubo et al. (2012) evaluated the measures of co-digestion of
kitchen waste with thickened sludge in STPs in Japan. That study
focused on kitchen waste and sewage sludge, and MSW was not
included in the system boundary related to co-combustion in a
MSW-IP. Joel et al. (2017) also applied a life cycle assessment to a
co-digestion system in Australia. In the case study area, kitchen
waste among MSW is disposed in landfills at present, such that
direct landfilling of kitchen waste was set as a business-as-usual
case for comparing with an anaerobic co-digestion case.
Regarding the energy use of dewatered sludge, Hong et al. (2013)
identified the contributions of co-incineration to coal-based en-
ergy production. The study focused on a fluidized bed incinerator
for coal, and under a coal plus sludge scenario dewatered sludge is
combusted with coal directly without drying. Abuşog lu et al. (2017)
compared two systems: solo incineration of sludge at temperatures
of 830e900
C that had been dried to a 60% water content, and
combustion of sludge in a cement kiln at 1400
C after it had been
dried to a water content of 10%. They estimated the energy balances
between heat demand for drying dewatered sludge and recovering
energy from dried sludge in two cases, and the result showed that
the former case is superior in terms of GHG emissions. However,
environmental assessment of the co-combustion of sludge with
MSW in MSW-IPs has yet to be evaluated.
Lin and Ma (2012) simulated of co-incineration of sewage sludge
with MSW and particularly analyzed furnace temperatures in an
incinerator with different co-incineration ratios of sludge. The
sludge was either wet sludge (83% water content) or semi-dried
sludge (55% water content). Based on the result, the furnace tem-
perature declines to less than 850
C when the co-incineration ratio
of wet sludge is 15%, whereas, it remains above 850
C in the same
condition of semi-dried sludge. Maintaining the furnace tempera-
ture at more than 850
C in a MSW incinerator is an important
factor for preventing dioxin emissions (Tanaka et al., 2003). In this
study, therefore, a drying process for sludge that can be applied to a
MSW-IP was targeted.
In this study, we evaluated potential collaborative measures
between STPs and MSW-IPs. The aim was to assess (1) introduction
of a co-digestion system of food waste with thickened sludge in STP,
and (2) utilization of steam to dry sludge in MSW-IPs and co-
combustion of the dried sludge along with MSW. The purpose
was to clarify the effectiveness of these collaborative measures in
terms of GHG emission reductions. The first part of this study
classified the treatment and recycling systems of sewage sludge in
large cities in Japan in terms of their adaptability to the proposed
collaborative measures. In the second part, we developed a model
for evaluating the effects of introducing collaborative measures
through a material flow analysis and a heat balance analysis.
2. Classification of the sewage sludge flows of large cities in
Japan
We classified the sewage sludge flows in terms of energy use for
14 large cities in Japan, Sapporo, Sendai, Saitama, Chiba, Tokyo's
wards, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Hir-
oshima, Kitakyushu, and Fukuoka, each of which has a population
of more than 1 million people. Based on the classification, we
selected our case study area, which we considered suitable for the
collaborative measures between the STP and MSW-IP.
In this study, we cover two types of collaborative measures
between STPs and MSW-IPs. First, it is important to discuss the
suitability of a co-digestion system of food waste in STPs, and
whether each city's STPs need to have digestion tanks. Then, the
percent volume of thickened sludge being input into digestion
tanks is summarized through a material flow analysis of sewage
sludge in each city. Next, in terms of co-combustion of sludge in
805
MSW-IPs, it is important to ascertain whether dewatered sludge
has been used as bioenergy or not in each city. Some cities have not
introduced technology to recover energy from dewatered sludge,
meaning co-combustion in MSW-IPs is suitable as a candidate for a
renewal energy plan. Finally, the percent volume of dewatered
sludge being used as energy sources is calculated.
The percent volume of thickened sludge being input into
digestion tanks reflects the suitability for co-combustion in MSW-
IPs. With a high digestion input level, the content of organic mat-
ter in dewatered sludge becomes low, so it is impossible for a city to
introduce sludge-specific incineration with power generation.
2.1. Classifying sewage sludge flows
The material flow of sewage sludge was analyzed based on
sewage system statistics (JSW-Association, 2015) for FY2013. STPs
in Japan are operated by cities or are river-basin types operated by
prefectures. If more than half of the planned population for disposal
in a river-basin type was the population of the targeted city, we
included the STP in our classification. These included STPs in Sen-
dai, Saitama, and Chiba.
Data on incineration or use of dewatered sludge were supple-
mented with data from Kokyo Toshi Journal Inc. (2011). Operations
aimed at energy recovery from dewatered sludge that were already
in progress by FY2015 were included for Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka,
and Kitakyushu.
The volume of thickened sludge was first evaluated on a dry
matter basis for each STP in the material flow analysis. If the
thickened sludge is degraded in digestion tanks, 50% of the organic
matter in the sludge was assumed to be degraded and recovered as
biogas (MOLITT and JSW Association, 2004). The routes of dewa-
tered sludge recycling were roughly divided into three systems
according to organic matter utilization, as shown in Fig. 1: (1)
incineration, where dewatered sludge is incinerated in a sludge-
specific incinerator without power generation and ash is recycled
as construction and other materials; (2) recycling through conver-
sion to solid fuel, conversion to dried sludge for use as fertilizer, and
sludge-specific incineration with power generation (although uti-
lization as fertilizer is counted as organic matter recycling, it is not
included as an energy use option); and (3) ash recycling, where ash
is melted and the slag is used as a construction material, and direct
utilization of dewatered sludge as cement feedstock.
Fig. 2 shows the utilization rate of sewage sludge on an organic
matter basis in each city. The utilization rate as energy can be
calculated by dividing the volume of sludge used as biomass energy
(ton of volatile solid, t-VS) by the amount of thickened sludge (t-
VS). For example, in Kobe, all of the thickened sludge is input into a
digestion tank, and 50% of the input organic matter is used as
biogas. The remaining digested and dewatered sludge, including
the remaining 50% of the organic matter, is incinerated without
energy recovery. All of the thickened sludge generated in STPs in
Yokohama, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Fukuoka is digested, whereas
digestion tanks are not used in Sapporo, Kawasaki, and Nagoya.
Dewatered sludge is incinerated without energy recovery in most
cities, but technologies used to convert dewatered sludge to solid
fuels have been installed in Sendai, Tokyo's wards, Yokohama,
Osaka, Hiroshima, and Kitakyusyu. In addition, sludge-specific
incineration of dewatered sludge with power generation has been
introduced in Tokyo's wards and Nagoya.
Fig. 3 shows the utilization rate of ash contained in sewage
sludge, defined as the volume of recycled sludge (t-ash [dry basis])
per total amount of dewatered sludge (t-ash [dry basis]). The main
recycling route of incinerated ash derived from sludge is as cement
feedstock, and more than 80% of ash is utilized as cement feedstock
in Saitama, Yokohama, Kawasaki, and Nagoya. In Japan, the cement
806 T. Nakakubo et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813

Fig. 2. Utilization of sewage sludge on an organic matter basis.

industry accepts sludge not only in the form of incinerated ash but
also as dewatered sludge. Direct use of dewatered sludge as cement
feedstock is adopted in Saitama, Hiroshima, Kitakyusyu, and
Fukuoka. If technologies have been introduced for converting
dewatered sludge into solid fuels, the solid fuels are burnt with coal
and the sludge-derived ash generated after co-combustion is
recycled with the coal ash. One recycling route of coal ash in Japan
is as cement feedstock, as a substitute for clay.
2.2. Classification results
We classified the cities by energy use as shown in Fig. 4. The
horizontal axis is the ratio of the volume of thickened sludge being
input into digestion tanks (t-VS) to total thickened sludge genera-
tion (t-VS). The vertical axis is the ratio of the volume of dewatered
sludge being used as energy sources (t-VS) to total dewatered
sludge generation (t-VS).
The cities with high values on the horizontal axis of Fig. 4 are
Yokohama, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, and Fukuoka. In these cities, all of
the thickened sludge is input into a digestion tank, and all of the
dewatered sludge is generated as digested and dewatered sludge.
Thus, these cities share two areas of suitability for collaborative
measures between STPs and MSW-IPs. Based on the vertical axis in
Fig. 4, Sapporo, Kawasaki, Saitama, Chiba, Kyoto, Kobe, and Fukuoka
have not yet introduced any energy recovery technologies from
dewatered sludge, primarily because the equipment lifespans of
their sludge-specific incinerators have not yet expired.
Two aspects were particularly desirable in our case study area:
the value of the horizontal axis in Fig. 4 should be high and the
value of the vertical axis should be low. The most appropriate cities
therefore were Kyoto, Kobe, and Fukuoka. Of these, we selected
Kobe as the case study area.

Fig. 3. Utilization rate of ash contained in sewage sludge.

 T. Nakakubo et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813
Fig. 4. Classification of large cities in terms of estimated sludge use as energy.
3. Methods for the material flow analysis and heat balance
analysis
3.1. Setting conditions for comparing recycling systems
3.1.1. Organic waste recycling cases
Kobe has four STPs with digestion tanks, and dewatered sludge
is consolidated and combusted singularly in one sludge conversion
plant (SCP). Based on the scheduled renewal time and the locations
of these plants, we selected two STPs (Tarumi and Tamazu, here-
after STP I and II, respectively), the SCP (East Sludge Center), and
one MSW-IP (West Clean Center) for our analysis of the effective-
ness of collaborative renewal measures. The target year is FY2030,
which is after the scheduled update of the plants’ equipment. Three
collaborative cases are evaluated, as is a base case. The organic
waste recycling cases are summarized in Table 1, and Fig. 5 illus-
trates the system boundaries of each recycling case.
Commercial kitchen waste is digested with thickened sludge in
STPs in the collaborative cases (X, Y, and Z). In Japan, food waste is
divided into two types: waste generated by food-related industries
as defined in Japan's Food Waste Recycling Act (food manufac-
turers, food wholesalers, food retailers, and the restaurant in-
dustry) and kitchen waste generated by households, which is
collected as a part of MSW. Food waste from food manufacturers is
mainly recycled and used as animal feed, compost, and oil products,
but about half of the food waste from food wholesalers, food re-
tailers, and the restaurant industry is not recycled (MAFF, 2013).
Unrecycled food waste from industrial sectors is counted as com-
mercial kitchen waste. Commercial kitchen waste is treated as a
part of MSW and incinerated in MSW-IPs. Separate collection of
household kitchen waste causes an increase in collection costs
because the number of MSW collections by local governments
Table 1
Summary of organic waste recycling cases.
Use of anaerobic digestion Thickened sludge
Commercial kitchen waste
Method for handling dewatered sludge Sludge-specific incineration without power generation
Carbonization
Co-combustion with MSW
MSW, Municipal solid waste.
807
increases. Commercial kitchen waste is separately collected by the
commercial sectors, so separating and collecting commercial
kitchen waste would not affect the cost of MSW collection. The food
waste input in the digestion tanks in collaborative cases therefore
was set as commercial kitchen waste.
We set three cases for handling dewatered sludge. In case X,
dewatered sludge is combusted in a sludge-specific incinerator
without power generation as is also done in the base case. Under
existing conditions, dewatered sludge is incinerated at 850
C, and
the sludge conversion technology remains unchanged in the base
case and case X. The difference between the base case and case X is
that commercial kitchen waste is incinerated in a MSW-IP or
digested in STPs. In case Y, equipment for low-temperature
carbonization is introduced and sludge is converted into a solid
fuel (carbide fuel), which is then combusted along with coal in coal-
fired power plants. Case Z has the strongest relationship between
the STP and MSW-IP. Dewatered sludge is received by the MSW-IP
and dried by using extraction steam heat, and then dried sludge is
combusted with MSW.
In the base case and case X, dewatered sludge is transported to
the existing SCP (East Sludge Center). The transport distances of
dewatered sludge are 23.8 km for STP I and 37.3 km for STP II. In
case Y, a new SCP, where carbonization equipment is installed, is
located next to STP I. The transport distance of dewatered sludge
from STP II to STP I (the new SCP) is 10.8 km. The transport distance
of solid fuel to the coal-fired power plant is 40.6 km. In case Z, the
existing MSW-IP (West Clean Center) is updated with new equip-
ment for receiving the dewatered sludge. The transport distances of
dewatered sludge from STP I and STP II to MSW-IP are 11.2 and
8.0 km, respectively.
3.1.2. Functional unit of waste management
Table 2 presents the waste disposal amounts for the two STPs
and the SCP. The organic matter content of solid material in crude
and excess sludge is set at 80% (MOLITT and JSW Association, 2004),
and 50% of organic matter included in the thickened sludge is set to
be degraded in the digestion tanks (MOLITT and JSW Association,
2004). The water content of sludge is 99% for crude and excess
sludge, 96% for thickened sludge, and 81% for dewatered sludge
(JSW Association, 2009). An anaerobic-aerobic (AO) method is
applied in the activated sludge tanks installed in STP I, and an
anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic (A2O) method is used in STP II. The ma-
terial balance of wastewater and sludge is calculated based on JSW
Association (2009). The components of commercial kitchen waste
are 85.0% water, 12.8% organic matter, and 2.2% ash (Matsuto,
2005), and the degradation rate of organic matter in digestion
tanks is set at 80% (MOLITT and JSW Association, 2004).
We estimated generation rates of commercial kitchen waste in
each type of food-related sector (kg/employer) by using food waste
statistics (MAFF, 2013). By multiplying the number of establish-
ments in each sector in Kobe by the appropriate generation rate, the
amount of commercial kitchen waste generated in Kobe can be
calculated; the volume allocated to the MSW-IP (West Clean
Base case Collaborative cases
X Y Z
✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓ ✓
✓ ✓
✓
✓
808 T. Nakakubo et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813

Fig. 5. System boundaries of each recycling case: (a) base, X, and Y; (b) Z.
 T. Nakakubo et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813 809

Table 2
Waste disposal amounts for the two STPs and one SCP.

Waste Case Volume

t-wet/day t-dry/day t-VS/day

Wastewater All cases Input to activated sludge tank in STP I 87,986 e e

Same as in STP II 68,620 e e
Crude sludge, excess sludge All cases Input to thickening process in STP I 1632.7 16.3 13.1
Same as in STP II 1000.1 10.0 8.0
Thickened sludge All cases Input to digestion tank in STP I 408.2 16.3 13.1
Same as in STP II 250.0 10.0 8.0
Commercial kitchen waste X, Y, Z cases Input to digestion tank in STP I 15.8 2.4 2.0
Same as in STP II 15.8 2.4 2.0
Digested sludge Base case Input to dewatering process in STP I 401.6 9.8 6.5
Same as in STP II 246.0 6.0 4.0
X, Y, Z cases Input to dewatering process in STP I 415.0 10.5 6.9
Same as in STP II 259.4 6.8 4.4
Dewatered sludge Base case Input to sludge-specific incineration in an old SCP 83.1 15.8 10.5
X case Input to sludge-specific incineration in an old SCP 91.0 17.3 11.3
Y case Input to carbonization in a new SCP
Z case Input to dryer in a new MSW-IP

STP, sewage treatment plant; SCP, sludge conversion plant; MSW-IP, municipal solid waste incineration plant; VS, volatile solid.

Center) was proportionate to the disposal capacity of each MSW-IP.
The waste disposal amounts for the MSW-IP are summarized in
Table 3, and more detailed information is given in Table S1-1. The
input amount of MSW is from MOE (2011), and the composition of
MSW is from Matsuto (2005). The lower heating value (LHV) of
each type of waste was calculated by applying the Steuer equation,
Eq. (1):
LHV ¼ B  f339:4  ðCe3=8  OÞ þ 238:8  3=8  O þ 1445:6
 ðHe1=16  OÞge25  ð9  B  H þ WÞ
(1)
LHV (kJ/kg-wet): lower heating value of each type of waste.-
Components (%): B, burnable (organic) matter; W, water con-
tent.Elemental composition in burnable matter (%): C, carbon; O,
oxygen; H, hydrogen.
The three components and elemental composition of each type
of waste are described in Tables S1-2 and S1-3.
digestion is input into a gas engine (a cogeneration system) for
power production. Electricity produced from the gas engine is
consumed in each STP, and exhaust heat (hot water) is used for
warming and heat retention of the digestion tank.
The heat balance is estimated for the process of low-
temperature carbonization of dewatered sludge: 9% of the organic
matter contained in dewatered sludge is decomposed in the heat
decomposition and carbonization process, and the other 91% of the
organic matter remains in the solid fuel as a bioenergy source (JSW
Agency, 2008). The water content of solid fuel is set at 0% (JSW
Agency, 2008) because all the moisture contained in dewatered
sludge is removed in the drying process of carbonization. Applying
Eq. (1), the energy value of solid fuel was estimated as 14,206 kJ-
LHV/kg, as described in Table S1-3. The amount of city gas
consumed for drying (ECgas ) can be calculated with Eq. (2) based on
energy demand (ED) and drying efficiency (DEcarbonize ). ED can be
estimated with Eq. (3).

ECgas ¼ ED=DEcarbonize (2)

3.2. Technological system description

3.2.1. Characteristics of energy recovery technologies and their

ED ¼ Latent Heat þ Sensible heatwater þ Sensible heatsolid fuel
application
Conversion rates and specific energy consumption for each  Decomposition
process are shown in Table 4. The amount of energy consumption (3)
(demand) can be calculated by multiplying the input of wastewater
or waste by each consumption rate. Biogas energy recovered from where,

Table 3
Waste disposal amounts in the MSW-IP.

Input of waste (t-wet/day) Amount on a LHV basis (GJ-LHV/day)

Base X and Y Z Base X and Y Z

Total 348.3 316.7 345.5 3382 3367 3592

MSW Household kitchen waste 87.6 87.6 87.6 42 42 42
Commercial kitchen waste 31.6 15
Paper waste 147.2 147.2 147.2 1281 1281 1281
Plastic waste 48.1 48.1 48.1 1632 1632 1632
Textile waste (natural one) 4.6 4.6 4.6 85 85 85
Textile waste (synthetic one) 5.2 5.2 5.2 96 96 96
Wood waste 18.5 18.5 18.5 231 231 231
Non-burnable waste 5.5 5.5 5.5 0 0 0
Sludge Dried sludge (40% water content) 28.8 225

MSW-IP, municipal solid waste incineration plant; LHV, lower heating value.
810 T. Nakakubo et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813

Table 4
Conversion rates and specific energy consumption for each process.

Process Technological parameter Reference

Specific energy consumption

STP Activated sludge tank (STP I: AO method) Electricity 316 Wh/m3 Suda et al. (2008)
Activated sludge tank (STP II: A2O method) Electricity 457 Wh/m3
Thickening process Electricity 289  x 0.623 kWh/t-wet Soda et al. (2009)
x: Input of sludge (t-wet)
Digestion tank Electricity 2128  x 0.944 kWh/t-wet
x: Input of sludge (t-wet)
Dewatering process Electricity 418e1.77  xdry kWh/t-dry
xdry: Input of sludge (t-dry)
Adjusting process for food waste Electricity 420.8  x0.475
dry kWh/day NILIM (2013)
xdry: Input of food waste (t-dry)
SCP Sludge-specific incineration Electricity 98 kWh/t-wet JIWET and Osaka Gas (2009)
A-type heavy oil 2259 MJ/t-wet
Low-temperature carbonization Electricity 85 kWh/t-wet JSW Agency (2008)
Drying efficiency 60 %
MSW-IP Incineration system Electricity 182 kWh/t-wet Matsuto (2012)
Transport Truck transport Diesel oil 0.35 L/km Matsuto (2005)
Conversion rate
STP Digestion of thickened sludge Degradation rate 50 % MOLITT and JSW Association (2004)
Biogas recovery 1000 Nm3/t-VS
Heat value 21.44 MJ-LHV/Nm3
Digestion of food waste Degradation rate 80 %
Biogas recovery 850 Nm3/t-VS
Heat value 21.44 MJ-LHV/Nm3
Gas engine Generating efficiency 35 % MOLITT (2015a)
Waste heat efficiency 40 %
CFPP Gross thermal efficiency of power generation 41.5 % J-POWER (2016)

STP, sewage treatment plant; AO, anaerobic-aerobic; A2O, anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic; SCP, sludge conversion plant; LHV, lower heating value; CFPP, coal-fired power plant.

180
C). This water content ratio is set in accord with not only the
Latent Heat ¼ Volumeevaporated water  Specific latent heatwater specific lower heat value of dried sludge, but also its fly charac-
teristic. If the water content of dried sludge is too low, it will be
Sensible heatwater ¼ Volumeevaporated water dispersed in an incinerator and will not burn well.
The methods for evaluating the heat balances in the MSW-IP
 Specific heatevaporated water  ðTC eTB Þ
were developed based on JIWET (2003), Tanaka et al. (2003),
Kubota (2004), Takuma Co. (2011), Sano et al. (2011), and
Sensible heatsolid fuel ¼ Volumesolid fuel  Specific heatsludge Tadokoro (2012). Method details are explained in Supporting
 ðTC eTB Þ Information S2. The energy balance estimation results for the
MSW-IP are shown in Supporting Information S3.

Decomposition ¼ Volumedecomposed sludge

3.3. Inventory data for CO2 and other GHG accounting
 Specific lower heating valuesludge
We considered three types of GHG emissions: (1) CO2 emissions
Volume (kg) is the volume of evaporated water or solid material,
derived from energy consumption; (2) CO2 emissions derived from
specific latent heat of water is 2454 (kJ/kg) (20
C basis), specific
burning of waste made from oil; and (3) CH4 and N2O emissions
heat of evaporated water is 2454 (kJ/kg/
C) (0e250
C basis), and
from wastewater treatment, sludge treatment and conversion, and
specific heat of sludge is 1.670 (kJ/kg/
C). TC is temperature of
MSW incineration. The emission rates for each process are listed in
carbonization (250
C), and TB is basic temperature (20
C).
Table 5. All GHG emissions were calculated in CO2 equivalents by
Solid fuel is combusted with coal in a coal-fired power plant
converting 1 t of emitted CH4 into 25 t of CO2 and 1 t of N2O into
with a gross thermal efficiency of power generation of 41.5%.
298 t of CO2 by considering global warming potential (MOE, 2013b).

3.2.2. Energy balance analysis of a MSW-IP 4. Results

In Japan, most MSW-IPs use a stoker-type MSW incinerator. In
this study, therefore, a stoker-type MSW incinerator was the target
for evaluating the effectiveness of co-combustion of sludge with
MSW. Fig. 6 shows the values used in the energy balance analysis. A
typical energy recovery system from waste heat in Japan is a boiler
and steam turbine system, and in accordance with the latest
manual (MOE, 2010), superheated steam generated from the boiler
was set at a pressure of 4 MPa and a temperature of 400
C.
If dewatered sludge is input into a stoker-type incinerator
directly, consumption of heating oil is needed to keep the furnace
temperature above 850
C. Therefore, dewatered sludge is first
input into a dryer (indirect heat exchange) and dried to a 40% of
water content by using part of the extraction steam (0.6 MPa,
4.1. Total energy consumption
Fig. 7 shows the energy consumption estimation results (in GJ/
day) by assuming 1 kWh of electricity is equivalent to 9.76 MJ of
primary energy (with an average thermal efficiency of electricity
systems of 36.9% in Japan). The energy balance value for the STP is
the amount of on-site energy consumption, and the MSW-IP value
is the amount of electricity supplied.
As compared with the base case, energy consumption is reduced
by 38 GJ in the STP in case X, and electricity supply is increased by
72 GJ by introducing co-combustion. On the other hand, an increase
in dewatered sludge generation leads to an increase in energy
 T. Nakakubo et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813 811

Fig. 6. Set values for the energy balance analysis for the MSW Incineration Plant.

consumption of 25 GJ.
In case Y, although the process increases energy consumption in
the SCP, the amount of electricity supplied from the coal-fired po-
wer plant is greater than the energy consumed. A net 219 GJ
decrease is obtained as compared with the base case.
In case Z, the supplied amount of electricity is reduced by 85 GJ
as compared with case Y by using part of the steam heat generated
for drying the dewatered sludge. This value is smaller than 158 GJ
(76 þ 342e260 GJ), the energy balance of the carbonization system
of dewatered sludge in case Y.
4.2. Total GHG emissions
The estimated amounts of GHG emissions (CO2 eq/day) for each

Table 5
Rates of greenhouse gases emission for each process.

Emission rate Reference

CO2 emission
Consumption of energy Grid electricity 0.550 kg-CO2/kWh MOE (2013a)
A-type heavy oil 0.0693 kg-CO2/MJ MOE (2013b)
Diesel oil 0.0686 kg-CO2/MJ
City gas 0.0499 kg-CO2/MJ
Burning of waste made from oil Plastic waste 2.77 t-CO2/t-dry MOE (2013b)
Synthetic textile 2.29 t-CO2/t-dry
CH4 and N2O emissions
Activated sludge tank (AO method) in STP CH4 0.5287 g-CH4/m3 GIO (2015)
N2O 0.0292 g-N2O/m3
Activated sludge tank (A2O method) in STP CH4 0.5287 g-CH4/m3
N2O 0.0117 g-N2O/m3
Sludge treatment processes (thickening, dewatering) in STP CH4 0.3480 g-CH4/m3
N2O 0.0006 g-N2O/m3
Specific incineration process in SCP (Temperature: 850
C) CH4 0.0097 kg-CH4/t-wet
N2O 0.6450 kg-N2O/t-wet
Low-temperature carbonization in SCP CH4 0 kg-CH4/t-wet MOLITT (2015b)
N2O 0.0312 kg-N2O/t-wet
Incinerator in MSW-IP: Burning of MSW CH4 0.00095 kg-CH4/t-wet
N2O 0.0567 kg-N2O/t-wet
Incinerator in MSW-IP: Burning of dried sludge CH4 0 kg-CH4/t-wet
N2O 0.0095 kg-N2O/t-wet

AO, anaerobic-aerobic; A2O, anaerobic-anoxic-aerobic; STP, sewage treatment plant; SCP, sludge conversion plant; MSW-IP, municipal solid waste incineration plant.
812 T. Nakakubo et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813

Fig. 7. Estimated energy consumption on a primary energy basis.

case are shown in Fig. 8. The emissions in case X were close to those
in the base case because CO2 and N2O emissions from specific
incineration of dewatered sludge increases due to the increase of
dewatered sludge by the STP's acceptance of commercial kitchen
waste in this case. So the co-digestion measure under specific
incineration of sludge does not reduce GHG emissions well.
The estimated amount of GHG emissions was reduced by 25% in
case Y and by 26% in case Z. This means that a similar level of GHG
emission reduction can be achieved by introducing a collaborative
measure between an STP and MSW-IP, even if the sewage works do
not have a relationship with a coal-fired power plant.
In case Y, CO2 emissions are reduced by utilizing solid fuel, but
N2O emissions are also reduced because carbonization of dewa-
tered sludge is conducted in a low-oxygen environment, so N2O
emissions are almost zero. N2O emission reductions are achieved in
case Z by incinerating dried sludge in an MSW-IP, because the
furnace temperature in a stoker-type MSW incinerator is higher
than that in a sludge-specific incinerator. Sludge-specific inciner-
ation is operated at 850
C considering the balance between fuel
consumption and N2O emissions, whereas MSW-IPs are operated at
more than 850
C (about 900
C), primarily to prevent of dioxin
emissions.
5. Discussion
The use of dewatered sludge as an energy resource is difficult
because the water content of dewatered sludge is still relatively
high even though the sludge has been mechanically dewatered. The
advantage of case Z is that part of the steam (heat energy) gener-
ated in the process can be utilized for drying the sludge, thereby
avoiding fuel consumption for removing water from dewatered
sludge. The estimated energy balance of a MSW-IP under case Z is
shown in Fig. S3-3. In this case, the net allocation amount of
extraction steam was 12,307 MJ/h (14,734e2427 MJ/h), which is
about 8% of the total amount of superheated steam generated
(161,186 MJ/h). This means that the decrease in thermal efficiency is
limited.
The power generation efficiency was estimated as 19.1% in case

Fig. 8. Total estimated greenhouse gas emissions.

 T. Nakakubo et al. / Journal of Cleaner Production 168 (2017) 803e813
Z by dividing the amount of power generated (28,614 MJ/h) by the
lower heating value of MSW and dried sludge (140,268 þ 9387 MJ/
h), which is smaller than the gross thermal efficiency of a coal-fired
power plant (41.5%). By contrast, there is no need to dry sludge
completely in the case of co-combustion in a MSW-IP, so the energy
consumption for drying in case Z is lower than it is in case Y. This
characteristic leads to a similar level of GHG emissions in cases Y
and Z.
6. Conclusions
 If N2O emissions are considered, co-digestion of commercial
kitchen waste with thickened sludge does not lead to GHG
emission reduction when the dewatered sludge is combusted
alone.
 GHG emissions were reduced by 25% in case Y and by 26% in case
Z as compared with the base case. This means that the same
level of GHG reductions can be achieved by introducing a co-
combustion system in a MSW-IP, even when there is no
collaboration with a coal-fired power plant, such as that used in
case Y.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Environment Research and
Technology Development Fund (3K143006) of the Ministry of the
Environment, Japan.
Appendix A. Supplementary data
Supplementary data related to this article can be found at
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.09.058.
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