Task 36: Material and Energy Valorisation of Waste in a Circular Economy

Objective

[This Task was known as ‘Integrating Energy Recovery into Solid Waste Management Systems’ in the triennium 2016-2018]

1. Definition and Objective

(a)       Rationale The composition of the waste generated all over the world varies due to local factors. However, most country statistics show that a significant proportion of their household, commercial and industrial waste is of biomass origin. For many IEA Bioenergy Technology Collaboration Programme (TCP) countries this is important, as the biogenic fraction of waste is regarded as renewable and included in their renewable energy targets In selecting methodologies to treat waste, decision makers have a number of needs: they want to achieve an efficient use of resources and for that aim a resource efficient waste management system including waste reduction, re-use and recycling is needed. They also want to do this cost effectively, without adding to environmental impacts and with carbon emissions in mind. Additionally, many countries require decision makers to observe a waste hierarchy in which actions to reduce, re-use and recycle waste take priority over recovery and stabilisation, with disposal only for those fractions left after treatment. IEA Bioenergy Agreement Task 36 aims to enable discussion of these topical and important issues. Energy from waste plants are expensive and may be operate for 20 years or more. It is very useful to pool experience to ensure that policy and decision makers can benefit from knowledge from elsewhere. Task 36 has provided case studies on plants, including gasification plants; supported events on key issues (such as a recent workshop on solid recovered fuel); and in 2010 it published a guide to energy from waste aimed at decision makers. (b         Objective The objective of Task 36 is to collect, analyse, share, and disseminate best practice technical and strategic non-technical information on the material and energy valorisation of waste in a circular economy. This includes the valorisation of the biomass/biogenic fraction of waste into different bioenergy products (heat, power cooling, liquid and gaseous biofuels) but also the possibility of producing renewable chemicals.

2. Scope of the Task

• The Participants will have R&D programmes within their countries in order to meet the above objectives.
• The Participants will carry out co-operative research work towards reaching the objectives described in paragraph 1(b) above, based on the national R&D programme referred to in sub-paragraph (a)
• The Programme of Work will comprise the following:
• Task meetings to exchange results from relevant national R&D programmes and participant
• Country updates and developments on policy and best practice
• Field trips associated with the Task meetings. Presentation of information from these visits will be made available on the Task 36 website
• Specific International workshops in conjunction with the Task meetings, to cover different aspects of waste management and energy from waste (EfW) as well as its role in a circular economy. The proceedings from these workshops will be published at the homepage and if the workshop is not part of a project, there will also be a summary of the workshop available
• Other projects which will be reported in the form of Task reports
• Joint projects with other Tasks (inter-Tasks)
• Dissemination activities (web page, newsletter, contributions to conferences, webinars)
• Information exchange with other IEA IA’s, other IEA Bioenergy Tasks and other international networks on thermal biomass conversion worldwide;
• ExCo interaction and support.

Triennium Report

Download the Task 36 – End-of-Triennium report 2019-2021