title: Fossil and biogenic CO₂ from waste incineration based on a yearlong radiocarbon study.
abstract: We describe the first long-term implementation of the radiocarbon (¹⁴C) method to study the share of biogenic (%Bio C) and fossil (%Fos C) carbon in combustion CO₂. At five Swiss incinerators, a total of 24 three-week measurement campaigns were performed over 1 year. Temporally averaged bag samples were analyzed for ¹⁴CO₂ by accelerator mass spectrometry. Significant differences between the plants in the share of fossil CO₂ were observed, with annual mean values from 43.4 ± 3.9% to 54.5 ± 3.1%. Variations can be explained by the waste composition of the respective plant. Based on our dataset, an average value of 48 ± 4%Fos C was determined for waste incineration in Switzerland. No clear annual trend in %Fos C was observed for four of the monitored incinerators, while one incinerator showed considerable variations, which are likely due to the separation and temporary storage of bulky goods.
authors.affiliation: Empa, Laboratory for Air Pollution & Environmental Technology, Überlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland. joachim.mohn@empa.ch
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mohn
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Szidat
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zeyer
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Emmenegger
mesh_terms: D056804:Biofuels; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry*; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis; D005579:Fossil Fuels / Q000032:analysis*; D017745:Incineration; D013058:Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels; D002250:Carbon Radioisotopes; D005579:Fossil Fuels; D002245:Carbon Dioxide