Development of sustainable waste management toward zero landfill waste for the petrochemical industry in Thailand using a comprehensive 3R methodology: A case study.
Sustainable waste management was introduced more than ten years ago, but it has not yet been applied to the Thai petrochemical industry. Therefore, under the philosophy of sustainable waste management, this research aims to apply the reduce, reuse, and recycle (3R) concept at the petrochemical factory level to achieve a more sustainable industrial solid waste management system. Three olefin plants in Thailand were surveyed for the case study. The sources and types of waste and existing waste management options were identified. The results indicate that there are four sources of waste generation: (1) production, (2) maintenance, (3) waste treatment, and (4) waste packaging, which correspond to 45.18%, 36.71%, 9.73%, and 8.37% of the waste generated, respectively. From the survey, 59 different types of industrial wastes were generated from the different factory activities. The proposed 3R options could reduce the amount of landfill waste to 79.01% of the amount produced during the survey period; this reduction would occur over a period of 2 years and would result in reduced disposal costs and reduced consumption of natural resources. This study could be used as an example of an improved waste management system in the petrochemical industry.
International Postgraduate Program in Environmental Management, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand Center of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management (HSM), Bangkok, Thailand.
Parnuwat
P
Usapein
Center of Excellence on Hazardous Substance Management (HSM), Bangkok, Thailand Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand orathai.c@chula.ac.th.
Orathai
O
Chavalparit
D000475:Alkenes / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D002617:Chemical Industry / Q000379:methods*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D017752:Greenhouse Effect; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D059027:Recycling; D013785:Thailand; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities; D018505:Waste Management / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*
D000475:Alkenes; D007220:Industrial Waste
3R concept; industrial wastes; landfill waste; olefin plant; petrochemical wastes; waste management