Chantal Block - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Chantal Block
Waste and Biomass Valorization, Feb 1, 2018
Over the past few decades, the sharp rise in post-consumer plastic and biomass waste has resulted... more Over the past few decades, the sharp rise in post-consumer plastic and biomass waste has resulted in an ever growing challenge to treat such waste sustainably. Co-pyrogasification of plastics and biomass mixtures, as opposed to separately converting these waste streams, offers several advantages including an improvement in syngas quality and composition (H2/CO ratio) in relation to the desired application, and an easier reactor feeding of plastics. Furthermore, many studies have shown that co-pyrogasification promotes the conversion of waste to gas rather than char and tar. However, in order to achieve the desired product distribution or syngas composition, operating parameters such as the reactor temperature, equivalence ratio (air or oxygen), steam/fuel ratio and catalyst, have to be optimized. Thus, this paper aims to review literature studies on the co-pyrogasification of plastics and biomass by considering various aspects including the process principle, reactors, influence of feedstock characteristics and operating parameters on the products, as well as the synergies observed during the thermoconversion of plastics and biomass mixtures with some reference to coal mixtures when necessary.
Choice Reviews Online, May 1, 1994
WIT transactions on state-of-the-art in science and engineering, Mar 31, 2015
The Indaver integrated grate furnace, incinerating municipal solid waste (MSW) along with compara... more The Indaver integrated grate furnace, incinerating municipal solid waste (MSW) along with comparable industrial waste, is described. In the installation energy is recovered by producing steam which is delivered to other companies, or used to generate electricity. The bottom ashes are wet-washed; ferrous and non-ferrous metals and granulates are recovered. Next to the grate furnace, a fluidized bed combustor (FBC) operated by SLECO is situated. It can co-incinerate various types of industrial wastes (including ASR), RDF, waste water treatment (WWT) sludges, etc. and produces steam to generate electricity. The bottom ashes are recovered as secondary raw material. It is demonstrated that both installations have a good environmental performance and address many aspects of cleaner production. This way, both grate furnace and FBC may play an important role in sustainable waste management. Depending on the fractions of the energy carrier(s), the actual energy recovery varies from 41% for the grate furnace (steam + electricity) to 27% for the FBC (only electricity). The most important airborne emissions and solid residues are monitored in both installation and are discussed in detail. For all components of interest, emissions remain well below Flemish limit values. Moreover, it was shown that both installations act as a POP sink when flue gas emissions are taken into account as a POP output. From the bottom ashes of both incinerators ferrous and non-ferrous metals and granulates are recovered, representing 19.9 and 9.2 wt% of the original waste input of respectively the grate furnace and the FBC. When introducing higher amounts of heavy metals into the FBC, co-incinerating ASR, the bottom ashes still fulfil Flemish requirements for use as secondary raw material.
Bulletin des Sociétés Chimiques Belges, 2010
An attempt was made to calculate the ash content of Belgian coals, from the analytically determin... more An attempt was made to calculate the ash content of Belgian coals, from the analytically determined concentrations of silicon and aluminium. Simultaneously the total oxygen content of the coals was determined. Silicon and oxygen were determined by 44 MeV neutron activation analysis; aluminium was determined by reactor neutron activation. The precision of the ash content calculated on the basis of the silicon and aluminium concentration is generally better than respectively 8% and 12%. A precise estimation is not possible from the oxygen concentration. The validity of the method has been investigated for samples of different origin. The variations of the oxygen content are not correlated with the variations of the ash content. This is expected from the important contribution of organically bound oxygen.
From a life-cycle perspective, a system reducing the SOx concentration from 1500 to the current e... more From a life-cycle perspective, a system reducing the SOx concentration from 1500 to the current emission limit value (ELV) of 50 mg/Nm³ in the flue gas of a hazardous waste incinerator, significantly reduces the overall environmental impact of the incinerator in the impact categories acidification and photochemical oxidation, at the expense of relatively limited impacts in other impact categories. In case the ELV for SOx would be lowered from 50 to 25 mg SOx/Nm³, the existing installation has to be optimised or additional equipment has to be added. It is shown that in this case, the environmental impact of the incinerator is further reduced in the impact categories acidification and photochemical oxidation, but at the expense of considerable impacts in other impact categories, mainly global warming and abiotic resource depletion.
Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2011
Hazardous and Industrial waste management - Proceedings, Oct 5, 2010
The total number of passenger cars in the EU 15 is estimated to increase from ca. 200 10 6 today ... more The total number of passenger cars in the EU 15 is estimated to increase from ca. 200 10 6 today to 250 10 6 in 2030. As a consequence, the yearly number of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) is estimated to increase from ca. 11 10 6 today to 16 10 6 in 2030 [Andersen et al., 2008]. In order to manage the growing amount of waste generated during the demolition of ELVs,
Over klimaatsverandering, fijn stof en andere milieuproblemen Hoe is het gesteld met de kwaliteit... more Over klimaatsverandering, fijn stof en andere milieuproblemen Hoe is het gesteld met de kwaliteit van onze lucht, ons water en onze bodem? Lucht, water en bodem beschrijft de milieukwaliteit in Vlaanderen en de daarmee verbonden problemen, zoals fijn stof, zure regen, waterverontreiniging, maar net zo goed de aantasting van de ozonlaag en de opwarming van de aarde. De oorzaken en de gevolgen voor mens en natuur worden op een rijtje gezet, samen met een overzicht van de technologieen om de problemen op te lossen en te voorkomen. Compleet met een bondig overzicht van de relevante milieuwetgeving en aangevuld met praktijkvoorbeelden over de relatie tussen milieu enerzijds en industrie en technologie anderzijds. Lucht, water en bodem is geschreven voor ingenieurs, technici, bedrijfsleiders die met milieuproblemen te maken krijgen, milieucoordinatoren en andere geinteresseerden. Eerdere edities van dit boek werden aan de faculteit ingenieurswetenschappen van de KU Leuven meermaals bekroo...
The Belgian company Nucomat1, enjoys an excellent reputation in the system integration sector and... more The Belgian company Nucomat1, enjoys an excellent reputation in the system integration sector and as a manufacturer of customer-specific solutions for laboratory automation. The core competency of Nucomat lies in the conversion of manual laboratory methods into automated systems. Robotics and automation are frequently associated with mass production and a large number of constantly repeated steps carried out as quickly as possible. As can be seen from the text below, laboratory automation requires a different approach often involving other criteria.
Waste and Biomass Valorization, Feb 1, 2018
Over the past few decades, the sharp rise in post-consumer plastic and biomass waste has resulted... more Over the past few decades, the sharp rise in post-consumer plastic and biomass waste has resulted in an ever growing challenge to treat such waste sustainably. Co-pyrogasification of plastics and biomass mixtures, as opposed to separately converting these waste streams, offers several advantages including an improvement in syngas quality and composition (H2/CO ratio) in relation to the desired application, and an easier reactor feeding of plastics. Furthermore, many studies have shown that co-pyrogasification promotes the conversion of waste to gas rather than char and tar. However, in order to achieve the desired product distribution or syngas composition, operating parameters such as the reactor temperature, equivalence ratio (air or oxygen), steam/fuel ratio and catalyst, have to be optimized. Thus, this paper aims to review literature studies on the co-pyrogasification of plastics and biomass by considering various aspects including the process principle, reactors, influence of feedstock characteristics and operating parameters on the products, as well as the synergies observed during the thermoconversion of plastics and biomass mixtures with some reference to coal mixtures when necessary.
Choice Reviews Online, May 1, 1994
WIT transactions on state-of-the-art in science and engineering, Mar 31, 2015
The Indaver integrated grate furnace, incinerating municipal solid waste (MSW) along with compara... more The Indaver integrated grate furnace, incinerating municipal solid waste (MSW) along with comparable industrial waste, is described. In the installation energy is recovered by producing steam which is delivered to other companies, or used to generate electricity. The bottom ashes are wet-washed; ferrous and non-ferrous metals and granulates are recovered. Next to the grate furnace, a fluidized bed combustor (FBC) operated by SLECO is situated. It can co-incinerate various types of industrial wastes (including ASR), RDF, waste water treatment (WWT) sludges, etc. and produces steam to generate electricity. The bottom ashes are recovered as secondary raw material. It is demonstrated that both installations have a good environmental performance and address many aspects of cleaner production. This way, both grate furnace and FBC may play an important role in sustainable waste management. Depending on the fractions of the energy carrier(s), the actual energy recovery varies from 41% for the grate furnace (steam + electricity) to 27% for the FBC (only electricity). The most important airborne emissions and solid residues are monitored in both installation and are discussed in detail. For all components of interest, emissions remain well below Flemish limit values. Moreover, it was shown that both installations act as a POP sink when flue gas emissions are taken into account as a POP output. From the bottom ashes of both incinerators ferrous and non-ferrous metals and granulates are recovered, representing 19.9 and 9.2 wt% of the original waste input of respectively the grate furnace and the FBC. When introducing higher amounts of heavy metals into the FBC, co-incinerating ASR, the bottom ashes still fulfil Flemish requirements for use as secondary raw material.
Bulletin des Sociétés Chimiques Belges, 2010
An attempt was made to calculate the ash content of Belgian coals, from the analytically determin... more An attempt was made to calculate the ash content of Belgian coals, from the analytically determined concentrations of silicon and aluminium. Simultaneously the total oxygen content of the coals was determined. Silicon and oxygen were determined by 44 MeV neutron activation analysis; aluminium was determined by reactor neutron activation. The precision of the ash content calculated on the basis of the silicon and aluminium concentration is generally better than respectively 8% and 12%. A precise estimation is not possible from the oxygen concentration. The validity of the method has been investigated for samples of different origin. The variations of the oxygen content are not correlated with the variations of the ash content. This is expected from the important contribution of organically bound oxygen.
From a life-cycle perspective, a system reducing the SOx concentration from 1500 to the current e... more From a life-cycle perspective, a system reducing the SOx concentration from 1500 to the current emission limit value (ELV) of 50 mg/Nm³ in the flue gas of a hazardous waste incinerator, significantly reduces the overall environmental impact of the incinerator in the impact categories acidification and photochemical oxidation, at the expense of relatively limited impacts in other impact categories. In case the ELV for SOx would be lowered from 50 to 25 mg SOx/Nm³, the existing installation has to be optimised or additional equipment has to be added. It is shown that in this case, the environmental impact of the incinerator is further reduced in the impact categories acidification and photochemical oxidation, but at the expense of considerable impacts in other impact categories, mainly global warming and abiotic resource depletion.
Journal of Industrial Ecology, 2011
Hazardous and Industrial waste management - Proceedings, Oct 5, 2010
The total number of passenger cars in the EU 15 is estimated to increase from ca. 200 10 6 today ... more The total number of passenger cars in the EU 15 is estimated to increase from ca. 200 10 6 today to 250 10 6 in 2030. As a consequence, the yearly number of end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) is estimated to increase from ca. 11 10 6 today to 16 10 6 in 2030 [Andersen et al., 2008]. In order to manage the growing amount of waste generated during the demolition of ELVs,
Over klimaatsverandering, fijn stof en andere milieuproblemen Hoe is het gesteld met de kwaliteit... more Over klimaatsverandering, fijn stof en andere milieuproblemen Hoe is het gesteld met de kwaliteit van onze lucht, ons water en onze bodem? Lucht, water en bodem beschrijft de milieukwaliteit in Vlaanderen en de daarmee verbonden problemen, zoals fijn stof, zure regen, waterverontreiniging, maar net zo goed de aantasting van de ozonlaag en de opwarming van de aarde. De oorzaken en de gevolgen voor mens en natuur worden op een rijtje gezet, samen met een overzicht van de technologieen om de problemen op te lossen en te voorkomen. Compleet met een bondig overzicht van de relevante milieuwetgeving en aangevuld met praktijkvoorbeelden over de relatie tussen milieu enerzijds en industrie en technologie anderzijds. Lucht, water en bodem is geschreven voor ingenieurs, technici, bedrijfsleiders die met milieuproblemen te maken krijgen, milieucoordinatoren en andere geinteresseerden. Eerdere edities van dit boek werden aan de faculteit ingenieurswetenschappen van de KU Leuven meermaals bekroo...
The Belgian company Nucomat1, enjoys an excellent reputation in the system integration sector and... more The Belgian company Nucomat1, enjoys an excellent reputation in the system integration sector and as a manufacturer of customer-specific solutions for laboratory automation. The core competency of Nucomat lies in the conversion of manual laboratory methods into automated systems. Robotics and automation are frequently associated with mass production and a large number of constantly repeated steps carried out as quickly as possible. As can be seen from the text below, laboratory automation requires a different approach often involving other criteria.