title: Assessment of environmental and economic feasibility of Enhanced Landfill Mining.
abstract: This paper addresses the environmental and economic performance of Enhanced Landfill Mining (ELFM). Based on life cycle assessment and life cycle costing, a detailed model is developed and is applied to a case study, i.e. the first ELFM project in Belgium. The environmental and economic analysis is performed in order to study the valorisation of different waste types in the landfill, such as municipal solid waste, industrial waste and total waste. We found that ELFM is promising for the case study landfill as greater environmental benefits are foreseen in several impact categories compared to the landfill's current situation (the 'Do-nothing' scenario). Among the considered processes, the thermal treatment process dominates both the environmental and economic performances of ELFM. Improvements in the electrical efficiency of thermal treatment process, the calorific value of refuse derived fuel and recovery efficiencies of different waste fractions lead the performance of ELFM towards an environmentally sustainable and economically feasible direction. Although the environmental and economic profiles of ELFM will differ from case to case, the results of this analysis can be used as a benchmark for future ELFM projects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, 3001 Leuven, Belgium; Center for Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Business Economics, Hasselt University, Agoralaan, Building D, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium. Electronic address: mdanthurebandara@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Maheshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Danthurebandara
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Business Economics, Hasselt University, Agoralaan, Building D, 3590 Diepenbeek, Belgium.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van Passel
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Materials Management Unit, VITO NV, 2400 MOL, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ive
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Vanderreydt
authors.affiliation: Department of Materials Engineering, KU Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 44, 3001 Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Karel
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van Acker
mesh_terms: D001530:Belgium; D008906:Mining / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D062611:Solid Waste / Q000032:analysis*; D064091:Waste Disposal Facilities; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D062611:Solid Waste
keywords: Enhanced Landfill Mining; Life cycle assessment; Life cycle costing