Based on a survey of Korean waste-to-energy (WTE) firms, this article analyzes the R&D effectiveness of the WTE industry, which accounts for the largest proportion of new and renewable energy power generation in Korea, using multiple and logistic regression. A company’s R&D can be considered effective if its R&D inputs (e.g., R&D expenditure/sales, R&D manpower/employees, education/training, and reward systems) or R&D outputs (e.g., patent applications and approvals, the introduction of new products and services, and the redesign of products and processes) contribute to an increase in R&D outcomes (e.g., decrease in production costs, the creation of employment, and market entry). It was found that market entry is not affected by R&D inputs but is positively influenced by R&D outputs, indicating that Korean WTE firms have focused on market entry via the technology transfer of new products and services and/or the redesign of products and processes. In the WTE industry, the creation of employment does not have a statistically significant relationship with R&D expenditure/sales, R&D manpower/employees, or the redesign of products, but it does exhibit a positive relationship with education/training, reward systems, patent applications and approvals, and the introduction of new products and services. Finally, the decrease in production costs is not influenced by R&D expenditure/sales, R&D manpower/employees, reward systems, or patent applications and approvals, but is positively affected by education/training, the introduction of new products and services, and the redesign of products and processes. A policy implication of these results is that market entry show the virtual cycle on expanding R&D expenditure/sales and/or R&D manpower/employees.

In this study, we analyzed all of the waste streams associated with household waste to provide a basis for incorporating the individual characteristics of municipalities in setting targets for waste-to-resource circulation. Toward this end, we examined how household waste is treated based on the disposal method (mixed waste disposed of in standard volumerate garbage bags, separation recyclable waste, and food waste) and the amount of residuals generated at their respective treatment facilities. The actual recycling rate or actual waste-to-energy conversion rate was calculated as the ratio of the actual amount of waste that is recycled or converted to energy against the amount of waste intake at waste treatment facilities. The conversion factor of actual recycling rates at 17 municipalities showed an average of 63.9% for public material recovery facilities (MRFs) with those for individual municipalities ranging from 50.4% to 93.2%, and an average of 93.8% for private and public food waste treatment facilities with slightly higher rates found for public facilities (70.4 ~ 100%) than private facilities (63.3 ~ 100%). The actual waste-to-energy conversion factor was 59.3% on average for combustible waste-to-energy facilities (17.2 ~ 72.3%) and 92.0% on average for biological waste-to-energy facilities (77.1 ~ 99.5%). To achieve the national target for the actual recycling rate, additional strategies for recycling or converting the residuals generated at recycling or combustible waste-to-energy facilities into resources are needed. The actual recycling and waste-to-energy conversion rates provided in this study based on a full examination of household waste streams hold valuable insights for incorporating the individual situations of municipalities in setting their targets for wasteto- resource circulation indicators and creating new strategies for improving the actual recycling rate.

신기후체제에 대한 이행체계 구축을 위해 부문별 온실가스 감축 강화에서 폐자원에너지가 기여하는 역할에 대해 조명 받고 있다. 그 이유는 폐자원에너지가 다른 재생에너지 대비 비용 효율적이고 지역에너지로서 기능과 분산형 발전이 가능하다는 점이다. 뿐만 아니라 지속가능한 개발을 위해 추진 중인 EU의 자원효율 정책과 그 전략으로 전개되는 순환경제에서도 폐자원에너지가 물질재활용과 함께 중요하게 다뤄지고 있는 점을 고려한다면 앞으로 폐자원에너지를 보다 활성화하기 위한 시책(施策) 마련이 필요하다. 2018년부터 시행예정인 자원순환기본법에서 매립이나 소각시 폐기물처분부담금을 부과하도록 한 점은 제도적으로 폐자원에너지를 회수하고 유효 이용하도록 하는 유인책으로 역할을 담당하는 것은 자명하다. 그러나 제도적으로 부과금을 부과한다고 하여 폐자원에너지를 활성화하기에는 한계점이 있다. 이 같은 배경을 토대로 본 연구는 기후변화와 자원순환사회 구축에 선도적으로 대응해 온 EU나 일본의 사례를 살펴봄으로써 부과금 제도의 후속 조치로 폐자원에너지 활성화 요소 및 방안을 위한 토대를 마련하고자 한다. EU는 28개 회원국으로 구성되어 있기에 주로 유럽집행위원회(EC)에서 폐자원에너지를 회수하도록 하는 전략을 기후･에너지패키지 및 순환경제패키지 등을 연계하여 수립하고 있다. 일본은 폐자원에너지를 보다 많이 회수할 수 있도록 에너지 회수효율을 국고보조금 제도와 연계하여 집행하고 있는 점이 특징이다. 결론적으로 EU와 일본을 대상으로 폐자원에너지를 회수하고 유효 이용하도록 하는 정책적 활성화 방안을 살펴본 결과, 국내도 폐자원에너지를 활성화하기 위해서는 부과금 제도 이외에 다양한 시책을 마련할 필요가 있음을 확인하였다.

인류의 문명이 점점 고화됨에 따라 부수적으로 폐기물 또한 증가 하고 있는 실정이다. 최근 이러한 폐기물의 발생억제(reduce), 재사용(reuse), 재활용(recycle), 에너지자원화(recovery)에 국내를 비롯한 전 세계적인 노력이 활성화 되고 있다. 폐기물 에너지화(Waste to Energy, WTE) 기술이란 폐기물을 에너지 공급에 사용할 수 있는 다양한 연료로 전환시키는 기술이다. 도시고형폐기물(Municipal Solid Waste, MSW)을 활용한 발전보일러는 폐기물의 매립을 최소화하고, 환경 오염물질 배출을 감소시킬 뿐만 아니라, 전기나 증기와 같은 열에너지를 얻을 수 있어 각광 받고 있다. 하지만 MSW는 일반적으로 종이류, 플라스틱류, 고무류, 섬유, 가죽, 나무, 음식물 및 금속류 등 다양한 재료로 구성되어 있으며, 지역에 따라 구성요소 또한 차이가 난다. 이러한 다양 구성요소로 이루어진 MSW는 염소(Cl)등의 여러 가지 부식성 물질과 카드뮴(Cd), 납(Pb), 아연(Zn), 비소(As)등의 물질을 함유하고 있다. 이들 물질들은 연소 중에 서로 반응하여 염화물을 형성하여 탄소강 또는 Cr-Mo의 저합금강으로 제작된 폐라이트계 보일러 튜브의 심각한 부식을 야기시킨다. WTE 보일러의 열교환 튜브(Water Wall Panel & Super Heater Tube)를 염화물과 같은 부식성 물질로부터 보호하기 위하여 주로 사용되는 기술이 클래딩 기술이다. 클래딩이란 강재의 한 면에 다른 금속을 중합시켜 완전히 결합시켜 복합 금속 층을 형성하는 것을 의미한다. WTE 보일러의 경우 인코넬 625와 같은 Ni-Cr-Mo로 구성된 합금을 주로 사용한다. 인코넬 625는 고온에서 기계적 성질이 우수하고, 내식성이 우수한 특징이 있다. WTE 보일러에서는 인코넬 625합금을 이용한 오버레이 용접기술이 주로 적용되며, 부식성 염화물로부터 부식을 방지할 수 있을 뿐만 아니라, 연소 중 발생하는 고온의 연소 유동에 의한 유동 회분(Fly Ash) 및 슈트 블로어(Shot Blower)에 의한 튜브의 침식/부식 또한 방지 할 수 있다. 이러한 인코넬 625 오버레이 용접 클래딩은 자동 GMA용접으로 이루어지며, 오버레이 두께와 Fe 희석율(Dilution Rate)을 제어하기 위하여 수직 하진(3G-Vertical Down)으로 용접한다. 이에 본 연구에서는 WTE 보일러 열교환 튜브의 내 부식성을 향상시키기 위해 오버레이 용접 클래딩 전용 JIG 및 용접자동화 장비를 개발하여 GMAW 자동 용접에 따른 열교환 튜브 제작의 여러 가지 문제점에 관하여 알아보았다.

2016년 11월 4일 신기후체제인 파리협약이 발효되었다. 국내도 자체적으로 온실가스 감축을 위한 노력을 기울여 왔으나 2020년 이후 국제협약에 의해 감축을 이행한다는 점을 고려하면 구체적이고 신뢰성 있는 방안 마련이 필요하다. 산업이나 발전부문 이외에 폐기물부문도 감축을 위한 방안 마련이 필요하다. 제1차 기후변화대응 기본계획에 폐기물부문은 발생억제와 재활용 그리고 에너지화에 의한 감축 방안이 담겨있다. 그러나 실질적으로 어느 정도의 감축효과가 있는지 그리고 신뢰성이 있는지에 대해서는 객관적으로 검증한 바 없다. 이러한 점에서 앞서 교토의정서에 의해 온실가스 감축을 체계적으로 감축해 온 EU의 폐자원에너지가 온실가스 감축에 기여하는 정도와 역할에 대해 살펴보고자 한다. 앞으로 폐기물부문의 온실가스 감축 방안을 보다 신뢰성이 있는 방향으로 전개하기 위해서는 선도적으로 대응해 온 국가의 대응 방안을 살펴보는 것도 의미가 있기 때문이다. 한편 EU는 지속가능한 발전을 위해 자원효율(Resource Efficiency) 정책을 펼치고 있다. 그 동력원으로 순환경제를 추진하고 있는데 시책으로 2015년 12월 순환경제패키지를 책정하였다. 순환경제는 EU의 경제 성장을 유지하면서도 자원이용으로 인한 환경영향은 증가시키지 않기 위한 디커플링(Decoupling) 실현을 목표로 하고 있다. 순환경제에서 폐기물을 2차원료나 물질로 우선적으로 이용하고 재활용이 가능하지 않은 폐기물에 대해서는 최대한 에너지로 회수하기 위한 시책도 함께 이뤄지고 있다. 기후변화 대응과 순환경제로의 이행을 위한 폐자원에너지의 역할을 EU 중심으로 살펴본 결과, 국내도 기후변화 대응과 순환경제 사회를 구축하기 위해서는 폐기물관리 정책부문에서 폐자원에너지에 대한 역할을 조명하고 폐자원에너지 산업을 활성화하기 위한 방안마련이 필요함을 확인하였다.

The growth of the Waste-to-Energy (WTE) industry is attracting attention as a powerful means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions; the Korean government is supporting various efforts such as increasing R&D investment. Despite the importance of the WTE industry, the analysis of R&D efficiency remains insufficient. This study analyzes the R&D efficiency of the Korean WTE industry and its determinants. After R&D activities are separated into input and output, R&D efficiency is analyzed with regard to whether R&D input contributes to increased R&D output using multiple regression and logistic regression methodologies based on the survey of Korean WTE firms. In the results of analysis, the introduction of new products and services was positively affected by R&D manpower and education-training. In addition, the redesign of products and processes was positively affected by R&D expenditure, R&D manpower, education-training, and the reward system. The policy implication is that education and training for R&D manpower should be provided to improve R&D efficiency, and there should be investment in basic and applied research and development research should be expanded to gain global compETitiveness.

High temperature corrosion is a major issue in waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities because it effects running cost and energy utilization efficiency. Corrosion of heating surfaces in WTE boilers is a complex phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to analyze the high temperature corrosion characteristics of WTE boiler tubes and to determine the influences of high temperature corrosion on heat exchange. Heating surface corrosion samples for this research were obtained from a superheater tube in municipal solid refuse fuel-fired power plant. Surface morphology, microstructure and phase composition were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. The morphology of the heating surface was rough and had porous structures. The chlorine content of the surface was 7.4wt.% and the samples were mainly composed of hematite (Fe2O3) and magnetite (Fe3O4). The thermal conductivity of the corrosion samples was characterized using thermal conductivity measurements and was found to be 2.33 W/mK at 500oC. This result, which is 17 times less than that of boiler tube carbon steel (40.40 W/mK), indicates that corrosion of WTE boiler tubes is closely related to a decrease in boiler heat exchange efficiency.

As economic growth and development of the living standard causes increasing production of organic waste, the desire to take advantage of organic waste to produce energy is also increasing. Organic waste-to-energy can contribute to improving energy independence through domestic energy security as well as improving the environment by reducing the need for landfills. This paper attempts to quantitatively analyze the non-market benefits arising from the organic waste-to-energy policy. To this end, we apply a contingent valuation (CV) that is most widely used to measure the nonmarket benefits. As for the willingness to pay (WTP) elicitation method, we employed the one-and-one-half-bounded dichotomous choice (DC) model, which produces higher statistical efficiency than the single-bounded DC model and yields greater consistency than the double-bounded DC model. In the CV survey result of 1000 Korean households, a total of 586 households (58.6%) revealed zero WTP. This implies that the use of the mixture model to deal with zero WTP responses was a suitable approach in our study. The yearly mean WTP was computed as KRW 3598 for the next ten years per household, which is statistically significant at the 1% level. Expanding the value to the national population gives us KRW 67.3 billion per year and this value demonstrates the non-market benefits of the organic waste-to-energy policy. This quantitative information could be utilized as a significant reference in the implementation of the organic waste-to-energy policy.

In recent years, waste-to-energy conversion using municipal solid waste (MSW) has been gaining attention in municipalities. Such conversion can reduce the dependency of non-renewable energy such as fossil fuels by generating solid refuse fuel (SRF) and diverting landfilling of the waste, although there is debate over the efficiency and economic aspect of the practice. With a growing interest in the conversion, D city is trying to adopt all possible measures towards achieving a material-cycle society by constructing a waste-to-energy town by 2018. The waste-to-energy town will be comprised of energy recovery facilities such as a mechanical treatment facility for fluff-type SRF with a power generation plant, and anaerobic digestion of food waste for biogas recovery. In this paper, we focus on estimating the energy recovery potentials and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction of MSW by waste-to-energy conversion under three different scenarios. The data required for this study were obtained from available national statistics and reports, a literature review, and interviews with local authorities and industry experts. The lower heating value was calculated using the modified Dulong equation. Based on the results of this study, the energy recovery potential of MSW was calculated to be approximately 14,201-51,122 TOE/y, 12,426-44,732 TOE/y, and 8,520-30,673 TOE/y for Scenarios 1, 2, and 3, respectively. The reduction of GHG by such conversion was estimated to range from 10,074-36,938 tonCO2eq/y, depending on scenario. This study would help determine the production rate of fluff-type SRF to be converted into a form of energy. In addition, this study would aid waste management decision-makers to clarify the effectiveness of recycling of MSW and their corresponding energy recovery potentials, as well as to understand GHG reduction by the conversion.

This study aims to discuss measures to combat climate change pertaining to the waste sectors in the EU and Japan.The EU aims to secure 20% of its total energy consumed from renewable sources and to reduce the emission of greenhousegases by 20% by 2020. This study investigated the amount of waste-based energy produced and confirmed that it makesa significant contribution to renewable energy sources. The amount of energy produced differs according to the type ofwaste utilized and the size (population) of the country and these factors should be taken into account when establishingresponse measures. In Japan, policies have been introduced to promote the recovery of energy and to reduce the greenhousegases emitted by incinerators. In particular, the country has been promoting a high level of efficiency by differentiatingthe government subsidy funding according to the energy recovery rate. This study confirmed that the utilization of wasteresource energy has made a significant contribution to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases in the member countriesof the EU and in Japan. Korea needs to establish similar policies to increase the contribution of energy from wasteresources in the future.

Although the scope of Official Development Assistance(ODA) projects has been expanded to the energy and environmental sectors, many Green ODA projects have experienced difficulties in sustainable operation because of insufficient consideration on the real status of recipient countries. Selecting technology to apply is the first step on the ODA process, however, there has been lack of study on evaluation indicators, especially for waste-to-energy. Therefore, we have explored the evaluation indicators for waste-to-energy technologies selection based on the case of Phnom Penh capital city in Cambodia. The study was performed through literatures review, field trips, and interviewing local officials and experts. Finally, we have suggested following indicators: secure of raw materials (waste price, collection, waste quality), sustainable operation (construction and operation cost, land use, management ability), and market condition (prices of substitutes, demanders, required quality of products).

Recently, many countries have been interested in waste-to-energy policy and technology due to the economic crisis from high oil price and the demands on securing the sustainable energy sources. As one of the efforts to achieve the sustainable society and maintain low impact of global warming in Korea, the act on the promotion of saving and recycling resources was enacted to implemetnt the effective reduction of waste at source level, reduce, recycling and recovery of waste to energy. Attaining an efficient recovery of waste heat in a cogeneration plant from incineration facilities is important as a resource recovery of waste to energy. In this study, the waste heat recoveries changed by reducing feed pressure in incineration conditions were analyzed. As results, changing the operating condition in steam header resulted in stable heat supply and increase of waste heat recovery.

The waste-to-energy (WTE) industry draws global attention by using wastes as energy resources. Korean government is very inclined to invest in the WTE industry. Therefore, it is believed that there will be an industrial scale-up. Also it is needed to make proper strategies for promoting the industry by creating the added value of related companies. This study analyzes whether the value-added structure of Korean WTE industry exhibits a virtuous cycle through the value chain (VC) within related companies by using a regression analysis based on a survey to Korean WTE companies. As a result, the government’s R&D support is analysed not to contribute to an increase in the R&D investments of the WTE companies. Also an increase in corporates’ R&D investments does not lead to an increase in corporates’ R&D outputs. An increase in corporates’ R&D outputs, however, has the positive influence on an increase in production. In contrast, an increase in production does not have an effect on a decrease in production costs. And a decrease in production costs does not lead to an increase in profit rates per sales. In addition, it is shown that an increase in profit rates per sales does not contribute to an increase in production and R&D investments. Therefore, it is estimated that the Korean WTE companies do not organize the virtuous cycle of the VC yet. This study has a policy implication to need further efforts to create the virtuous cycle in the VC of Korean WTE industry.