title: Waste-to-Chemicals for a Circular Economy: The Case of Urea Production (Waste-to-Urea).
abstract: The economics and environmental impact of a new technology for the production of urea from municipal solid waste, particularly the residue-derived fuel (RdF) fraction, is analyzed. Estimates indicate a cost of production of approximately €135 per ton of urea (internal rate of return more than 10 %) and savings of approximately 0.113 tons of CH4and approximately 0.78 tons of CO2per ton of urea produced. Thus, the results show that this waste-to-urea (WtU) technology is both economically valuable and environmentally advantageous (in terms of saving resources and limiting carbon footprint) for the production of chemicals from municipal solid waste in comparison with both the production of urea with conventional technology (starting from natural gas) and the use of RdF to produce electrical energy (waste-to-energy). A further benefit is the lower environmental impact of the solid residue produced from RdF conversion. The further benefit of this technology is the possibility to realize distributed fertilizer production.
authors.affiliation: Processi Innovativi, Via Guido Polidoro 1, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Antonetti
authors.affiliation: Processi Innovativi, Via Guido Polidoro 1, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Iaquaniello
authors.affiliation: Processi Innovativi, Via Guido Polidoro 1, 67100, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: Annarita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salladini
authors.affiliation: OESA Srl, Via Pontina 545, 00128, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Spadaccini
authors.affiliation: Univ. Messina and INSTM/CASPE, Industrial Chemistry (Dept.s MIFT & ChimBioFarAm), V.le F. Stagno D'Alcontres 31, 98166, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Siglinda
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-8814-1972
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Perathoner
authors.affiliation: Univ. Messina and INSTM/CASPE, Industrial Chemistry (Dept.s MIFT & ChimBioFarAm), V.le F. Stagno D'Alcontres 31, 98166, Messina, Italy.
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5626-9840
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Centi
mesh_terms: D004777:Environment; D062611:Solid Waste; D014508:Urea / Q000737:chemistry*; D018505:Waste Management / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D062611:Solid Waste; D014508:Urea
keywords: circular economy; municipal solid waste; residue derived fuel; urea; waste prevention