Research on pollutant generation characteristics and environmental impact analysis during co-combustion of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge

ZHANG Wei; SUN Yunan; CHEN Guandong; CUI Zhuo; WU Shuang; MA Jiaomei; CHEN Guanyi

doi:10.13205/j.hjgc.202607001

Volume 44 Issue 7

Jul. 2026

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ZHANG Wei, SUN Yunan, CHEN Guandong, CUI Zhuo, WU Shuang, MA Jiaomei, CHEN Guanyi. Research on pollutant generation characteristics and environmental impact analysis during co-combustion of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(7): 1-17. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202607001

Citation:

ZHANG Wei, SUN Yunan, CHEN Guandong, CUI Zhuo, WU Shuang, MA Jiaomei, CHEN Guanyi. Research on pollutant generation characteristics and environmental impact analysis during co-combustion of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(7): 1-17. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202607001

Citation:

ZHANG Wei, SUN Yunan, CHEN Guandong, CUI Zhuo, WU Shuang, MA Jiaomei, CHEN Guanyi. Research on pollutant generation characteristics and environmental impact analysis during co-combustion of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge[J]. ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING , 2026, 44(7): 1-17. doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202607001

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Research on pollutant generation characteristics and environmental impact analysis during co-combustion of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge

doi: 10.13205/j.hjgc.202607001

1. Interdisciplinary Innovation Laboratory for Environment and Energy, School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University of Commerce, Tianjin 300134, China;
2. Key Laboratory of Plateau Environmental Engineering and Pollution Control, Xizang Autonomous Region, School of Ecology and Environment, Xizang University, Lhasa 850012, China;
3. Tianjin Cement Industry Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd., Tianjin 300400, China;
4. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

Received Date: 2026-04-02
Available Online: 2026-09-01

Abstract

Abstract

To investigate the pollutant release behavior and environmental impacts during the co-combustion of municipal solid waste （MSW） and sewage sludge （SS）， the combustion characteristics， pollutant release， and environmental impacts of MSW-SS blends at 850， 950， 1050 ℃ were analyzed. Machine learning was further used to predict pollutant generation， and interpretability analysis was applied to identify the effects of input variables on emissions. The results showed that combustion temperature and blending ratio significantly affected the burnout performance of MSW-SS blends， with combustion temperature playing a more prominent role. A relatively favorable combustion performance was achieved when the SS proportion was 20 %. Among the pollutants showing significant differences， N₂O and C₂H₄ were simultaneously affected by temperature， blending ratio， and their interaction， indicating higher sensitivity to operating conditions； CO and C₆H₆ were mainly affected by blending ratio； and C₇H₈ was significantly influenced by both temperature and blending ratio. N₂O and CH₄ were mainly released at the initial combustion stage， and increasing temperature markedly suppressed N₂O formation， while co-combustion generally reduced CH₄ emissions. A 20 % SS blend showed a relatively strong SO₂ reduction effect， and the synergistic reduction of NO was more pronounced at 950 °C. The emissions of CO， C₂H₄， C₆H₆， and C₇H₈ generally showed antagonistic behavior under co-combustion conditions. Among the tested models， the artificial neural network performed best in pollutant prediction， and combustion temperature， volatile matter， and fixed carbon contents of the blends were identified as important factors affecting pollutant release. Increasing temperature helped reduce global warming potential and photochemical ozone creation potential， whereas lowering the MSW proportion reduced photochemical ozone creation potential but increased global warming potential and acidification potential. Considering combustion performance， pollutant release characteristics， and environmental impact assessment together， an SS proportion of 20 % is recommended to achieve a better balance between combustion performance and environmental impacts during the co-combustion of MSW and SS.
- municipal solid waste,
- sewage sludge,
- co-combustion,
- machine learning,
- environmental impact assessment

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References(43)

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