Waste-to-Energy (WtE) for marine transport as a tri-sectoral solution – On-board feasibility implications

Since the Industrial Revolution, cities have been overgrowing, resulting in increased levels of waste, generally ending in landfills that cause air, water, and land pollution. If waste is incinerated on land and diverted from landfills, it can still cause air pollution and acid rain. If waste is incinerated on board large ships, it can help diffuse air pollution more effectively as the ship sails, let alone reduce fossil fuel usage and corresponding carbon. However, limited literature addresses on-board waste-to-energy plants and implications regarding waste logistics. This study produces a numerical model that covers the feasibility of ship-specific energy demand, ship-specific WtE production, and corresponding waste logistics. Secondary data regarding waste types, amounts, and calorific values are used to carry out calculations to inform the model. Nomenclature of ship types and sub-types are considered, out of which one is selected as a use-case. This is an 8500 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit) container vessel sailing across the Pacific Ocean for 14 days consecutively, one way. The ship would require 4.15MWh for this trip to meet the non-propulsion energy demand. For this purpose, 44 hard-top twenty-foot waste containers with an on-board WtE plant that can incinerate 3.6 metric tonnes/hour of waste would be required. An account of potential advantages of on-board WtE is also produced in this study as well and further research avenues are identified in terms of, for instance, the contamination of wastes from glass and metal, types and shapes of WtE plants, and which plant would suit best to different ship types and subtypes, leading to initial designs. • WtE reduces waste volume by 80–90% and mass by 70–80%, reducing landfills but causing air pollution and acid rain. • On-board waste incineration on ships offers better diffusion and environmental benefits, but its feasibility needs to be explored. • For the first time in literature to date, this study constructs a numerical model that quantitatively addresses the technological and technical challenges. • This study highlights benefits like fossil fuel savings and corresponding carbon footprint reduction; less landfilling; waste as a renewable resource; better flue gas diffusion; and less acid rain risk.