A comprehensive emission inventory of hazardous air pollutants from municipal solid waste incineration in China

The Hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) released from increasing municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) plants have drawn great concerns in China. However, a full picture of their emission characteristics is still urgently needed, especially after the implementation of stricter emission limits on MSWI. In this study, a comprehensive historical emission inventory of HAPs emitted from MSWI plants in China during the period of 2006–2017 was dedicatedly established by integrating with detailed plant-level activity data and renewed localized emission factors. Overall, HAPs emissions initially increased with years, then peaked or slowed increase in the year 2014, but leveled off after 2016 due to the gradually and fully implementing of newly revised national emission standard (GB18485–2014) applied to mainland China and much stricter local standards for several provinces and cities. It was estimated that totally 50,716 tons (t) of NOx, 13,026 t of CO, 7988 t of SO2, 4399 t of PM, 1943 t of HCl, 9916 kg of Pb, 5901 kg of Mn, 4805 kg of Cu, 3574 kg of Cr, 3329 kg of Ni, 2154 kg of Hg, 1168 kg of Cd, 862 kg of As, 409 kg of Co, 216 kg of Sb, 13 kg of Tl, and 19 g toxic equivalent quantity of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and polychlorinated dibenzofurans were emitted from 337 MSWI plants scattered in 30 provinces of mainland China in 2017, respectively. HAPs emissions were heavily concentrated in developed coastal provinces and cities. Scenario analysis highlighted the importance of continuous improvement and upgrade on advanced air pollution control devices and MSWI management to meet the future ultra-low emission limits and minimize the harmful impacts of HAPs on atmospheric environment and public health.