Investigation of MSW Characteristics in Northern Gyeongbuk and Studies on Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Effects through Energy Recovery from Waste Synthetic Resins

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Abstract

This study aims to comprehensively analyze the generation and treatment characteristics of municipal solid waste, changes in physical composition, circular resource potential, and greenhouse gas reduction effects associated with the energy recovery of waste synthetic resins in 11 municipalities in northern Gyeongbuk. Northern Gyeongbuk includes medium-sized cities such as Andong, Yeongju, Sangju, and Mungyeong, as well as rural areas such as Uiseong, Cheongsong, Gunwi, Yeongyang, Yeongdeok, Yecheon, and Bonghwa. Population size, lifestyle, and waste collection and treatment conditions differ by locality. As of December 2025, the total population of the study area was 645,586 and the number of households was 352,426. The population showed a declining trend, whereas the number of households increased. This trend is considered to be related to the increase in single-person and small households and is also a factor affecting the characteristics of municipal solid waste generation.
In 2024, the amount of municipal solid waste delivered to or treated by the 11 municipalities in northern Gyeongbuk averaged 549.6 tons per day. Monthly generation tended to increase from January to March and after September, while it was relatively low during the summer months of June and August. By region, Andong and Yeongju showed the largest amounts, and treatment conditions varied among municipalities depending on the absence of local incineration facilities, aging facilities, and private consignment treatment. In particular, Andong and Yeongju have no municipal incineration facilities, resulting in a high proportion of landfill disposal of mixed combustible and non-combustible waste. In Yeongju, the inflow of briquette ash was estimated to be substantial, indicating the need for separate collection and sorting management in the future.
The analysis of the physical composition of municipal solid waste in the study area showed that paper and vinyl/plastic fractions accounted for the largest proportions. Based on the arithmetic average of 13 waste samples from 11 regions, paper accounted for 30.4% and vinyl/plastics for 32.8%. The weighted averages, considering regional generation and treatment amounts, were also similar at 32.8% for paper and 32.1% for vinyl/plastics. This indicates that packaging materials and high-calorific combustible materials occupy a large share of municipal solid waste in northern Gyeongbuk, demonstrating the need for resource-oriented treatment strategies such as sorting, recycling, heat recovery from incineration, and pyrolysis rather than simple landfilling. Moisture content varied by region from 21.8% in Yecheon to 34.3% in Yeongdeok, with an overall average of 27.6% and a weighted average of 29.6%. By component, diapers and food waste had high moisture contents, whereas vinyl/plastics showed relatively low moisture content and high heating value, indicating significant potential as an energy recovery resource.
For the excavated waste from the Andong regional landfill investigated for the development of a circulating landfill, combustible materials such as paper and plastics accounted for approximately 60% of the total. The average moisture content was about 17%, and the wet lower heating value was approximately 4,900 kcal/kg. This indicates that even waste excavated after long-term landfilling retains a certain level of combustibility and calorific value. Therefore, excavated waste should not simply be re-landfilled; rather, after sorting and pretreatment, it may be utilized for energy recovery or resource recovery.
The compositional survey of waste collected from flood-damaged areas in Yeongdeok showed that combustible materials, including paper, plastics, and wood/grass materials, accounted for approximately 60.8% of the total. This suggests that flood waste can also be incinerated or converted into energy if appropriate sorting and pretreatment are applied. However, the average moisture content was approximately 24.2%, indicating that moisture management is more important than for ordinary municipal solid waste. Physical pretreatment, including drying, removal of foreign materials, and separation of sanitary waste, is required before incineration or pyrolysis. Because flood waste is generated in large quantities within a short time and has heterogeneous characteristics, a response system capable of rapid collection and separation of recyclable waste should be established in the event of a disaster.
Based on the generation of waste synthetic resins in 11 municipalities in northern Gyeongbuk, this study analyzed carbon dioxide emissions and energy recovery potential associated with production, incineration, pyrolysis, and recycling. The results showed that waste synthetic resins are not merely waste, but can be used as high-calorific energy resources. When waste synthetic resins are pyrolyzed, the required energy consumption was estimated at 417.4 TJ and carbon dioxide emissions at 4,348.4 tons. Pyrolysis was estimated to produce 21,307 tons of liquid oil, 30,435 tons of combustible gas, and 9,132 tons of char annually. The oil and gas produced through pyrolysis can substitute for crude oil and fossil fuels, thereby providing an additional carbon dioxide reduction effect.
From the perspective of energy recovery through incineration, waste synthetic resins can undergo self-combustion because of their high heating value and can produce approximately 2,384.5 TJ of fuel energy and 1,879 TJ of steam energy annually. This indicates their potential as a local heat energy source. However, although incineration is advantageous for energy recovery, it is accompanied by carbon dioxide emissions. Therefore, an integrated resource- circulation strategy combining pyrolysis, recycling, high-efficiency incineration, and steam recovery is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In summary, municipal solid waste in northern Gyeongbuk shows large regional differences in generation amounts and treatment conditions. Despite population decline, waste generation per capita is increasing due to the growth in the number of households and changes in lifestyle. In addition, the high proportions of paper and vinyl/plastic fractions in municipal solid waste indicate substantial potential for resource recovery and energy recovery. Therefore, waste management in northern Gyeongbuk should shift away from simple landfilling toward a broad-area cooperative treatment system, strengthened sorting and pretreatment, introduction of waste synthetic resin pyrolysis and energy recovery facilities, and improvement of recycling rates. Through these measures, treatment stability can be secured while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and establishing a circular resource system suitable for regional characteristics.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Chapter 1 Introduction··········································································· 1
• 1.1 Research background ······································································ 1
• 1.2 Necessity of the study ··································································· 4
• 1.3 Overview of the study ··································································· 6
• Chapter 2 Theoretical background······················································ 8
• 2.1 Generation and treatment status of municipal solid waste in Korea ··· 8
• 2.2 Status of resource recovery of municipal solid waste and government policies in Korea ····················································· 15
• 2.3 Research trends in municipal solid waste resource recovery ···· 18
• Chapter 3 Characterization study of municipal solid waste in northern Gyeongbuk region············································ 22
• 3.1 Population atatus and changes ···················································· 22
• 3.1.1 Current status of population ················································· 22
• 3.1.2 Changes in population ··························································· 24
• 3.2 Generation and treatment status of municipal solid waste ····· 31
• 3.2.1 Inflow and treatment status ·················································· 31
• 3.2.2 Changes in generation and estimated inflow amount ······· 35
• 3.3 Characteristics of wastes in the study area ······························ 46
• 3.3.1 Physical composition ····························································· 46
• 3.3.2 Moisture content ····································································· 47
• 3.3.3 Lower heating value ······························································ 49
• 3.4 Characteristics of waste from each region ································ 56
• 3.4.1 Andong ···················································································· 56
• 3.4.2 Yeongju ··················································································· 60
• 3.4.3 Sangju ······················································································ 64
• 3.4.4 Mungyeong ············································································· 68
• 3.4.5 Bonghwa ················································································· 72
• 3.4.6 Yecheon ··················································································· 76
• 3.4.7 Uiseong ··················································································· 80
• 3.4.8 Cheongsong ············································································· 84
• 3.4.9 Gunwi ······················································································ 88
• 3.4.10 Yeongyang ············································································ 92
• 3.4.11 Yeongdeok ············································································ 96
• Chapter 4 Characteristics of excavated waste from closed-loop landfill site ······································································ 100
• 4.1 Landfill project at the Andong ················································· 100
• 4.2 Characterization of excavated waste from Andong closed-loop landfill ·························································································· 103
• Chapter 5 Characteristics of waste in flood- damaged areas ··· 109
• 5.1 Characteristics and generation status of flood waste ············· 109
• 5.2 Characterization of flood waste in Yeongdeok ······················ 115
• Chapter 6 Energy recovery from waste synthetic resins in the northern Gyeongbuk region·········································· 120
• 6.1 Carbon dioxide emissions from production, incineration, and pyrolysis ······················································································· 125
• 6.1.1 Carbon dioxide emissions by resin type according to treatment method ································································· 125
• 6.1.2 Energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in synthetic resin production ··················································· 129
• 6.2 Fuel resource recovery through pyrolysis ································ 131
• 6.2.1 Energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from pyrolysis ················································································ 131
• 6.2.2 Resources and products from pyrolysis ···························· 133
• 6.3 Steam energy production through incineration ························ 136
• 6.3.1 Energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions from incineration ··········································································· 136
• 6.3.2 Steam energy from incineration and its effect on carbon dioxide reduction ································································· 138
• Chapter 7 Conclusion····································································· 142
• References ·························································································· 147
• Abstract in Korean·········································································· 154