Professional Documents
Culture Documents
WASTE SECTOR
5.1
Overview
Introduction
IPCC 1996GL (Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories) and GPG2000 (Good Practice
Guidance and Uncertainty Management in National Greenhouse
Gas Inventories)
Reporting framework
Key source category analysis and decision trees
Tier structure, selection and criteria
Review of problems
Methodological issues
Activity data
Emission factors
IPCC 1996GL category-wise assessment and GPG2000 options
Examination and assessment of activity data and emission
factors: data status and options
Uncertainty estimation and reduction
5.2
Introduction
5.3
Introduction
COP2 adopted guidelines for preparation of initial national
communications (decision 10/CP.2)
IPCC guidelines used by 106 NAI Parties to prepare national
communications
New UNFCCC guidelines adopted at COP8 (decision 17/CP.8)
provided improved guidelines for preparing GHG inventory
UNFCCC User Manual for guidelines on national communications
to assist NAI Parties in using latest UNFCCC guidelines
Review and synthesis reports of NAI inventories highlighted
several difficulties and limitations of using IPCC 1996GL
(FCCC/SBSTA/2003/INF.10)
GPG2000 addressed some of the limitations and provided
guidelines in order to reduce uncertainties
5.4
Purpose of this Handbook
GHG inventories are mostly biological sectors, such as Waste,
and characterized by:
methodological limitations
high uncertainty
5.5
Target groups
5.6
NAI country examples
Review of national communications: Argentina,
Colombia, Chile , Cuba and Panama
GHG inventories show that the Waste sector
may be significant in NAI countries
Commonly a significant source of CH4
In some cases a significant source of N2O
Solid waste disposal sites (SWDS) frequently a
key source of CH4 emissions
5.7
Definitions
Waste emissions – Includes GHG emissions
resulting from waste management activities
(solid and liquid waste management,
excepting CO2 from organic matter
incinerated and/or used for energy
purposes).
Source – Any process or activity that
releases a GHG (such as CO2, N2O, CH4)
into the atmosphere.
5.8
Definitions (2)
Activity Data – Data on the magnitude of human
activity, resulting in emissions during a given
period of time (e.g. data on waste quantity,
management systems and incinerated waste).
Emission Factor – A coefficient that relates
activity data to the amount of chemical
compound that is the source of later emissions.
Emission factors are often based on a sample of
measurement data, averaged to develop a
representative rate of emission for a given
activity level under a given set of operating
conditions.
5.9
IPCC 1996GL and
GPG2000
5.10
Emissions from waste
management
Decomposition of organic matter in wastes
(carbon and nitrogen)
Waste incineration (these emissions are not
reported when waste is used to generate
energy)
5.11
Decomposition of waste
Anaerobic decomposition of man-made waste by
methanogenic bacteria
Solid waste
Land disposal sites
Liquid waste
Human sewage
Industrial waste water
Nitrous oxide emissions from waste water are
also produced from protein decomposition
5.12
Land disposal sites
Major form of solid waste disposal in
developed world
Produces mainly methane at a diminishing
rate taking many years for waste to
decompose completely
Also carbon dioxide and volatile organic
compounds produced
Carbon dioxide from biomass not accounted
or reported elsewhere
5.13
Decomposition process
Organic matter into small soluble molecules
(including sugars)
Broken down to hydrogen, carbon dioxide
and different acids
Acids are converted to acetic acid
Acetic acid with hydrogen and carbon
dioxide are substrate for methanogenic
bacteria
5.14
Methane from land
disposal
Volumes
Estimates from landfills: 20–70 Tg/yr
Total human methane emissions: 360 Tg/yr
From 6% to 20% of total
Other impacts
Vegetation damage
Odours
May form explosive mixtures
5.15
Characteristics of the
methanogenic process
Highly heterogeneous
However, relevant factors to consider:
Waste management practices
Waste composition
Physical factors
5.16
Waste management
practices
Aerobic waste treatment
Produces compost that may increase soil carbon
No methane
Open dumping
Common in developing regions
Shallow, open piles, loosely compacted
No control for pollutants, scavenging frequent
Anecdotal evidence of methane production
An arbitrary factor, 50% of sanitary land filling, is
used
5.17
Waste management
practices (II)
Sanitary landfills
Specially designed
Gas and leakage control
Scale economy
5.18
Waste composition
Degradable organic matter can vary
Highly putrescible in developing countries
In developed countries, due to higher paper
and card content, less putrescible
This affects stabilization and methane
production
Developing countries: 10–15 years
Developed countries: more than 20 years
5.19
Physical factors
Moisture essential for bacterial metabolism
Factors: initial moisture content, infiltration
from surface and groundwater, as well as
decomposition processes
Temperature: 25–40°C required for a good
methane production
5.20
Physical factors (II)
Chemical conditions
Optimal pH for methane production: 6.8 to 7.2
Sharp decrease of methane production below 6.5 pH
Acidity may delay the onset of methane production
Conclusion
Data availability is too poor to use these factors for
national or global methane emissions estimates
5.21
Methane emissions
5.22
Waste-water treatment
5.23
Methane emissions from
waste-water treatment
From anaerobic processes without methane
recovery
Volumes
30–40 Tg/yr
About 8%–11% of anthropogenic methane
emissions
Industrial emissions estimated at 26–40 Tg/yr
Domestic and commercial estimated at 2 Tg/yr
5.24
Factors for methane
emissions
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (+/+)
Temperature ( >15°C)
Retention time
Lagoon maintenance
Depth of lagoon ( >2.5 m, pure anaerobic; less
than 1 m, not expected to be significant, most
common facultative 1.2 to 2.5 m – 20% to 30%
BOD anaerobically)
5.25
Biochemical oxygen
demand
Is the organic content of waste water
(“loading”)
Represents O consumed by waste water
during decomposition (expressed in mg/l)
Standardized measurement is the “5-day
test” denoted as BOD5
Examples of BOD5:
Municipal waste water 110–400 mg/l
Food processing 10 000–100 000 mg/l
5.26
Main industrial sources
Food processing:
Processing plants (fruit, sugar, meat, etc.)
Creameries
Breweries
Others
Pulp and paper
5.27
Waste incineration
Waste incineration can produce:
Carbon dioxide, methane, carbon
monoxide, nitrogen oxides, nitrous oxides
and non-methane volatile organic
compounds
Nevertheless, it accounts for a small
percentage of GHG output from the waste
sector
5.28
Emissions from waste
incineration
Only the fossil-based portion of waste to
be considered for carbon dioxide
Other gases difficult to estimate
Nitrous oxide mainly from sludge
incineration
5.29
IPCC 1996GL
Basis of inventory methodology for waste sector
is:
Organic matter decomposition
Incineration of fossil origin organic material
Does not include concrete calculations for the
latter
Organic matter decomposition covers:
Methane from organic matter in both liquid and
solid wastes
Nitrous oxide from protein in human sewage
Emissions of non-methane volatile organic
compounds are not covered
5.30
IPCC default categories
Methane Emissions from Solid Waste Disposal
Sites
Methane Emissions from Wastewater treatment
Domestic and Commercial Wastewater
Industrial Wastewater and Sludge Streams
Nitrous oxide from Human Sewage
5.31
Inventory preparation using
IPCC 1996GL
Step 1: Conduct key source category analysis for Waste
sector where:
Sector is compared to other source sectors such as Energy,
Agriculture, LUCF, etc.
Estimate Waste sector’s share of national GHG inventory
Key source sector identification adopted by Parties that
have already prepared an initial national communication,
have inventory estimates
Parties that have not prepared an initial national
communication can use inventories prepared under other
programs/projects
Parties that have not prepared any inventory, may not be
able to carry out the key source sector analysis
Step 2: Select the categories
5.32
Inventory preparation using
IPCC 1996GL (2)
Step 3: Assemble required activity data depending on tier
selected from local, regional, national and global databases,
including EFDB
Step 4: Collect emission/removal factors depending on tier level
selected from local/regional/national/global databases, including
EFDB
Step 5: Select method of estimation based on tier level and
quantify emissions/removals for each category
Step 6: Estimate uncertainty involved
Step 7: Adopt quality assurance/control procedures and report
results
Step 8: Report GHG emissions
Step 9: Report all procedures, equations and sources of data
adopted for GHG inventory estimation
5.33
Calculation of methane
from solid waste disposal
For sanitary landfills there are several methods:
Mass balance and theoretical gas yield
Theoretical first order kinetics methodologies
Regression approach
Complex models not applicable for regions or
countries
Open dumps considered to emit 50%, but should
be reported separately
5.34
Mass balance and
theoretical gas yield
No time factors
Immediate release of methane
Produces reasonable estimates if amount
and composition of waste have been
constant or slowly varying, otherwise
biased trends
How to calculate:
Using empirical formulae
Using degradable organic content
5.35
Empirical formulae
Assumes 53% of carbon content is
converted to methane
If microbial biomass is discounted it
reduces the amount emitted
234 m3 of methane per tonne of wet
municipal solid waste
5.36
Using degradable organic
content (Base of Tier 1)
Calculated from the weighted average of the
carbon content of various components of the
waste stream
Requires knowledge of:
Carbon content of the fractions
Composition of the fractions in the waste
stream
This method is the basis for the Tier I
calculation approach
5.37
Equation
Methane emission =
Total municipal solid waste (MSW) generated
(Gg/yr) x
Fraction landfilled x
Fraction degradable organic carbon (DOC) in MSW
x
Fraction dissimilated DOC x
0.5 g C as CH4/g C as biogas x
Conversion ratio (16/12) ) – Recovered CH4
5.38
Assumptions
Only urban populations in developing countries
need be considered; rural areas produce no
significant amount of emissions
Fraction dissimilated was assumed from a
theoretical model that varies with temperature:
0.014T + 0.28, considering a constant 35°C for
the anaerobic zone of a landfill, this gives 0.77
dissimilated DOC
No oxidation or aerobic process included
5.39
Example
Waste generated 235 Gg/yr
% landfilled 80
% DOC 21
% DOC dissimilated 77
Recovered 1.5 Gg/yr
Methane =
(235*0.80*0.21*0.77*0.5*16/12) – 1.5 =19 Gg/yr
5.40
Limitations
Main:
No time factor
No oxidation considered
DOC dissimilated too high
Delayed release of methane under increasing waste
landfilled conditions leads to significant
overestimations of emissions
Oxidation factor may reach up to 50% according to
some authors, a 10% reduction is to be accounted
5.41
Default method – Tier 1
Includes a methane correction factor according to the
type of site (waste management correction factor).
Default values range from 0.4 for shallow unmanaged
disposal sites (> 5m) to 0.8 for deep (<5m)
unmanaged sites; and 1 for managed sites.
Uncategorized sites given a correction factor of 0.6
The former DOC dissimilated was reduced from 0.77
to 0.5 - 0.6, due to the presence of lignin
5.42
Default method – Tier 1
The fraction of methane in landfill gas was
changed from 0.5 to a range between 0.4 and
0.6, to account for several factors, including
waste composition
Includes an oxidation factor. Default value of 0.1
is suitable for well managed landfills
It is important to remember to subtract
recovered methane before applying an
oxidation factor
5.43
Default method – Tier 1
Good Practice
Emissions of methane (Gg/yr) =
[(MSWT*MSWF*L0) -R]*(1-OX) where
MSWT= Total municipal solid waste
MSWF= Fraction disposed at SWDS
L0 = Methane generation potential
R = Recovered methane (Gg/yr)
OX = Oxidation factor (fraction)
5.44
Methane generation
potential
L0 = (MCF*DOC*DOCF*F*16/12 (GgCH4/Gg
waste))
where:
MCF = Methane correction factor (fraction)
DOC = Degradable organic carbon
DOCF = Fraction of DOC dissimilated
F = Fraction by volume of methane in
landfilled gas
16/12 = Conversion from C to CH4
5.45
Other approaches
Include a fraction of dry refuse in the
equation
Consider a waste generation rate (1 kg
per capita per day for developed
countries, half of that for developing
countries)
Use gross domestic product as an
indicator of waste production rates
5.46
GPG2000 Approach
5.47
Theoretical first order kinetics
methodologies (Tier 2)
5.48
Base equation
QCH4 = L0R(e-kc - e-kt)
QCH4 = methane generation rate at year t (m3/yr)
L0 = degradable organic carbon available for
methane generation (m3/tonne of waste)
R = quantity of waste landfilled (tonnes)
k = methane generation rate constant (yr-1)
c = time since landfill closure (yr)
t = time since initial refuse placement (yr)
5.49
Good practice equation
Time t is replaced by t-x, normalization factor
that corrects for the fact that the evaluation
for a single year is a discrete time rather than
a continuous time estimate
Methane generated in year t (Gg/yr) =
Sx [(A*k*MSWT(x)*MSWF(x)*L0(x)) * e-k(t-x) ]
for x = initial year to t
Sum the obtained results for all years (x)
5.50
Good practice equation
Where:
t = year of inventory
x = years for which input should be added
A = (1-e-k)/k; normalisation factor which corrects the
summation
k = Methane generation rate constant
MSWT (x)= Total municipal solid waste generated in
year x (Proportional to total or urban population if
no rural waste collection)
L0(x) = Methane generation potential
5.51
Methane generation rate
constant
The methane generation rate constant k is the
time taken for the DOC in waste to decay to half
its initial mass (half-life)
k = ln2/t½
This requires historical data. Data for 3 to 5 half
lives in order to achieve an acceptable result.
Changes in management should be taken into
account
5.52
Methane generation rate
constant
Is determined by type of waste and conditions
Measurements go from 0.03 to 0.2 per year,
equivalent to half lives from 23 to 3 years
More degradable material and humidity lower
half life
Default value: 0.05 per year, or a half life of 14
years
5.53
Methane generation
potential
L0(x) = (MCF(x)*DOC(x)*DOCF*F*16/12 (GgCH4/Gg
waste))
where:
MCF(x) = Methane correction factor in year x (fraction)
DOC (x) = Degradable organic carbon in year x
DOCF = Fraction of DOC dissimilated
F = Fraction by volume of methane in gas generated
from landfill
16/12 = Conversion from C to CH4
5.54
Methane emitted
Methane generated minus methane recovered
and not oxidized
Equation:
Methane emitted in year t (Gg/yr) = (Methane
generated in year t (Gg/yr) - R(t))*(1 - Ox)
Where:
R(t) = Methane recovered in year t (Gg/yr)
Ox = Oxidation factor (fraction)
5.55
Practical applications
Base for Tier 2 approach
Applied earlier in:
United Kingdom
The Netherlands
Canada
5.56
Regression approach
From empirical models
Statistical and regressional analysis applied
5.57
Uncertainties in
calculations
Methane actually produced
Are old landfills covered?
Quantity and composition of landfilled
waste
Is there historical data on waste
composition?
Methane actually produced
Are landfill and waste management
practices well known?
5.58
Calculations of emissions from
waste-water treatment
5.59
Methane from domestic and
commercial waste water
Simplified approach
Data:
BOD in Gg per 1000 persons (default values)
Country population in thousands
Fraction of total waste water treated anaerobically
(0.1–0.15 as default)
Methane emission factor
(default 0.22 Gg CH4/Gg BOD
Subtract recovered methane
5.60
Equation
Methane emission =
Population (103) x
Gg BOD5/1000 persons x
Fraction anaerobically treated x
0.22 Gg CH4/Gg BOD –
Methane recovered
5.61
GPG 2000 Approach
5.62
Good practice guidance –
Check method
WM = P*D*SBF*EF*FTA*365*10-12 , where:
WM = country’s annual methane emissions from domestic
waste water
P = population (total or urban in developing countries)
D = organic load (default 60 g BOD/person/day)
SBF = fraction of BOD that readily settles, default = 0.5
EF = emission factor (g CH4/ g BOD), default =
0.6 or 0.25 g CH4/ g COD (chemical oxygen demand)
when using COD
FTA = part of BOD anaerobically degraded, default = 0.8
5.63
Check method rationale
SBF is related to BOD from non-dissolved solids,
which account for more than 50% of BOD.
Settling tanks remove 33% and other methods
50%
Fraction of BOD in sludge that degrades
anaerobically (FTA) is related to the processes,
aerobic or anaerobic. Aerobic processes and
sludge non-methane producing procedures may
lead to FTA = 0
5.64
Check method rationale
Emission factor is expressed in BOD, however COD
is used in many places
COD is 2 to 2.5 times higher than BOD, so the
default values are 0.6 g CH4/ g BOD or 0.25 g CH4/ g
COD
Emission factor is calculated from the methane
producing factor stated above and the weighted
average of methane conversion factor (MCF)
5.65
Methane conversion
factor
IPCC guidelines recommends to separate
calculations for waste water and sludge.
This influences the detailed approach
calculation
Excepting sludge sent to landfills or for
agriculture, this is not necessary
If no data are available, expert judgement
of sanitation engineers may be
incorporated: Weighted MCF = Fraction of
BOD anaerobically degrades
5.66
Detailed approach
Considers two additional factors:
Different treatment methods used and total
waste water treated using each method
MCF for each treatment
The final result is the sum of the fractions
calculated by the simplified approach, less
the recovered methane
5.67
Equation
5.68
Methane emissions from
industrial waste water
Industrial waste water may be treated in domestic
sewer systems or on site
Only on-site calculations are covered in this section,
the rest should be added to domestic waste-water
loading
Most estimates used are for point sources
Focus on key industries is required and default
values are provided
5.69
Emissions from industrial
waste-water treatment
Simplified approach:
Determine relevant industries (wine, beer, food,
paper, etc.)
Estimate waste-water outflow (per tonne of product,
or default)
Estimate BOD5 concentration (or default)
Estimate the fraction treated
Estimate methane emission factor (default 0.22 Gg
CH4/Gg BOD )
Subtract any methane recovered
5.70
Equation
Industrial waste-water emissions =
(Si waste-water outflow by industry (Ml/yr) x
kg BOD5/I x
Fraction waste water treated anaerobically
x 0.22) - Methane recovered
5.71
Detailed approach
Similar to the used for estimating methane
emissions from domestic and commercial waste
water
Requires knowledge of:
Specific waste-water treatments
MCF for each factor
5.72
Equation
Industrial waste-water Emissions =
(Si Waste-water outflow by industry (Ml/yr) x
kg BOD5/l x
Fraction waste water treated using method i x MCF
for method i) - Methane recovered
5.73
Uncertainties in
calculations
Lack of information about volumes, treatments and
recycling
Discharge into surface waters:
Not anaerobic (default 0%)
5.75
Emissions from waste
incineration
For carbon dioxide, only fossil fraction counts not
biomass
Only accounted under waste sector when no
energy is recovered
IPCC guidelines include a simple method
It is good practice to disaggregate waste into waste
types and take into account burn-out efficiency of
incinerator
5.76
Equation for carbon
dioxide
CO2 emission (Gg/yr) = Si(IWi*CCWi*FCFi*Efi*44/12)
where i = MSW, HW, CW, SS
MSW municipal solid waste, HW hazardous waste,
CW clinical waste and SS sewage sludge
IWi = Amount of incinerated waste type i
CCWi = Fraction of C content in waste type i
FCFi = Fraction of fossil C in waste type i
EF = Burn-out efficiency of combustion of
incinerators for waste type i (fraction)
44/12 = Conversion from C to CO2
5.77
Equation for nitrous oxide
N2O emission (Gg/yr) = Si(IWi*Efi)*10-6 where
IWi = Amount of incinerated waste type i (Gg/yr)
EFi = Aggregate emission factor for waste type i
(kg N2O/Gg) or
5.78
Emission factors and activity data for
carbon dioxide
5.79
Emission factors and activity data
for nitrous oxide
5.80
Reporting framework
5.81
General reporting
recommendations
It is good practice to document and archive
all information required to produce the
national inventory estimates
See GPG2000, Chapter 8, Quality
Assurance and Quality Control, Section
8.10.1, Internal Documentation and Archiving
Transparency in activity data and the
possibility to retrace calculations are
important
5.82
Report quality
assurance/quality control
Transparency can be improved through clear
documentation and explanations
Estimate using different approaches
Cross check emission factors
Check default values, survey data and
secondary data preparation for activity data
Cross check with other countries
5.83
Reporting for methane from solid
waste disposal sites
5.84
Reporting for methane from solid waste
disposal sites
5.85
Reporting for methane from
domestic waste-water handling
5.86
Reporting for methane from
industrial waste-water handling
5.87
Reporting nitrous oxide
emissions from waste water
5.88
Reporting for waste
incineration
All waste incineration is to be included
Avoid double counting with energy recovery, even
when waste is used as a substitute fuel (e.g.
cement and brick production)
Default ranges for emission estimates are
provided in GPG2000, Chapter 5, Tables 5.6 and
5.7
Support fuel, generally little, shall be reported in
Energy sector; maybe important for hazardous
waste
5.89
Key source category
analysis and decision
trees
5.90
Comparison
5.91
Comparison between
IPCC 1996GL and GPG2000
GPG2000 IPCC 1996GL - default approach
First Order Decay Method for Solid Waste Based on last year’s waste entering the
Disposal Sites based on real- world disposal sites. Good approximation only for
conditions of decomposition long-term stable conditions. First Order Decay
is mentioned without specific calculations
Includes a “check method” for countries Keeps a separation between:
with difficulties to calculate the emissions Domestic waste water
from domestic waste-water handling Industrial waste water
Human sewage is indicated as an area for Calculation made on the basis of an
further development and no improvement approximation developed for the Agriculture
over IPCC 1996GL is presented sector (see chapter on Agriculture sector)
New section including emissions from waste Contains no detailed methodologies
incineration covers: <<correct?>>
CO2 emissions
N2O emissions
5.92
Key activity data required for
GPG2000 and IPCC 1996GL
GPG2000 IPCC 1996GL
Disposal activity for solid waste for several Disposal activity for current year,
years default values or a per capita
Less requirements with the check method approach
for CH4 emissions from domestic waste Waste-water flows and waste-water
water treatment data required
Top-down modification of IPCC 1996GL Very detailed, industry specific data
recommended due to high costs required
Incineration amounts, composition (carbon No specific methodology
content and fossil fraction) required for CO2
Emission measurements recommended for
N2O
5.93
Key emission factors required
for IPCC 1996GL and GPG2000
Most emission factors are common to
both:
Methane generation potential for SWDS
Human sewage conversion factor
Methane conversion factor
New emission factors related to:
Tier 2 for SWDS, particularly k value
Waste incineration (lack of some default
values)
5.94
Link between IPCC 1996GL and
GPG2000
5.95
List of problems
5.96
Problems addressed
Problems found by NAI experts in using IPCC
1996GL
Problems categorized into:
Methodological issues
Activity data (AD)
Emission factors (EF)
GPG2000 addresses some deficiencies found in
IPCC 1996GL
Strategies for improvement in methodology, AD and EF
Strategy for AD and EF – tier approach
Points to sources of data for AD and EF, including EFDB
5.97
Methodological issues
Methodologies that are not covered :
Sludge spreading and composting,
Use of burning under conditions not reflected
properly in the waste incineration section
Tropical conditions of many NAI Parties vis-à-vis
methane generation
Use of open dumps instead of landfills
Lack of a proper calculation method for human
sewage in the case of island countries or countries
with prevailing coastal populations, and complexity
of the methodology.
5.98
Lack of waste methodologies that
reflect national circumstances
5.99
More deficiencies in the
methodologies
GPG2000 approach Improvement suggested
- The GPG2000 does not cover conditions for - Initiate field studies to expand the
tropical countries and management practices for methodology
both solid wastes and waste waters - Adopt the proposed methodologies
- The approximation used in GPG2000 to calculate covered in the Agriculture chapter
nitrous oxide from human sewage (the same differentiating according to
approximation as in IPCC 1996GL) does not reflect geographical reality
properly the situation of coastal/island areas
5.100
Complexity of methodology
GPG2000 approach Improvement suggested
- The methodologies presented for Solid - Methods similar to the Check method for
Waste Disposal Sites and Waste waste water should be provided to enhance
Incineration require data that are not completeness of reporting
commonly available in NAI countries
5.101
Activity data problems
Lack of data on generated solid waste
Lack of time-series data for waste generation
Lack of availability of disaggregated data
Lack of data on composition of solid waste
Lack of data on oxidation conditions
Extrapolations based on past data used to apply Tier 2 for Solid
Waste Disposal Sites CH4 generation
Low reliability and high uncertainty of data
5.102
Emission factor problems
Inappropriate default values given in IPCC 1996GL
5.103
List of problems
(Category wise)
5.104
CH4 Emissions from Solid
Waste Disposal Sites
Table 6.A
5.105
Methodological issues
5.106
Activity data and emission
factors
Lack of activity data, both for the present and the
required time series, for the waste flows and their
composition
Default activity data for only 10 NAI countries
Values reflected for k parameter for the application
of the First Order Decay method do not reflect
tropical conditions of temperature and humidity.
The higher k value in GPG2000 is 0.2 and the one
in IPCC 1996GL is 0.4
The proposed Methane Correction Factor, even
using the lesser value, 0.4, may lead to
overestimations, due to shallowness and the
frequent practice of burning as a pretreatment at
disposal sites
5.107
Emissions from
Wastewater Handling
Table 6.B
5.108
Methodological issues
For CH4 emissions from domestic waste-water handling,
GPG2000 presents a simplified method called the “check
method” avoiding the complexities in IPCC 1996GL
In NAI countries, national methods or parameters, or even
activity data, may by available only infrequently
For CH4 emissions from industrial waste-water handling,
GPG2000 presents a “best practice” for cases where these
emissions represent a key source, recommending the selection
of 3 or 4 key industries
For emissions of N2O from human sewage, no improvements
were made in GPG2000 over IPPC 1996 GL. This methodology
has several limitations that have caused several NAI countries to
declare it “inapplicable”
5.109
Activity data and emission
factors
Availability of activity data and emission factors is
uncommon in NAI countries for CH4 emissions
from domestic waste water, and the “check
method” may help to overcome this issue. In any
case, GPG 2000 is an improvement in that it
identifies potential CH4 emissions
For CH4 emissions from industrial waste water, in
cases where it is a key source, it is feasible to
work only with the largest industries
For N2O emissions from human sewage, the
activity data needed are relatively simple and
easy to obtain
5.110
Emissions from Waste
Incineration
Table 6.C
5.111
Methodological issues
This source category was only briefly introduced in
the IPCC 1996GL, but is fully developed in the
GPG2000
In NAI countries, incineration of waste (other than
clinical waste) is uncommon due to high costs
Differentiation is made between CO2 and N2O
because the former is calculated with a mass
balance approach and the latter depends on
operating conditions
5.112
Activity data and emission
factors
GPG2000 recognizes the difficulties in
finding activity data to differentiate the four
proposed categories (municipal, hazardous,
clinical and sewage sludge)
Do not request differentiation if data are
not available when it is not a key source
category
5.113
Review and assessment
of activity data and
emission factors: data
status and options
5.114
Status of EFDB for the
Waste sector
EFDB is an emerging database
All experts are expected to contribute to EFDB.
Currently it contains only limited information on
Waste sector emission factors
In future, with contributions from experts around
the world, EFDB should become a reliable
source of data for emission factors for GHG
inventory
5.115
EFDB – Waste sector status
IPCC 1996GL category Emission factor records
Other (6D) 0
5.116
Uncertainty estimation
and reduction
5.117
Uncertainty estimation and reduction
5.118
Reporting uncertainties from solid waste
disposal sites
5.120
Reporting uncertainties from
industrial waste-water treatment
5.121
Reporting uncertainties from waste
incineration
5.122