Chongrak Polprasert1, 2,
Suthirat Kittipongvises2,
and Warangkana Jutidamrongphan3
1Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute, Academy of Science.
2“Environmental Engineering and Management,
Asian Institute of Technology,
Pathumthani.
3Department of Civil & Environmental System Engineering,
Konkuk University, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
Global warming is a serious environmental problem worldwide. Thailand has been affected by global warming through severe flooding and drought, resulting in negative impact on health and development. Efforts to minimize greenhouse gas (GHGs) emission have been undertaken by several sectors, especially those involved with energy utilization and environmental control. This study evaluated the performance of aste-To-Energy (WTE) project located in northeast Thailand which, through a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), treats about 7,000 m per day of tapioca processing wastewater with an Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR). The ABR could reduce chemical oxygen demand of tapioca processing wastewater by more than 90% and the methane gas generated of 50,000 – 80,000 mo per day was used to replace approximately eight million litres per year of heavy fuel oil required to supply about 20,000 MWh per year of electricity into the grid. In addition, the WTE project results in certified emission reductions (CERs) of 300,000 tonnes Co, equivalent per year. At the 2008 CERs rate of Euro10 per tonne CO, equivalent, this would bring in additional income of 3,000,000 Euro or about 120 million baht per year. Another study evaluated the performance of the other WTE facility of the Rayong municipality, eastern Thailand, where about 20 tonnes of municipal solid wastes per day are treated by anaerobic digestion. The meth ane gas produced from this treatment is fed to a co-generator to produce about 3,360 MWh of electricity per year. From an environmental perspective, this WTE facility was able to reduce GHGs emission of 7,150 tonnes Co, equivalent per year. The above case studies demonstrated the effectiveness of WTE facilities in minimizing GHGs emission and their performances were found to be environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.
Key words: Global warming, Greenhouse gases (GHGs), Clean